Ryde Co-op’s British Legion Poppy Appeal saw a lot of excitement last weekend when Andrew Browne brought in his ex-army 1944 ‘Parabike’, which was actually used on D-Day.

The BSA Airborne Bicycle was developed at a time when the only British Troop-carrying glider was the Hotspur, a smaller and more compact military glider. Therefore, transport for the Parachute Regiment was needed that was small and could easily be transported. Another major problem, faced by paratroopers on raids into enemy territory, was how to get to the intended target quickly and silently, without being spotted. When dropped from aircraft, the unguided parachutes drifted and paratroopers often ended up dispersed over a wide area, with valuable time lost in regrouping. As a result, BSA (Birmingham Small Arms Company) developed a bicycle that could be folded in half so a paratrooper could jump out of an aircraft with it. When folded out, it was used as a conventional bicycle. An additional advantage was that it did not require fuel to operate; petrol stations and fuel depots were often among the first targets destroyed in war zones.

Andrew met three gentlemen from the Shanklin Royal British Legion at the poppy appeal, who were former-Parachute Regiment troops. He was astonished at the bike’s popularity, proclaiming: “I didn’t manage to get their names; they were so busy! I could hardly keep them from moving around to take the picture because there were so many donating money. In the end, I couldn’t get near my bike for people taking photographs! They were fascinated by it.”