JOURNAL of a holiday in Devon and Hampshire of a holiday in 1931 on a Rudge motorcycle, and a shorter break on the South Coast. 2 albums, size 10" x 12", boards, stiff buff paper leaves. The account is typewritten on oblong 4to sheets, 11 pages describing the journey, plus 6 hand-drawn maps in ink and colour, showing routes, and sixty photographs of places, each approx. 4 inches x 6 inches. The first page has a good close-up photo of the Rudge. Places visited include Selworthy, Peppercombe, Drewsteignton, Chagford, Postbridge, Burrator Dam, Newton Ferrers, Holberton, Brixham. Many of the photographs are street views with thatched cottages. There follows an account of a few days on the South Coast (by bus), 2 typed pages, 1 map and 21 photographs, including 9 photos of shipping at Southampton, including 'The Mauretania', 'under the stern of the Berengaria' etc. At the end are 3 pages describing a trip to the East Coast, plus 3 photographs.
Near Bigbury “every so often there were watersplashes to go through - yours truly took the last one too fast and completely filled both shoes with water. A halt was called whilst the wet socks were duly attached to the handlebars to dry in the breeze” There is a photograph of the motorcycle titled “Through the splash on the way to Modbury”. At Dartmouth he mentions that “anchored up the river are numerous vessels laid aside owing to the depression”
Rudge motorcycles were produced in Coventry from 1911 to 1946. The firm was known for its innovations in engine and transmission design, and its racing successes. Their sales motto was "Rudge it, do not trudge it.”
