Rootes75

That's a very nice bike, in such original condition.

From my previous research the Militia at the top is a reference to them being in the service before the war, I have been advised that in this case it was with the ATC. I have found the AIR 78 record at the National Archives.

This is a copy of the card:

I am researching my Fathers Uncle, he served in the RAF during the second World War. I have a photo of him in his RAF uniform, I have a copy of his index card on AIR78. The one thing I am stumped on is an abbreviation on the bottom of his card, it is 'PSH'? I have had a Google and found some very useful sites that contain listed abbreviations but none show 'PSH', does anyone have any ideas?

Very smart work.

Sounds worth a visit.

Does that mean they didn't quite meet their reserves?

We rent a single industrial unit on a converted farm, access and security are great but its not big enough. There are plenty of farms that now do caravan storage round here but they dont allow you to use them as workshops. There are issues with going in with others too, even friends fall out.

My interest as some may already know is in vehicles of the Rootes Group, mainly that of Hillman and Commer. I have been lucky enough over the years to own some lovely Hillmans and Commers but I am always interested to find out more about some of the more obscure and rare models. I own a lovely original 1937 Hillman 80 Limousine, the type used by Whitehall during the war years and know that there are military versions of the 1936-7 Hillman Hawk and 80. I am thinking about putting together some sort of record of surviving military Hillmans and Commers, there aren't many, but logging them and getting owners in touch may be beneficial? From my research up to this point, here are a couple of variants, the first was used by the TransJordan Frontier Force and is very different from the usual Hillman 80 limousine. The next is a Hillman Hawk, it is the shorter wheelbase model, it was supplied to the armed forces as both a tourer and a saloon. There are a couple of surviving military Hillman Hawk Saloon's. Lastly, there are utility versions of the car. Very much the same as Humber produced Utilities based upon their larger models. I have seen a few variations of the styling of this heavier utility and I have noted that some do badge it as a Commer.

Welcome to the forum Fred, sounds like the project is in good hands.

What a superb car, deep pockets indeed required though.

It doesn't look too bad compared to what you have had to do on other panels!!

Anything worth saving on it?

This is all sounding good Andrew, well done saving it.

Refitted the starter this morning, my word she now sounds smooth on start up. Well pleased with the result and although its been a lot of work its well worth it when you hear the difference.

Thats my problem Wally, I cannot say for certain which service my Commer went to. All 3 services had them.

Good luck with that. We are in the position where we need bigger storage, its just so hard to find these days.

Agreed Tony, its a great find. I look at finds like this with interest, its so important to save projects like this as its so rare.

Wally, what information is needed from the owner of a vehicle in order to search for a key card? I just have a year of manufacture and the chassis number?

What a lovely pair of vehicles, hope they find good homes and dont just get snapped up by dealers.

A very interesting vehicle Alan, so nice to see another survivor.

All done Richard, thanks for the advice. It was simply that it had been in there so long and didn't help that the pin looks to have taken quite a beating in the past. Its ready to fit now but I have to wait till next weekend to get back down the yard.

Thank you Richard, scrolling down it explains the type and now I know from page 21 that mine is an 'RE' Drive type.

So, the gearbox is back in an topped up with fresh SAE140 and everything is re-connected. Its strange how long jobs like fitting all the split pins back in the drivetrain actually take! Next issue, we need to replace the drive pinion on the starter motor but we have not stripped a starter with this drive sleeve type before. We are having issues trying to remove the locking pin, shown below to the left of the sleeve.

Best of luck this year. Any progress is better than no progress. I think its good setting some targets, gives you something to work towards.