David B.

Thanks Degsy, Can't use a truck tow hook at the moment but really would like to get my hands on the trailer hitch as illustrated at the beginning of this thread. David.

Still no luck yet in finding the required hitch but since starting to look for it all sorts of other questions have been raised about different makers, detail differences and so on. Also I have found that there is a marked lack of in-service photos. I am particularly keen to establish when this one piece tow hitch came into use,I believe certain makers introduced it at different times and that it was retrospectively fitted to "earlier" trailers. The reason it was introduced was to enable the 10cwt (and 10cwt Lightweight) Trailers to be towed behind something other than a Jeep and the earlier 15cwts with pin and pintle hitch. The increase in tow eye internal diameter from 2" to 2 13/16" gave the facility to be used with the standard WD draw bar. Any help at all would be gratefully received in this quest. David.

Thanks Robert - it will be the plug and socket which will be more difficult to find than the two-way switch and convoy light. Unfortunately I don't get weekends off as a rule so would be very happy if anyone sees one at sensible money to grab it for me. Same applies to the tow hitch ,perhaps a quick call to 07860 889524 first though.

Thanks Richard, I've had a look at the G503 thread and it does illustrate it well. When I did the Jeep in British markings about thirty odd years ago I should have done the whole conversion to British Spec. properly. I should have fitted a trailer socket/convoy light/two way switch unit at the time when all the bits were all easier to find. Now of course its another job to do occasioned by the purchase of the trailer. I did squirrel some stuff away years ago and luckily I have some spare two way switches, a convoy light I think but I will be looking for the trailer plug and socket. The trailer plug and socket has to be added to the wants list now. Any offers or leads for one of these units would be gratefully received but the list is still headed by the trailer tow hitch which we are looking for,illustrated at the beginning of this thread. David.

Thanks Richard I'll look for this. I didn't realise all jeeps in British service had lighting mods although it would obvously have been essential for the sake of conforming to convoy regs and trailer use. I wonder then if even the US Willys/Bantam trailer in British use would have been modified to fit in. I have not needed to look for the British plug and socket with the two way switch for some time now are they easily available ? Another thing on the list of wants,I suppose is a copy of the regs/diagram regarding the jeep wiring modification. Any ideas in this direction ? David.

Delighted to Hanno, The first picture as I'm sure you will remember is one of your own from 2006. Second and fourth came from Arjan Van Der Hoek,respectively 2006 and 1995 I believe and they all appeared in a very informative thread which was started in 2006 in the excellent MLU Forum. The third picture was my own miserable effort. Thanks for the opportunity to illustrate this post. Regards, David.

A very apposite question Tim and one I can't answer yet. The Mk 11 trailers had a larger tow hitch - 2 3/16" internal diameter eye size as opposed to 2". This was done to allow use with the standard WD towing eye rather than just a pin and pintle as on the earlier 15cwts. I suppose that if you were changing over from say an MW to an OY then it would not present a problem but clearly the jeep socket is different to anything fitted to British vehicles. I can't find any trace of wiring or lights fitted to our trailer and still have to find out the original specification - perhaps someone can help with this information together with a lead to our other requirements.

We have just bought for one of these trailers for restoration to go behind the jeep and I'm hoping that someone has for sale or can give me a lead towards finding the correct tow hitch assembly which we are missing. In the last week I have managed to find out a fair bit of information about these trailers but there does not seem to be a lot out there,especially good pictures of them in service. The trailer we have (the blue one) is reasonably complete but will require all new timber and was made by Orme Evans and Co.-a Wolverhampton firm . Other makers include SS Cars, Reynolds and Reliance and there were probably others.Our original census number was X5422182 and the trailer is a GS MK 11. Some of these trailers were made with a fixed tailboard and fold down headboard for use with the 4.2 mortar but ours is the GS type with fold down head and tailboards. The tow hitch assembly we need seems also to have been fitted to the 10cwt (lightweight) trailer and differs from the earlier ones in that the tow eye,over run brake and lifting arms are all made as an integral unit - there must be one in the long grass somewhere ! As well as the missing tow hitch we need a support leg which could be fabricated and a hub dust cover (Morris 8 ? ) - any vehicle literature and pictures would be gratefully received also. Should anyone be able to help with the right hitch we can pay a decent price for it and any leads or suggestions as to where to look would be gratefully received. Thanks in advance. David Belcher. Trailer like ours 10cwt manufactured by Orme Evans. The tow hitch assembly needed. Our "new" trailer. A Mk 11 Trailer - SS Cars or Reynolds. The same hitch.

Right then Clive - all we need to do is to prove the same for the WD 2 gallon can. I have got one with no "Petroleum Spirit" stamping or any other markings other than the maker and date underneath. I have also seen one with "Water Only" stamped on it. What colour were these originally and were either of them specific to the Vickers Machine Gun or were both of them for general water use ? There is a variation with

PM sent.

Thanks,I have not long found an old thread in which you participated and it certainly does look as if I have bought a Charging Set No5. Until I pick it up I don't know what I need but it looks as if the exhaust pipe and silencer are missing. If you would like to borrow the tool box to copy you are very welcome.

Thanks for the useful info chaps. I know the details are a bit sketchy but until I get it home I'm not much the wiser myself. It could be the larger of the sets mentioned. If it is, the approximate weight will be useful to know when I have to go the 200 or so miles to Cardigan to collect it. I can try and get the model type on the brass plate from the seller in the meantime. Were these wartime or postwar production ? and would anyone be interested in it. I didn't pay a lot for it and it doesn't seem such a good idea now as at the time.

