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I'll tell you if you sell me a filler cap! Alec

She is a Q2 15cwt with the 6 cylinder petrol not the 4 cylinder.

One last point - is your Commer a 15cwt or 30 cwt?

As far as it went, Brown Dark (MT) No.1A, (Chocolate Brown) was only officially sanctioned by the RAF for around 9 months; from 31st December 1942 and was replaced by orders in AMO A.891/43 on 9th September 1943, with ‘Paint, P.F.U., Black Matt, quick drying’. A.891/43 stayed in force until 1944 when a further AMO, A.519/44 was issued on 8th June 1944; which changed the basic colour to ‘PFU Olive Drab’ with Black Matt as the camouflage colour. British Olive Drab had been in use by the British & Commonwealth Armies for about a month or more before D-Day, first with Micky Mouse black camo them none as the war contined. By 8th June 1944, AMO 519/44 it was obviously a bit late to change RAF vehicles either in France, or prepared to travel by ship to Normandy, plus repainting was not required until absolutely necessary and the attritian rate was less for the RAF vehicles, so thats why the Micky Mouse scheme may be seen on RAF vehicles right up to arriving in Denmark in May 1945. So go with Brown Special No.2 ( and with ‘Paint, P.F.U., Black Matt, quick drying’?) - it will make a nice change! Brown Special No. 2 was the RAF name for SCC.2

Some very nice photos there, thank you. And no, she will definately not be painted grey, I've researched quite a lot into colours. Of note, our 1942 Commer I have in SCC2 as she would have been originally. I tell you, the number of people who have messaged me to tell me that she should be olive drab and I have it wrong... And yes, we believe she was part of 2TAF shipped over to NW Europe in later 1944. She was sold off locally in France in early July 45.

Many years latter and more chain drive Thornycroft parts are now at home. I was told of a chassis and rear axle having been pushed over a bank after ending it's second life as the base for a mobile saw mill. A number of visits to the site to sort out a way to retrieve this had occurred, then interruptions with covid times delayed an attempt by a few more years. This last Summer ( Southern Hemisphere ) I spent 4 days making an access track and slowing winching the items a distance of twenty seven meters out of the gully. Multiple hand winches, chains and strops were used to guide past trees, stumps and most importantly, to stop it rolling further down the slope. After all the effort and once out on to the paddock, it only took a short time with a tractor to lift the pieces on to a trailer. The rear section of the chassis has been cut off beyond the rear springs, and the area about the reart springs has also been cut, but was welded back underneath the forward chassis section. The chassis has been stripped of any fittings riveted on. There is no sign of and Id numbers stamped about the front dumb irons. To add to the photo session two front axles of the type were set up under the front. Each are slightly different in the pattern of the rim to spokes area, and one is narrower in track than the other. The Thornycroft build register does mention a narrow track model. Another day we will bring out the farm trailer collected some years ago which has an axle, wheels , springs with spring hangers and chassis mounts. Parts from five different vehicles have now been collected up about New Zealand. Now to find a M2 engine then a gearbox and diff as a combined unit. Doug

And as a polite suggestion, don't paint your Q2 in RAF Blue Grey if it was made in 1944. I'm also guessing that your Q2 went to NW Europe as part of 2TAF, on or after D-Day if it ended up there until recently, unless it was one of many surplus vehicles given away as aid post WW2 Although British Olive Drab was ordered by the RAF (to match the Army) prior to D-Day, many RAF vehicles with less 'front line duty', we still in Brown Special No.2 with either Brown Dark (MT) No.1A, as the camouflage, or P.F.U. Matt Black, which we have come to know as 'Micky Mouse Ear' Camouflage. I guess you know there were variations of Micky Mouse Ear, painted with less rounded ear camo than ‘Mickey Mouse Ears' and these varied in style from 'foliage' or 'devils horns' to 'crows feet'. Incidentally, the RAF Roundal was very prominent on all sides of the larger 2TAF vehicles like the Austin K6 types, but anything smaller, didn't seem so covered, but a roundal on the bonnet and and tilt sides, which appears to be of a set size, still looks quite strange on a 15cwt vehicle - thats why I have yet to see any roundals on tilts of preserved RAF vehicles at MV shows! Some examples below from a time when the NWE front line had moved towards Germany. Note the old camo style still in use. The Ford WOT 15cwt is Denmark in 1945.

Where's the picture? Ron

Yes, that is a line up of fresh Q15's. Actually quite a bit smaller than the Q2, narrower track and very short wheelbase. I think our thoughts at the moment are to body the Q2 the same as our 1942 Q2 30cwt with the GS body and canvas tilt.

