Who was the girl in the Royal Enfield ads?

A man and woman seated on Royal Enfield motorcycles gaze at one another. But her face is turned away.

 Who is she? An intriguing wartime Royal Enfield photograph, undoubtedly shot for an advertisement, shows a young woman with her face turned away from the camera. She hasn't been identified, as far as I know. 

But I think I do know her name. Follow along as I explain: 

The photo was probably one of several meant for a series of patriotic Royal Enfield advertisements placed in late 1941. 

As was the practice at the time, the photos used would be traced by an artist to make highly detailed drawings. The finished drawings would be used in the ads. Of course, to Royal Enfield, the precise details of the motorcycles shown were much more important than the exact features of the human models used. 

In the process of producing the ads, details (presumably even including the clothes) could be changed and "mistakes" removed. For instance, in the photograph, props are seen holding the motorcycles steady. Those would have to be erased. 

But some unusual details remained that I think give away the identity of the young woman. 

In late 1941, World War II in Europe was beginning to look up for Britain. 

While the United States was still not in the war at her side, the U.S. was beginning to supply armaments in quantity. Meanwhile, Germany had attacked the Soviet Union in May, which at least distracted the Luftwaffe's attention.

As Christmas approached, Royal Enfield decided to place a series of patriotic advertisements looking toward prospects for happier times to come.

The ads would suggest the Royal Enfields of the peaceful future, with civilian paint, set in nostalgic countryside settings. The young couple shown are nicely dressed. Him always in a suit, usually with striped tie, her in a variety of outfits.

It's partly the man's suit, striped tie, the high part in his hair, and the curls in her hair that encourage me to think all the photos for this series feature not only the same man, but the same woman, despite her clothing changes.

Royal Enfield motorcycles weren't for sale to civilians in 1941, of course, but the company apparently wanted to remind potential future customers of the joys of riding. The ads ran in both leading motorcycle magazines -- dates varied.

As far as I can tell, the first ad in the series was entitled "There'll Come Another Day," placed in The Motor Cycle on Aug. 7, 1941. This shows the young lady, dressed in what may be a woman's horse riding outfit (jodhpurs), pausing to talk with a horse rider engaged in that distinctly British sport: hunting.

Her clothes are different but her curls and the motorcycle are the same.

The copy is corny, but optimistic: "When we're no longer petrol-conscious and signposts guide the way, we'll ride down Victory's pleasant lanes and along Peacetime's happy highroads..."

Note the references to gas rationing and the removal of road signs to foil German invaders! The ad includes a reminder to support the National Air Raid Distress Fund.

The second ad in the series was "There'll Always Be An England," placed in Motor Cycling on Oct. 23, 1941. Our girl is now dismounted and wearing a skirt. The ad title is a reference to a patriotic song that includes the lyric "There'll always be an England, while there's a country lane..."

Another outfit..

It's certainly a pleasant association for motorcyclists, and the ad copy takes advantage of it, reading: "There'll always be an England, whilst there's a country lane to ride down on that brand new after-the-war Royal Enfield Motor Cycle."

Then came "It's a Lovely Day To-Morrow," placed in Motor Cycling on Nov. 6, 1941. Here again, it's based on a song title, this time written by American Irving Berlin, but first performed in London, in 1939. British singer Vera Lynn recorded it in 1940.

Different clothes, again.

The ad copy began "When Victory has been achieved, we'll ride once more through the England that is ours, ten times more conscious of its beauty..."

That speaks of determination. They'd need it, as rationing and sacrifice in Britain did not end with the end of the war.

"What More Can We Ask?" appeared in The Motor Cycle on Dec. 11, 1941. Here we have our young couple posed just as they are in the original photograph, although the woman is, once again, not in the same clothes.

Different outfit but the same pose as the original photo.

The ad copy here suggests that all we really need is sunshine and a new Royal Enfield, and England as "her old happy self."

As far as I can tell, this was the end of the original patriotic series of ads. But the photo would get one more outing.

Years later, as Victory in Europe approached, there was "Joys to Look Forward To," an ad placed in The Motor Cycle on April 26, 1945. The copy is very similar to that of the original series, but adds a twist: "When the guns have fired their last shots..." there will be motorcycles "Made Like a Gun." Clever.

As the war in Europe came to an end, someone remembered this.

So who is the woman?

According to Anne Bradford, author of the book "Royal Enfield, The Story of the Company and the People Who Made It Great: 1851-1969," the young woman riding the back of the motorcycle in the ad "It's A Lovely Day To-Morrow" is Royal Enfield employee Barbara Seviour. This is the one positive identification we have.

In the book, Barbara talks about posing.

"Royal Enfield sometimes asked me to model for them. I'm featured in two 1941 advertisements sitting with a young man on a motor bike. The illustrations are sketched from photographs. I would hasten to add that I was used as a model not so much for my looks but for the simple fact that, as Tony Wilson-Jones's secretary, I was on hand. He was the technical manager of the experimental department which looked after buyers' interests and he therefore worked closely with Ed Blanden in the publicity department."

She is too modest about her looks. She was, after all, elected Redditch Carnival Queen in 1943.

True, she mentions only "two" advertisements. But note that she says Royal Enfield "sometimes" asked her to pose. Were the two advertisements she mentioned just meant as examples (a "for instance"), and she in fact posed for still others?

