THIS was a new mode of transport for Oxford City Police in 1956.

Traffic problems were growing in the city as more families bought cars, and police often struggled to keep vehicles moving through the narrow streets.

So the city force decided to buy this lightweight motorcycle specially for the purpose. Pc K Parkinson is seen giving it a test run.

Although the experiment was in its early stages when the picture was taken, the Chief Constable, Clem Burrows, described it as “already a wonderful success”.

Pc Parkinson and his colleagues were able to nip through the traffic queues to deal with problems more quickly than in the past.

Memory Lane this week

  • Do you want alerts delivered straight to your phone via our WhatsApp service? Text NEWS or SPORT or NEWS AND SPORT, depending on which services you want, and your full name to 07767 417704. Save our number into your phone’s contacts as Oxford Mail WhatsApp and ensure you have WhatsApp installed.