After 90 Years, the White Helmets Motorcycle Display Team Will Be No More

The globally-acclaimed White Helmets, the motorcycle display team of the Royal Signals, has been at the forefront of the motorcycle stunt riding industry for 90 years but starting this year, they will be no longer.

(Image: Daily Mail)

The White Helmets motorcycle display team can be traced back to 1927 to show the British public the precision horsemanship and motorcycle riding skills required of Royal Signals soldiers when the use of dispatch riders to ferry communications was still a vital element of the battlefield.

With stunts like a motorcycle/human pyramid, juggling while cycling backwards, bursting through a fiery ring and riding their 750cc bikes round a field with another soldier up a ladder, the White Helmets delighted audiences young and old.

 It was in February 2017, however, when it was confirmed that the White Helmets would be disbanded due to being ‘too old fashioned’. It was revealed that the Ministry of Defense was no longer taking booking for the White Helmets motorcycle display team. An ex-serviceman told The Sun, “It’s a disgrace. It’s a classically British tradition and loved by families and children at shows held the length and breadth of the land. Audiences will be devastated to hear its being dumped after 90 years because it looks old fashioned.”

Five of the Triumph Bonneville bikes used by the White Helmets are now going to be auctioned off at Bonhams at its Spring Stafford Sale on April 22. Hand built as far back as 1999 is the Triumph TR7 Tigers by LF Harris International of Newton Abbot, Devon.

Number 8 is the only ‘ride bike’ in the sale, used by Lance Corporal Ben Angel in the 2017 season and appearing in the team’s farewell performance on 30th September. Unlike the other ‘trick bikes’ offered, it has no rear rack and it has functioning rear suspension.

Meanwhile, Numbers 23 and 25 ‘trick bikes’. The former is complete with a ladder that was used for some of the team’s stunts, the latter ridden by Lance Corporal Aidie Mackie and Corporal Rob Hitchmough in 2017 and has an extra seat on the front mudguard and additional handlebars on the rear rack.

Number 27 is another ‘trick bike’ ridden by Lance Coporal Dayne Ryan in 2016 and 2017 and used in the final performance, while Number 28, also a trick bike was ridden by Singaller Luke Timmins in 2017 and was also used in the last performance.

“We are proud to have been chosen to offer these five historically important machines for sale at our Spring Stafford Sale in April this year,” said Jonathan Vickers,  Motoring Specialist of Bonhams West County. “Much loved by families and children from all corners of the globe who have experienced their ‘dare devil’ displays at shows and events throughout the UK, the ‘Royal Signals Motorcycle Display Team’ also known as the ‘White Helmets’ are a British tradition whose origins date back to 1927. The sale provides an incredibly rare opportunity for bidders to acquire not just one but five of these wonderful Triumph 750cc TR7 Tiger motorcycles.”