Let's look at the five advertisements, taking them from the first one, entitled "There'll Come Another Day," with our girl, wearing horse riding pants, seated on a motorcycle and looking at a rider on a horse.

Her posture is very similar to the original photo, but not exact: she doesn't have her left hand on the handlebar, as she does in the photo, the tilt of her head is different and the wheel of the motorcycle is not turned to the left. Perhaps this pose was a companion shot to our original photograph.

Which makes sense, because SHE IS SITTING ON THE VERY SAME MOTORCYCLE. Pay no attention to the registration number on the front fender. The artist added the mythical "R.E.1941."

What is distinctive is that the motorcycle is a flathead Model CO with a civilian tank and paint at a time when Royal Enfield was making only military models. The photo was shared with me by an expert on wartime Royal Enfield motorcycles.

That motorcycle is a prototype, the rare sort of thing only the factory would have, and appropriate in an ad praising the new motorcycles they'd be able to ride when peace comes.

She is in pants, practical shoes, and riding gloves, when the other ads show her with bare legs and hands, and high heels. The ad wants to associate her with riding to the hunt.

The artist may had to change a lot of details, and perhaps the ad was based on a lost companion to the original photo we have, but how many curly haired young women got to sit on that rare motorcycle?

Next came "There'll Always be an England," with our girl dismounted and looking at a pair of piglets. Here again she is not dressed as in the original photo, but the gentleman certainly is: striped tie, pocket handkerchief, hair parted just off center.

What about the woman? Look back at the original photo, at her right wrist. She's wearing a wristwatch, somewhat unusually, on the right wrist. If you strain your eyes looking at the ad you can see what probably is that wristwatch on that right wrist.

See the wristwatch on the right wrist? Now compare the shoes to the original photo.

How unusual is it to wear a wristwatch on the right? Lots of people are left handed. But that doesn't explain it. My father was left handed, but wore his watch on the left. Most wristwatches of that day have the winding/adjusting knob on the right side of the case -- it's difficult to adjust the watch or (in 1941) even keep it wound if it is on the right hand. This is very unusual. Our girl is one in thousands even if she happens to be left handed.

Case closed? Almost. Look at her shoes. The shoes in the ad feature the same backward swirl seen in the shoes of the original photo. She changed her outfit (or the artist changed it for her), but the shoes were unchanged.

Next up is "It's a Lovely Day To-Morrow," and we know from Anne Bradford's book that this is Barbara Seviour, riding pillion. Her outfit has changed again, but look closely and you'll see the same right-hand wristwatch and the backward swirl on the shoes.

Wristwatch and shoe in photo and ad. We know from Anne Bradford that this ad shows Barbara Seviour, so it must be her in the original photo.

And now, at last, comes "What More Can We Ask?" and we see the exact pose of the original photograph, with the young couple gazing into one another's eyes. Her outfit has changed again, certainly the work of the final artist, as the pose is otherwise perfectly identical to the photo.

Why all the outfit changes? Keep in mind that this series of four ads was meant to run one after the other. The gentleman could wear the same tie, as nobody was looking at him. The woman's clothes could not escape attention.

But, then, there was one more!

"Joys To Look Forward To" appeared at the war's end, re-using the pose in the original photo. Someone remembered the ad series, and thought it appropriate, now that the peace so desired was finally come.

It had been a long time since "What More Can We Ask" so it was judged OK not to bother drawing a new outfit for the woman.

Barbara Seviour's memories of Royal Enfield appear in Anne Bradford's book. Fortunately, there is a bit more about Barbara in the out-takes from the book that the author put in the custody of the Royal Enfield Owners Club (UK) and the Redditch Library. And there are some basic facts on MyHeritage.

Barbara's maiden name was Lealand. Her father and only sister (Cynthia R. Lealand) also worked for Royal Enfield. She went to work at 18, in the offices of the Redditch factory in 1940. She admired her boss, "Mr. Wilson-Jones," who was kind enough to help when she couldn't make out the shorthand dictation she took from him.

Her recollections of wartime ("it was so exciting working during the war") are those of a young girl experiencing the challenges and dangers of the home front, with her eye on a young man. Harold Thomas Seviour had joined Royal Enfield in the Industrial Engine Department during the war and rose to be an executive. 

She felt it was "the biggest mistake of my life" when, after the war, she left Royal Enfield to commute to a job at BSA in Birmingham. It was a relief when, having found a home to rent in Studley, she and Harold could marry and she could leave work. Former boss Wilson-Jones was best man at her wedding.

When Royal Enfield was sold to E and H.P. Smith in 1962, Harold was made redundant. "He was devastated... he loved work and his whole life revolved around it." Unemployed for two years, his health began to fail and this would force him to finally retire after 10 years at a new job.

Barbara Mary Seviour passed away in 2010, at 87.

My analysis may be all wrong, but it seems certain to me that the young stenographer and carnival queen did her duty posing as a patriotic inspiration when having hope for a better future was not only natural, but vital.

I'd like to know more about her. Anybody?

Illustrations for this article came from Rockers Bike Ads database.

The best collection of high-quality prints of these advertisements for sale I have seen is TheNostalgiaShop in the UK.