Saint Johnstoun

Here is an updated list. As you can see there are gaps.Leyland Beaver 12B list.doc

If you look on the Science Museum site you will find photos of the preserved Leyland Beaver X ray van which appeared recently in Call the Midwife on BBC Television. There were 62 of these Leyland Beavers recorded of which most have been identified as X ray vans. They towed trailers with Lister Generators installed inside - the generators were not new but ex Searchlight units which had been mounted on the back of Leyland Hippo Lorries. I will post a more complete list in due course - the current one only shows 30. Leyland Beaver X Ray vans.doc

It is known that Walter Alexander of bus company fame purchased quantities of ex MOD Leyland engines at displenishment sales. These were the paired E170/1 units as fitted to tanks and the E175 as fitted to the Hippo. Does anybody have any further information on these and at which sales would they have been purchased? Alexanders modified the E175s into E181s by fitting a larger dynamo and split up the tank units, using only the handed one with injection pump on the left side in buses and breaking the other units for spares.

As I probably wrote the books with information on Fordson Tractors used by the forces where the information on this thread comes from I can add any more information that subscribers might like to ask for. The majority were industrial versions with LU wheels, but there were also some Land Utilities - all were equipped for running on straight petrol. Also they all had a handbrake fitted with drums in the rear wheels. I owned a 1942 example for many years. It was straight petrol - straight throttle and would cruise at 25 and had a top speed of 45+. It returned around 16mpg running around light. Allan T Condie I knew the tractor now at Hendon. It belonged to a friend of mine and I have driven it. Like many of these it was sold off at Ruddington for farm use, and converted to TVO. It was restored in peacetime colours - green, but the RAF ones were blue grey, the army khaki, and the RN ones dark blue.

All other bodies from Alexander carried an identification plate, usually about 8" long which simply said, Walter Alexander & Co (Coachbuilders) Ltd. Falkirk. I wonder if any of these Army bodies have anything like that on them somewhere?

Am I right in thinking that these were rebodies of earlier Austin 1 tonners and it would be helpful if anybody could describe what use these vehicles would be put to in event of hostilities?

Cannot immediately see the registration number from the photo in the Alexander Contract Book. Were other bodybuilders involved with these?

The contract number is Alexander's one. I can also email the pages to you given an email address as I have them imposed as a word file.

The chassis numbers are in a series 2XXXXX Examples are 239673, 206494, 203719, 204417 Registration Numbers - examples 47BG02, 91BN68, 70BG98. I can supply a photocopy of the complete list if required.

The contract numbers were 2463/1 to 2463/390 and the chassis type was recorded as Wireless Light MkII, the body type as Wireless Van, Box Back Type. They were delivered between 29th June 1964 and 10th June 1965.

I have the records for Alexander Coachbuilders at Falkirk and in 1963 they bodied a number of wireless vans for the MOD. Unlike most of the other output from this outfit, there are no photos - can anybody give me an idea of what these vehicles were and an illustration. They are described as Wireless Mk 2.