In an unguarded e-bay moment I have found myself the owner of an ex-WD JAP engined generator rather too far from home for comfort. Can anyone give me any information or point me to a source of information please for these items. Are there many different models ? It is quite large, in its own carrying cradle and appears to be powered by a single cylinder engine. Until I get it home that's about all I can tell.

I have just been looking on the excellent site devoted to the Vickers and well worth a look www.vickersmachinegun.org.uk There is a very similar can illustrated in the accessories section and also another variation of the 2 gallon can with "Water" stamped in the top. Are there any more about ?

I was lucky enough to buy two 1944 Briggs Motor Body made water jerricans yesterday and under the flaking black paint on both of them is very clearly the original brown finish. Coincidentally I have recently borrowed the rather esoteric french-written jerrican book and having studied the (black and white) illustrations in it am of the opinion that the overall wartime finish is in a colour which seems lighter than black. I for one when restoring these cans will be opting for a brown finish. On a similar related note, are we also to believe that the WD stamped petroleum spirit 2 gallon cans should also be finished in brown from new or retrospectively painted by the military ? Another further question is:- Was there a 2 gallon can manufactured exclusively for water ? I ask this because I have a 2 gallon can that I have just been looking at which differs from most that I have seen in that it has neither any " Petroleum Spirit " markings or WD stamp but is stamped 3-40 underneath. It carries not the usual makers name (Valor) but " FF & S Ltd. There is also an eye on the neck of the can which seems to be for a cap securing chain and the cap is unmarked. There is very little paint on this can but if I had to guess ,I would say that this can was originally brown but has been overpainted black with a silver top like the silver colour the "flimsies" seem to have been painted. Could this can have been exclusively intended for water ?

On the morning of my test I had to borrow a BSA C12 with a clutch that was either in or out and a fibreglass fairing that gave virtually no steering lock. In torrential rain my examiner sent me up a sidestreet to do a U-turn while he watched,huddled under his umbrella at the end of the road. My only chance of turning round without stalling was to pull into the driveway entrance of a large house and out of the exit. After the test, the examiner remarked " A very neat U-turn showing good machine control " and passed me.

I would like a pennant for 2nd Household Cavalry Regiment- (WW2 period when attached to Guards Armoured Div.) but opinions vary as to the design and colours. Can anyone advise please and is there a work of reference which describes regimental pennants ? Thanks.

Anyone else with a decent WW2 water can to sell please PM me -thanks in advance .

Can anyone please enlighten me regarding the use and display of aerial mounted flag pennants on WW2 British AFVs. I seem to think that in some cases they were to identify the tank in which the CO or 2 IC rode, in other cases they indicated a particular unit. I hope that someone can quote chapter and verse on this and also tell me the design and colours of a pennant worn by 2nd Household Cavalry late 1944 when attached to the Guards Armoured Division.

My interest is in the vehicles and their accoutrements. I am happy to see vehicles displayed with their correct kit and sometimes,if time and space permits in a display which is set in a camp/depot or diorama setting. In this context I don't mind articles of clothing - a BD blouse draped over the back of a campaign chair for example or a steel helmet hanging ready for use in the cab of a truck. I also like to see weaponry displayed on racks and uniforms on mannequins in a museum setting - indoors or out. Comparative collections of jerricans,ammunition boxes etc. either displayed in a "trench" or all together are also interesting to me. That is however where it ends, I would rather people set up their display and then step out of the picture. So few uniformed people would actually look the part in a black and white photo and with the possible exception of a motorycle being ridden in a parade where modern protective clothing positively detracts from the overall picture,I feel a person in the frame adds nothing. I don't feel the need to belong to organised groups and I'm not too keen on the SS/Japanese argument, I do believe that the freedom to do as you want to though is paramount. However if the majority of public opinion does not want to see what is perceived as a sinister,less than wholesome uniformed presence then any bans or restrictions should be enforced and a blind eye not to be turned by event organisers for commercial reasons. If ever, in my (inconspicuous) clothing,I am asked "where is your uniform" my reply is that I am not on display.

Clive - you are dead right about colour interpretation. I've just looked at www.e-colours.co.uk and their BSC381C colours -your picture still looks too blue to me or is it simply down to the usual "variations" Is the Eau de Nil colour actually prescribed as a vehicle interior colour then and the Sky blue as an engine colour ?

Its certainly not Oxford Blue , that's a dark almost Navy Blue. If it's a British Army (recond.) engine and ancillaries colour I think it is called "Eau de Nil" but the picture quality looks a bit too blue. BSC number I think is 316

Don't know about the theoretical side of all this but I can vouch for the fact that the Dingo is not very clever on the (sandy) Normandy beaches, especially on a rising tide when stationary and just left ticking over for ten minutes or so. - Could only pull it out with a Stuart. The almost solid Dunlop RFE tyres offer no "spread" and of course as there is no air to let out the footprint remains that of a sharp blade. In contrast though if you can keep moving the fluid flywheel transmission and smooth "take up" means that they don't bog that easily.

He worked so hard for the MVCG/MVT and vehicle safety and would have had a lot to say about the M20 tragedy. Cheerio Taff.

Thank you very much Shaun. If all the Ferrets in the world were laid end to end..............?