jwp2007 Posted 19 May , 2010 Share Posted 19 May , 2010 Was talking to an elderly relative recently and he was recounting tales he had heard from his parents about my grandfather, he recalled when grandfather was allowed home on leave from hospital (northern gen.leeds.) prior to being fitted with an artificial leg, he was to be seen around the village in some form of self propelled wheelchair which he described as being operated by hand with a kind of bicycle pedal and chain arrangement, just wondered if anyone had heard of this type of chair or was his memory playing tricks ?. His last story was of grandfather losing his false leg in the local pond !!, but he could'nt recall the circumstances, now there could lie an interesting story !!! . regards, John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 19 May , 2010 Share Posted 19 May , 2010 I can remember this type of three-wheeled chair being used in the fifties. The 'pedals' sat on an extension over the headstock and were also used for steering. They were propelled by the driver rotating the 'pedals' by hand and the chain ran down to the front wheel. Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwp2007 Posted 19 May , 2010 Author Share Posted 19 May , 2010 Keith, thanks for the quick reply, that certainly sounds like what my relative was describing, may be some truth in the pond story after all many thanks again, regards,John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 19 May , 2010 Share Posted 19 May , 2010 Yes I can remember them as well, they performed part of the role a mobility scooter does today, they could do a fair turn of speed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinThwaite Posted 19 May , 2010 Share Posted 19 May , 2010 Definately remembered from the 1950's - large black machines; not the sort of thing for pavements!The mind boggles as to how his leg went missing in a pond!!!!! Cheers, Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admin kenf48 Posted 19 May , 2010 Admin Share Posted 19 May , 2010 Scroll through the boring old motorbikes etc and there is a picture here http://www.igg.org.uk/gansg/00-app1/rt-cars.htm it mentions one in the IWM Manchester Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NigelS Posted 19 May , 2010 Share Posted 19 May , 2010 There just had to be a website...Click (2nd pic) NigelS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwp2007 Posted 19 May , 2010 Author Share Posted 19 May , 2010 Gentlemen, many thanks for the replies and the links, most interesting, grandfathers must have been an early version, i think he was fitted with his leg in 1919 and was discharged in 1920, he must have mastered the false leg pretty well as he was a prominent member of the british legion and several people have told me that when leading the local parades grandfather had to be asked to slow down as others were struggling to keep up with him !!, regards, John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 19 May , 2010 Share Posted 19 May , 2010 Scroll through the boring old motorbikes etc and there is a picture here http://www.igg.org.uk/gansg/00-app1/rt-cars.htm it mentions one in the IWM Manchester Ken I once owned some boring old bikes like these. The hand propelled carriage shown used two levers and not a pair of rotating cranks as in those I remember and John describes. Interestingly someone has just 'invented' the hand crank powered wheel chair as a cross country vehicle for the disabled Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rockdoc Posted 19 May , 2010 Share Posted 19 May , 2010 Go on - I'll say it. That's reinventing wheels! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daggers Posted 19 May , 2010 Share Posted 19 May , 2010 Interesting stuff. Ken's post brought back memories of cars etc I had long forgotten. I was going to post about an invalid carriage we used to see which had 'to and fro' levers, rather than cranks, but I think this has been touched on. D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
centurion Posted 19 May , 2010 Share Posted 19 May , 2010 The new version http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8662912.stm. The single wheel has been moved from the front to the back. This is obviously to save the government future disability payments if the user runs into a tree. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
per ardua per mare per terram Posted 19 May , 2010 Share Posted 19 May , 2010 I can remember this type of three-wheeled chair being used in the fifties... I have a hazy recollection of one being in a sketch show: maybe the Q series or Monty Python. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bruce Posted 19 May , 2010 Share Posted 19 May , 2010 A a lad, millenia ago, I can remember that there were at least two of these in Romford. If the two old boys, with I think two legs between them, met up on market day for a chat, the whole market ground to a halt as they took up the available pedestrian space. Bruce Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwp2007 Posted 19 May , 2010 Author Share Posted 19 May , 2010 many thanks all for the interesting replies, had a go googling to see if any old pics availiable, this american one dating from 1908 turned up, although the chain appears to be driving one of the rear wheels on this version. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
J T Gray Posted 19 May , 2010 Share Posted 19 May , 2010 The hand propelled carriage shown used two levers and not a pair of rotating cranks as in those I remember and John describes. One used (up to early '90s) to be a regular at steam rallies in NW Essex - "driven" by a lady with Parkinsons, I recall. She could get a fair turn of speed out of it even on a meadow, and I certainly wouldn't have wanted to arm wrestle her! Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now