You're right Rick, it needs to be sorted by an expert. I hence have sent it to a respective workshop and I am in close contact to the engineer. They have a professional bench for the task which is much better than fooling around, of course. And they said, they can certainly do the job. Indeed, small mistake – big trouble. But I take it easy and with John Ruskin: Pay half – pay twice.

If there's no thread in the switch pillars, I'd say solder them Peter - but only at the top to avoid too much heat getting onto the bakelite and leave the wire able to wiggle at the bottom to avoid breakage - but if the pillars are threaded down from the top, I think it's the type that had pointed screws the fit into the holes. You push the wire so it just comes up to the top and then wind the screw with the point down the middle of the wire so it spreads the copper and jams it into the threads - bit brutal but t works!
Cheers Rick

H Thomas,
I'm sorry I missed this  thread until now.
Yes I'm sorry to  say that is not good and will need to be sorted properly. It is best to get three long,  straight pieces of the correct size bar - maybe easier for you to get sleeves made to take 8mm or something readily available there) and put them through both fork spindles and the wheel axle. Using something like 1m long bars will give you enough to judge by eye how far out it is looking from the top down at the three bars and also from the front with the forks vertical. The problem with girder forks is that their triangulated design means that although they are quite weak side to side they are very strong front to back. That means that if you took the wheel out and pinched the wheel spindle plates together, you could easily bend them - but they would be easy to straighten again. But when you have a front impact as you have, they resist bending and spread the load to several places at once - that is clear from the way that upper tube has bent. That means that unless you can straighten them all at once it is very difficult to get back right as every bit you straighten affects another area.
This is similar to the problem with my forks, unfortunately although my forks were a side impact, because the car actually drove into me, he hit the forks with enough force to break the casting for the lower link and I suspect I will need to find another fork. At worst yours could be re-tubed but hopefully it will not come to that - but I think they may need to be heated to get them right.
So annoying the way a small mistake causes so much trouble but very good that you ad your wife are ok! 
Cheers Rick 

Welcome to the club, Stevie! The following books are a good start:

-   "The Book of the Sunbeam 1928-1939" by Leslie K. Heathcote
-   "Sunbeam Motor Cycle Instruction Book" by Sunbeam Motorcycles Ltd.
-   "The Sunbeam Motorcycle" by Robert Cordon Champ
-   "The Illustrated History of Sunbeam Bicycles and Motorcycles" by Robert Cordon Champ

And of course, all information in the club website.

Cheers, Thomas

Good Morning,
Just joined the Club as I will be looking for a Pre-War Sunbeam after the Summer, Always liked the look of the Sunbeams but very little knowledge of them although my Dad used to like them. So any advice appreciated and pointers what books to read (yes i still prefer to read a book).
I have had lots of Post War BSA's Triumphs and Nortons from 50's to 70's and currently have an unrestored original 1949 AJS 16M as well as several other Bikes but do fancy something pre-war and, preferably oily rag/un restored.

Stevie

You are right, John! That is exactly what I believe, too. I've sent the fork to an expert and told him that.

I have a feeling that the bent right hand rear tube at the top has effectively shortened the rear tube.This would, I think ,have the effect of pulling the front tube bend backwards causing the miss-alignment, Unless the photo has is misleading.

 John

Mistery solved, the owner just forgot to close the petroleum tab....

That seems so! However, a litre is about 20.000 drops. So, you can make a litre within two days with one drop every 5 seconds. That's very rough, of course. Yes, check it with a bag. Perhaps I am wrong.

Thanks, Daniel. You are certainly right.