When I saw this photo I immediately thought it wasn't an RAF Jeep, as a feature of many RAF Jeeps in 2TAF in NW Europe was they were devoid of pioneer tools, as if an NCO in charge, said that those tools will surely be nicked by the locals and so I will look after them, or other logic reason like "we never get in situations where we need to get our hands dirty! And of course there is no RAF Type 1900 number.

Yes he was, Royal Signals attached to the RAF I wasn’t sure if he was driving an Army Jeep or RAF Jeep.

Just going by photographic evidence: in the SW Pacific Area , the RAAF ( Air Force) were issued with some WC 3/4 Weapons Carriers and some Command Cars.... whereas the army were using mostly CMP trucks and MCP trucks. Seems to be a good number of surviving 3/4 Weapons Carriers here in Australia but some were post-war imports by Surplus dealers..... These are Scenes at Finschhafen P.N.G. with US soldiers. Strafing damage by Japanese aircraft in the Northern Territory Australia advert: Surplus dealer in Sydney .

They look like Army - Royal Signals. Was your grandfather-in-law R Signals? Perhaps RAF support communications - that looks like an aircraft symbol on the white & blue R Signals AOS sign on the driver's side of the windscreen. Something like this?

Now we've just about got the turret turning I'm having trouble find the right position in order to open the engine covers (they foul the turret). Turret is near the 9 o'clock position. Does anyone know what position the turret has to be in to open the engine covers? - I'm trying the refit the T support piece on the rear deck. Thanks Chieftain rear deck.pdf

FYI - REME got the turret moving by applying a strop to the barrel and towing round. This was enough to free up the rust and can now use the hand traverse (though v stiff and hard work!)

Sorry, but I am afraid that one escapes me. Mind you, flat caps are becoming mandatory but I think that is an age thing! As you know, we are recreating one of the Army's first recovery or 'Ambulance' lorries as they were known. When Tim turned up the original drawings in the National Archive they included a list of the equipment to be carried and, not surprisingly, this includes a couple of jacks. We have been fortunate enough to find this one, a Charles Willets Mk1 screw jack of 1915. We think it is of about five tons capacity and will do the job admirably. 1915 dated! Generally, it is in very good order with just a couple of things to fix. After taking it apart, I sorted out the bend in the rotating ring. It was just a case of heat and a bit of tube to lean on it in the vice and it was soon fixed. The tube also provided a replacement handle. The lifting handle on the front was there but two of the screws had sheared off. I drilled them and then tried my E-Z out extractor. I am usually very wary of these things as I usually end up with a sheared stud with a hard centre! However, in this case, they worked well. Then painting. I have just this evening reassembled it all with lots of grease and am well pleased with the result. Something else to store! Steve🙂

My wife’s grandad in France, unfortunately I can’t make out the markings on the windscreen.

And did you already order a lot of guys with caps to be charged on the back of your lorry.... 😃

From the look of it , your Commer does look to be one of these, in the photo of the factory line up, (below) rather than the van type? However, I think those in the line up are Q15 models but according to Bart Vanderveen the Commer Q2, was sometimes produced with a closed cab like yours (rather than an intergral cab) and these were made for GS and specialist bodies like the aircraft engine pre-heater. Factory Line up of Commer Q15 vehicles? The Commer with Type E radio body, may be trial fitting of a body that looks similar to those on Bedford MW, with wheel arches bigger than necessary, presuably to cater to all sorts of vehicles and wheelbases. Note the cab roof with its look out / MG position.

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I know that many Dodge Weapons Carriers (with and without winch) were issued to the British & Commonwealth Forces in the Far East and in SW Pacific area and Australia , as my Dad used one in Borneo in 1945, (and the recreation of his Dodge would probably be disbelieved at MV shows today, as it would be painted in US Olive Drab and with Allied star as delivered, with Australian Army additions of the Australian 7th Division, and driven by dad in RAF Uniform (a mix of Jungle Greens and Australian version, with Australian Brown boots, and with a few trusted Japanese POWS in the back!) But were Dodge Weapons Carriers ever used by the British Army or Canadian Army in NW Europe? I think the Canadians made their own version of the Dodge WC at their Chrysler factory as the D3 but I guess that was too late to see action in NW Europe?

Its not a coachbuilt cab, it doesn't have a PTO for it to be a heater truck. It does however have a gun hoop in the cab and gun racks inside and also a lubrication chart plate that we can make out says 'Commer Q2 AM 15cwt Load Carrier'... We are thinking it would have the GS body fitted?

Rootes, Regarding your Commer 15cwt, what type of body do your think it had or has remains of?

But back to your question: The exhaust was rotted off my First MUREX, so had to get creative.

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