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Looking at the parts list the front "gear carrier assembly with differential case and gears" & all components therein are identical to the rear. So could this front diff have originally been a rear diff that had been painted white & after refurbishment just happens to have been fitted to the front? Because I can find no reference to the requirement to paint the front diff white in a host of period documents such as WD Road Transport Regulations 1963, Notes on MT Transport 1954, Equipment Regulations 1959, Movement by Road 1941, Road Movement 1956 etc which lay down the marking & painting requirements that include the painting of the rear diff.

Ah Wally a Foaming Pig that is a rarity indeed. It is thought that there were only two, because checking the BK ledger at Chilwell there are on two entries. But there was a third one 27 BT 90 an ex-RUC Pig formerly 2991 OI. I wonder which one that is?

Wally I never realised the collection was so extensive for just one vehicle type. I have his sales leaflets for Pigs & Shorlands, any pics of those? I wonder how many Shorlands he had? The most I ever saw was at Clive Evans Ordnance at Sturminster Marshall.

Here you go:

Army Code No.61666 Illustrated Parts Catalogue. Remote Handling Equipment, Tracked, EOD Mk 7 (Wheelbarrow). Jul.1977 I have a copy somewhere I'll try & dig it out & look it up for you.

The buff one is original, about 25 years ago the Tank Museum had loads of these & was selling them I think for £2. The blue one is a copy. I had occasion to sell off documents from an estate for what I thought they were worth & what I would have to pay to buy them from the MOD as at the time I was a registered customer with my own UIN. The prices were lower than those being asked for the reprints.

It is easy to forget that most documents in a collection are not gifted but traded, swapped or purchased at the going rate or sometimes beyond that rate. Consider a recent ebay sale of a Catalogue of War Office Publications 1947 that started at £24 then sold for £360. I was not the purchaser, but once it is handed over for free circulation then the document becomes largely worthless.

Covered in EMER POWER S 532 & on

Just got back today through all the mist & drizzle, glad that did not descend on the show when for the most part the weather was ok. As always I enjoyed the show & many thanks to the relatively small band of people who make a great effort to put on this show for us every year.

I have not got anything in that series you mention. Although I have many FSPBs & FSRs for GB & India that cover HT & MT, rail & sea but nothing specific to motorcycles. I have Training of Motor Cyclists 1952 but nothing there. I have a 200 page book Instructions for Movement Control (Overseas in War) 1938 but no mention in there either I'm afraid..

Alec hmm "Boat-Tail" I think you are teasing me now! The internet is awash with this little copy & paste nonsense of "known in Land Rover Circles as the boat tail Shorland" where site after site just pinch content & it gets repeated that people believe it to be true. But I suppose it is true if Land Rover circles know it as that : ( I have spoken to members of Shorland crews both RUC & UDR, people who made them & even the Shorland Sales Director, but none of them have heard of the expression & thought it rather odd that I asked as it doesn't resemble a boat tail at all. I suppose I have this internet nonsense to thank for the endless questions asking if it floats. I must lie down & take some smelling salts.

Alec, there were two batches of RUC Shorlands which were all Mk 1. 10 issued 1966-67 5 issued late 1969 The Dunsfold one came from the second batch & was issued on 4/10/69 so it only saw RUC service for a couple of months before they were all withdrawn & put into storage with the Pigs & Commers. Although mine was serial No.9 it was the 5th one to be issued to the RUC. The first 4 Shorlands were sold to Bahrain then the next 10 to the RUC. Not sure why they think Harland & Wolf were one of the two manufacturers, the Shorlands were made by Short Bros & Harland.

Yes it is sometimes best to keep quiet. I remember an old boy telling his grandson (I assume) that my Shorland was a Bren gun carrier like he drove in the war.

Thanks both. It was a bit wrench saying goodbye from having nurtured it from a non-runner after 34 years. There are no dedicated MV shows in Wales, driving it to England required a long drive mainly on the motorways where it can be frightening with restricted vision and limited speed. Many drivers seem unable to appreciate this and bully-boy HGV drivers driving frighteningly close to force me to somehow increase my speed made driving it unpleasant rather than a nice day out. Few Shorlands turn up for sale these days and sadly some that got exported have been severely blinged & turned into fantasy vehicles. It is true that you can do what you like with your own vehicle, but I felt a moral duty to preserve mine not just for the work I put into it but it is a historical artefact especially as it was the only survivor of the original ten issued to the RUC. Although I believe I could sell to the highest bidder as it were & even selling to a trusted buyer there is no guarantee they will not sell it on once the novelty has worn off. A museum seemed the best hope to preserve it, particularly Ulster Transport Museum where it would represent both social history but an example of a local product. The staff of UTM were most keen to acquire it & did their best to speed up the process but due to the administrative hoops to jump through it took about 10 months before the sale was complete & just in time one day before Wales went into a COVID lockdown. I enjoyed displaying it & met many interesting people although I will not miss the people who think it was home-made or the Army veterans who dismiss out of hand as they served for decades & never saw one so it must be a fantasy vehicle without reading my information board which headlined with a few simple FAQs. Is it real? - Yes Is it home-made? - No Does it float? - No If you have any other questions I would be happy to talk to you. There was a major misconception often fuelled by Land Rover magazines & on-line experts that it was a "riot control" vehicle. It was green because it was intended for rural use particularly in the border areas.

I sold it over 3 years ago so it was a relief to see that it is still running in this recent video. https://www.ulstertransportmuseum.org/collections/shorland