Hitchcocks Forum

Stumbled on a vanity press autobiography cooy by Wilf Green today. Fascinating sociological
insight into the survival struggle of the proles before WWII. Although from photos within
shows his Enfield dealership in about 1950, preface suggests he ended up with a 26 employee
enterprise in later years, not necessarily with 'bikes Story is only to 1937, but written
with humour and no pretensions. Pixs within also include vintage machinery and lots of brazen
dolly birds from that period. LOve to hear from older riders who may have remembered him

[center]


There was a BBC perpetual motion program done on the Enfield bullet in the 1990's in which he featured. Luckily, it's available on gluetube. Well worth watching.









[center]

REOC 15084

Tabellarius de verbis. Ostensor gaudium[/center]

There is a second autobiography called "A second helping of Yorkshire Pudding" which probably brings the story up to date if you can find it. (I haven't read it.) Wilf was at one time the UK importer for Enfield, MZ and other East European makes, I think that was the period when his business was at it's peak.

REgards, Mark

I met him a couple of times, briefly when he attended an MZRC rally and also at an MZ open day event at his place near Sheffield.

Frank

There was mention of him in one of the bike magazines recently. IIRC he imported Indian Enfields in the seventies (350cc bikes only then), but switched to MZs, for which he was a passionate advocate. Burwins was the other key player regarding MZs in the seventies and eighties, though Wilf Green was the one who imported them. When MZ folded and became MuZ for a short spell before fading away altogether, (the tooling was sent to Turkey, where ETZ MZs were made for a while) Wilf went back to being an RE dealer. To most he was best remembered as Mr MZ, I believe. I used to own a Supa 5; I'd buy another if they were still made.

I read both volumes some years ago. Very odd and not always comfortable reading full of contradictions, and bluff. Frankly, reading the books did not create a very nice impression of the man. Very unusually for me I gave them both away!
I spoke to a dealer from that time about Wilf Green - not a positive response. BUT if you can get hold of either or both (the first volume is by far the better) very definitely worth a read. Wish I still had mine!

My Bighead bullet was bought from Wilf Green in 1960 still with original reg number. The premises are now a Spar shop, but only about 30 miles away so I might have a ride there sometime.

Thanxs all for prompting my recall. Belately noticed on rear cover that he dealt with MZs etc for 22 years,
where he hoped to be able to write a sequel which he must have as Mark mentioned. Did not realize inially
this was the same entrepreneur whose early struggles served him well, venturing into importing Enfields AND
the MZs. Purely by chance I found his first volume in an estate sale out here in B.C.

Just to Add I bought my First "Enfield" From him in 1993ish Just after they had moved to the "New Industrial Estate" I was impressed enough with the Staff and the Free Loan for the Day of a Test Bike I bought the Test Bike, So thats how I got in to Enfields and had one ever since.
Found Out I had an Uncle who lived close by and he spoke highly of him as a man of honor and a local legend,
So in my brief contact with him and his firm it was all "Good".
I did have a Wilf Green Tuned Super 5 (or so the sticker said) preceding this but that was 10th owner & before I new of him, But that was Ok too....Cheers All..Craig