Corgis are tough bikes. Folded, packaged and parachuted into a field, they were designed to be driven straight into battle during World War II by the British forces.

They saw action in Arnhem and Normandy and had a reputation for reliability, if not for comfort. In fact, they had no suspension at all.

Essentially, they had the same shape as a modern fold-up commuter bicycle, with small 10inch wheels and one gear. Powered by a 98cc Villiers engine they could hit 40mph and take a soldier away from German machine guns quicker than a tank.

They first rolled off the production line in Birmingham in 1939 and continued to be a hit during the 1940s, both as a service bike and for use in civilian life. In the military they were the "Well Bike" while in civvy street they were called Corgis. Marketed in the late 1940s as the newest idea in personal transport, the wartime model was rebranded as a simple bike that was easy to use around town. They were a bike that would run and run.

Henry Cole, 78, of Kewstoke, near Weston-super-Mare, hankered after one. On a bright morning in 1960, Henry prepared to pay a farmhand by the name of Tony Weare £4 10 shillings to for a secondhand model. They shook hands, Henry handed over the cash and Tony, suddenly seeing the money in his palm, decided to do a runner.

"It was at a farm at Bleadon," recalled Henry Cole. "He grabbed the cash and ran. Luckily, the farmer John Wall tripped him up and he fell headfirst into a seven foot high pile of cow dung. I took the money and the log book back."

Once in possession of the motorcycle, Henry used it to go to work every day. Later that year, he took his test in Weston-super-Mare, but failed at the first attempt. He explained: "It was a dry day, and it was at the Boulevard. The examiner said turn left, right, left and right and so on, and I came back to the start to do the emergency stop. The chap suddenly jumped out from behind a tree and I came within inches of running him down.

" The road had been layed with loose chippings and I had trouble stopping, spraying stones all over his trousers. He failed me. A fortnight later I heard that the same examiner got run over when testing someone else and ended up in hospital with a broken leg."

Henry went on to pass his test at the next attempt and used the Corgi for years as a run-around, even venturing down to Cornwall where he originally came from.

"It was a perfectly lovely ride," he said with a twinkle in his eye. "There are no springs, so it was like riding a bedstead. I couldn't get any new tyres for it and then I saw an advert for a company in Denmark that made them. I remember they sent me the tyres by post and trusted me to send back a cheque by return. You wouldn't do that today."

Still in working order and complete with its original logbook, Henry has exhibited the bike on several occasions at shows and fairs. One day, when he was polishing it outside his home, a group of Americans riding Harley Davidson motorcyles came roaring by. They literally stopped in their tracks.

He said: "They thought it was brilliant. They were fascinated. Never seen anything like it."

Fact file

Engine: 98cc, two-stroke, petrol lubricated.

Suspension: none.

Manufactured: 1939-1950.

Weight: 97lb.

Gearbox: single speed.

Wheels: 10inch, 20 psi front, 35 psi rear .

Fuel Consumption: 45mpg.

Fuel: Petrol with a 20-1 oil mix.

Made by: Excelsior of Birmingham.