# Old UK motorcycle plate

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-uk-motorcycle-plate/954602>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 19, 2021, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-uk-motorcycle-plate/954602 "2021-11-19T04:49:00Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2021, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-uk-motorcycle-plate/954602/1 "2021-11-19T04:49:00Z")

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We have an amazing photo of my Aunt Peg on a motorcycle that probably dates to sometime around 1915. I am hoping that somebody with better google skills than I can help me identify what year it is from. The plate is SE2385. Any of the teeming millions able to help? I have tried and failed to upload a copy of the photo.

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**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2021, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-uk-motorcycle-plate/954602/2 "2021-11-19T04:58:01Z")

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The SDMB’s Discourse set-up doesn’t allow you to directly upload pictures, but you can share a picture by uploading it to a free photo-hosting site (like Imgur or Flickr), and then pasting a link to the picture on that third-party site within your post here.

You’ll want to make sure that the line in your post which has the link doesn’t have anything else in it, and has blank lines above and below it.

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**Author:** ![SanVito](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sanvito/32/2805_2.png) [@SanVito](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SanVito)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2021, 10:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-uk-motorcycle-plate/954602/3 "2021-11-19T10:31:47Z")

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> [@Quint](#):
>
> SE2385

Before 1932, I don’t believe the numberplate indicated date. According to [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vehicle_registration_plates_of_the_United_Kingdom#Before_1932), the first two letters indicate the local issuing authority – ‘S’ is for Scotland, and the next letter would be the county. I don’t know what the E is for - maybe East Lothian?

Each authority then issued numbers up to 9999. Once they exceeded that quota, they would get another two letter code.

Not sure any of that helps you to date the bike, unless that local authority has an archive somewhere. Perhaps the make and model of the bike would be a better indicator, if you had those details.

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**Author:** ![PatrickLondon](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/patricklondon/32/4422_2.png) [@PatrickLondon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PatrickLondon)\
**Post date:** [November 19, 2021, 11:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-uk-motorcycle-plate/954602/4 "2021-11-19T11:40:22Z")

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This suggests the area for SE registrations was Banffshire/Aberdeen:

[https://www.drivearchive.co.uk/regcodes.htm](https://www.drivearchive.co.uk/regcodes.htm)

And this suggests records may survive, in the care of the Moray Heritage Officer:

[[https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/sites/default/files/VehicleRegistration\_0.pdf](https://www.aberdeencity.gov.uk/sites/default/files/VehicleRegistration_0.pdf))

So you could try contacting;

[http://www.moray.gov.uk/moray\_standard/page\_1537.html](http://www.moray.gov.uk/moray_standard/page_1537.html)

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<div class="post-metadata">

**Author:** ![Quint](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/76d3ee/32.png) [@Quint](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quint)\
**Post date:** [November 21, 2021, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/old-uk-motorcycle-plate/954602/5 "2021-11-21T09:39:23Z")

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Thank you for the great resources, much appreciated. I will be back and upload the photo and any intel I find!! Nice work.