A Brief History of the Marque
Motorräder manufactured in Solingen by Patria-WKC, 1925-1952.
A descendant of an ancient German arms manufacturer, Weyersberg, Kirschbaum & Cie., WKC was well established as a bicycle manufacturer selling some 100,000 units annually when they built their first motorcycles with 250 and 350 Roconova single-cylinder OHC engines. Production halted in 1927, and the huge firm fell into bankruptcy in 1930.
Hans A May purchased the business and by 1931 they were building bicycles again, along with motorised bicycles powered by 74cc Sachs engines. These were available in Lady's, Gents and trade carrier version. May died in 1950, but production continued with a variety of models using 50cc, 98cc, 125cc and 150cc engines from Sachs and JLO.
Production ended in 1952 and the business failed in 1953.
The brand re-appeared in 1955 under new ownership, with Stutenbäumer & Ottens of Beckum producing mopeds using Sachs, JLO and Zundapp engines.
Curry Ltd in the UK then came into the picture. An advertisment from Curry's in 1956 shows a 49cc Sachs model.
Mark Daniels writes in Icenicam, "The Curry's listing ending in October 1956 proved to be the very last traceable reference for the Patria Moped. Certainly the machine ceased manufacture in 1956, though the reason for this discontinuance is unclear. Curry's were known for buying receiver’s stocks from bankrupted European manufacturers for clearance on the British market, so this may be a probability."
The brand reappeared on bicycles built in Bielfeld in 1971, using the original logo.
The firm is unrelated to the famous Spanish marque of the same name. See Disambiguation
Sources: GTU Oldtimerservice, Icenicam, wikipedia.de, correspondence.
