Wanted, Dolls head gearbox

[R]

There is also a pic of a 1946 16H in a Roy Bacon book p112 fitted with a handchange gearbox, specially ordered for a disabled serviceman. Bike appears to be new.
Gearlever has a gate though, so no fishing for gears, unlike the OP here.

[iansoady]

I have no idea of numbers but if you look at any edition of the Blue or Green uns for the immediate post was period they are flooded with ads from Claude & Rye etc for "newly registered" re-enamelled 16Hs which of course are the ex-WD models. There are very few ads for new bikes at all from any manufacturer other than tiddlers.

[R]

Yes, I have a (somewhat tatty) little ex-WD model (not Norton) that seemingly came through Marble Arch Motors in London. Finished in all maroon, although when examined in detail it is cellulose lacquer, so whether that made it any less expensive ??  We looked long and hard for any trace of military green, they sure did a very thorough job. They reportedly sold off thousands of ex-WD models, and there were many such advertised suppliers.

If you find the old sales catalogs, the ex-military stuff being sold off was in vast amounts, from depots all over the place. Our wheelbarrow for many a year had an aircraft tailwheel, reportedly a spitfire. the tyre was some sort of treadless synthetic/plastic, and never perished.

There has been some past discussion that perhaps postwar export models were a different spec to the domestic models - this Model 18 from Italy, note the dollshead box. Low engine number, there has been some discussion - perhaps the records have not survived - with considerable variations of how many were actually produced. Not a 16H however,..
https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2016/4/18/b/4/0/b40eec22-054b-11e6-91c9-42605cc1bb3b.jpg
https://assets.catawiki.nl/assets/2016/4/18/f/5/9/f59506ba-0549-11e6-85ba-5b9637f2081e.jpg