Tony Graves

hi smithy, that diamond belonged to a chap in sussex and the davis family have had it for many years, since purchasing it the poor old girl has always lived outside, i do not think it will ever be restored and it is gradually fading away, the problem is that all the equipment they have is in trust and i doubt if anybody could buy it, it,s a great shame, all the best, tony g.

hi cosrec, the attachments you have put on are invalid, perhaps a problem, all diamond ts coming from the states had a standard tool kit which was expanded as the war went on. the photo shows the kit minus the scotch blocks, the tractors were never alone normally coupled to a m9 trailer, these trailers came with four scotch blocks and two snatch blocks, the complete outfit was designated the m19, as an aside the tractor unit m20 came into britain as flat packs and assembled by such companies as l.e.p. you will clearly see the trailer kit and tractor kit, hope of interest, tony g.

hi dizzy, the site you want is, recovery lorries an album on flickr, hope of some use, all the best, tony g.

hi, does anybody think this is a scam, they say that there are only 7 tigers left in the world but ithink thats way out, i believe bovvy has four, there are at least two in the museum at samur, we have the vimoutiers tiger here, there are at least three in belgium including la glaize and several in russia, in germany they have the ex aberdeen proving ground tiger and the us has a couple more. having said all that there are only two runners in the world, a king tiger at samur and bovvys 131, hope of interest, tony g.

hi dizzy, thanks for your reply, if you go on flicker diamond t wreckers you will find two photos of watts of lydney diamond in colour, all the best ,tony g.

hi dizzy, i hope i am not being pedantic but the cobberton diamond is not the watts of lydney one, the cab on the cobberton diamond is the civilian version with no cab vent and no vent on the scuttle, the watts cab is the military one. it is a long time since i have seen the cobberton diamond but i am sure it was a 980 and clearly the watts t is a 981, it also has a big air cleaner outside the bonnet probably a cummins engine, i know the cobberton diamond had an engine change but i cannot remember the type, it would be nice if the other watts diamonds photos came to light, all the best ,tony g.

hi, in response to the question about the grips, i believe they were made by dunlop tyre company, hope of some use, tony g.

hi dave, the two photos that i have shown i bought from the imperial war museum archives probably forty years ago along with a lot of wartime pickfords diamonds moving various loads. the photos are about 6 inches by four inches and are very clear, if you would like a copy of both i am in bayeux next week and could send you a copy, all the best, tony g.

hi, with regard to scotching with a diamond t i can only presume that there would be a shackle on each scotch and a length of chain with c hooks attached to the towing pintle securing either side at the rear. as an aside the photo of the diamond winching the truck out of the pond is still around, it belongs to john coomber, hope of interest, tony g.

hi, sorry to be a pain, i have just found another photo the same shot but from a different angle clearly showing the two scotch blocks, all the best tony g.

hi, i am sorry cosrec but the diamond t 980 981 series was supplied with two scotch blocks as part of the normal tool kit, the photo shows the standard tool kit taken at chislehurst common during 1942, you will see the blocks next to the fuel cans right hand side of photo.the usual method of securing the truck when winching was to use a substantial balk of timber jammed between the tyres on the first and second axles, hope of interest, tony g.

hi wwiitrucks, the crankshafts on the dfxe were a constant prolem with breakages, normally due to over revving, i had two snap over the years and when i stripped them down the journals had been straight cut, removing the curved piece on either side of the journal, in fact the bit that gives the strenth for the crank. in the fifties these engines were completely stripped down and rebuilt by reme apprentices, two of my broken cranks had the oilway redrilled and reetched about 1/2 inch further round the jounal, also remember these engines were never the best also that they are now well over 70 years old, hope of interest, tony g.

hi warlock, to put your mind at rest, the tractor 980/ 981 were never fitted with a facility for security chains, if the trailer did break away and was full of air the brakes would come on. i had a couple of diamonds that had a post war modification with two pieces of 1/2 steel with 2 inch holes in them riveted to the under side of the chassis. i think sometimes these safety chains had rings on them that fitted over the towing jaw, hope of interest, tony g.

hi if you or anybody wants further information on this subject you are welcome to call me on 0033231101198, all the best tony graves.

hi mellie, remember i said the wharf has been extended probably 100 ft from the original edge of the wharf and that the sunken barges filled with land fill formed the basis of the extended wharf, in my time at barton,s i was shown several positions by so called witnesses, it was from my aerial photographs many of which were german we were able to pinpoint the exact position. some showing the damage to the canopy and later showing the repair to the roof. i hope mark is well and will be in contact shortly with as i have found another site over here, hope of interest, tony g.