mcspool

That would be Robert Gill's collection - check his website www.militarymuseum.at to see if it's still there.

Thanks Guy! Hanno

Guy, Great pictures! The third one shows a 20-cwt trailer. Do you know where & when it was taken? Regards, Hanno

Interesting to read about the differences! Based on British specifications, the Canadian military authorities supplied designs to manufacturers as a guide for body production. One constructional drawing specifies "floor of 1-1/2" softwood or 1-1/4" hardwood" and vertical panels in 3/4" softwood. I guess the type and sizes of wood available at the time of production were of influence as well. H.

Before you know it the price of a Spitfire in a crate will drop to $50, just like those crated jeeps they sold a while ago! :-D :cool2:

That's a good point, in The Netherlands you need a truck license to drive anything over 3.5 tons maximum authorised mass (or GVW).

Yes, cast hull, uparmoured in the field with a slab of armour plate (not concrete).

Some seriously scruffy vehicles there. Were they awaiting an overhaul?

Actually, it is an M35 Prime Mover. What is different is the makeshift bad weather protection the crew has installed, normally they looked something like this:

Yep, that's one, well spotted!

Hi Ashley, No need to doubt about it, this truck was pictured in Soest, the Netherlands. There even is a Royal connection again, Princess Juliana's Soestdijk palace is located nearby.... H.

Runflat, Meanwhile I found a picture of another Bedford here, pictured in Soest, Holland, ca. 1946(?) The people in the picture were busy collecting funds: note the collection boxes plus speakers on the roof. Reportedly another picture showed a sign "This car can be donated by the municipality of Soest". The third picture I found shows a picture-postcard with the text "OK Vlaardingen also sympathizes with the boys overseas!". The picture-postcard clearly used the first picture I posted, and this was probably used as a master for a series of postcards for different municipalities (hence the name of the municipality on the truck is unreadable in the master). So apparently there was quite an extensive drive to collect funds from the people in Holland to buy vehicles like this to support the troops in Indonesia. Therefore we can be sure they were at least used in Holland to raise funds, but we're not sure yet if the Bedfords were actually shipped out to Indonesia. Hanno

Leopard BARV indeed, it was copied from the Dutch Leopard BARV which was based on the Centurion ARV which was based on the Sherman BARV so development cost should have been very low .... Going round in circles?!?

What I read is "don't use them", so the fiver spent on a conversation piece in your garage is money well spent :-D Before the collective wisdom caught up, in Holland these were labelled as being a Norwegian design and many were chucked out in favour of "orignal American" sets :banghead:

From post #6 and #19 I learned they were handed over to the Dutch Government in December 1944. As to what happened after they left Britain, I only have two clues: The first one, quoted from the other thread on this subject: The other is a picture I found on MiliBlog captioned as "Bedford OXD 30cwt Dutch Canteen": After searching the internet for a while I found out that it is sporting the black livery of the NIWIN or "Nationale Inspanning Welzijnsverzorging Indië" ("National Effort Welfare Care Indionesia"). NIWIN was an alliance of private welfare organizations for the benefit of the Dutch soldiers in Indonesia (formerly the Netherlands East Indies). NIWIN raised money and arranged for magazines, sports equipment, books and films for the troops, cigarettes, chocolate etc. and organized programs for development and relaxation. They arranged for Christmas hampers and from June 1949 also the so-called jungle chests, with sports and game items for the soldiers at the outposts. Even though it says "geschonken door de gemeente ... ", which means "donated by the municipality ... " (somehow the name of the municipality is unreadable), I think there is a more direct link with Princess Juliana who is pictured in the hand over in post #19. As it happens, her husband Prince Bernhard was the chairman of the Committee NIWIN. Not sure yet how many of these Queen's Messengers Bedfords ended up in the hands of NIWIN and if any of them were shipped out to Indonesia. Hope this is of interest, regards, Hanno

Excellent pics, many of which I had not seen before! :thumbsup:

Interesting to see they used a Canadian Fox Armoured Car!

What ho! You've shrunk? Not unlikely after years of carrying heavy Sherman parts! Or have you lost a few inches after going bald like I did?

I understand there are two basic types, the blue and the green/yellowish coolant. Which type is best for old vehicles and can they be mixed?

I know the hood side panels are different, but surely the cab and front sheet metal is the same?

A yes, nudge, nudge, wink, wink, know what you mean!

Bill, you can now, I always first check who's registered before granting access. Latest one was a Mr Viagra from Nepal! Guess where his registration is going? Right, into the scammers bin. Hanno

Yeah, whenever MacGyver or the A-team had some spare time on their hands

2x2 Dutch Army Fenneks being trucked someplace Picture taken on A2 highway today

Amazing.... a Dingo under a tarp in a garden.... :nut: Great find, good luck with it and enjoy!