Richard Farrant

Ian, Here are some pages from 1942 regulations on Bridge Classifications. Sorry they may not be sharp as it is a photocopy. The vehicles listed show the number to be displayed on the plate, this is the weight of vehicle plus rated payload, rounded up. On the trailer page, I note that 1/2 ton trailers are not listed, this could be because they are less than a ton in gross weight, and as the regulations say, they cover vehicle / trailers over 1 ton. This would be why motorcycle combinations are not listed I guess. Bridges were classed in stages as 5, 9, 12, 18, 24, 30, 40, 50, 60 and 70. The trailer page shows under Classification, the numbers on the towing vehicle weight plate and those on the trailer weight plate, assuming trailer is towed by the class of lorry listed against it. No Morris C8GS listed, as they are late war production. The QL is listed as 7 for troop carrier and Light AA gun tractor, but the GS Cargo is 9. When I painted my QL about 25 years ago, photo evidence and the fact that the unladen weight is just under 4 ton (plus 3 ton load = 7 ton), I thought 7 to be correct, now I see the GS is 9 :embarrassed: The Austin K5 is shown as 9 as well. Hope this explains it all. regards, Richard Bridge Classification 002.pdf Bridge Classification 001.pdf

Hi Nic, I see those lamps are made by Notek, and are basically the same as the Notek Blue Spot lamps often fitted to cars, etc. If it is the casing that is broken, then you can find these lamps on Ebay at a reasonable price, just swap the glass over. Richard

It looks like an Austin FJ (FV13701) which was a contender for the 4x4 contract that was ultimately won by Bedford with their MK. It dates from the 1960's. My guess is that the chassis has been shortened when converted to a tipper in its later life.

Hi Martin, I would think it might have been a prototype or trials vehicle for a potential army contract as the cab looks like that often called the BMC "Bathgate" type, used on the Boxer and others. It would be interesting to see what engine was under it. The front hub looks to be a 4x4, wheelbase is slightly shorter than a normal 4 tonner military type, so it could have been designed as a tipper version, I would think it would have been badged either BMC, Austin or Morris. Might have a photo in my archives so will have a look. regards, Richard

Thanks Rosie. It just shows that these memorials are by no means forgotten. regards, Richard

Ian, For normal load carrying vehicles, it is not usual to see them with the double numbers on the bridge plate, usually only on gun tractors, recovery vehicles, etc. Reading the War Office Data book for transport vehicles from WW2 period, the maximum trailed weight (total weight of a trailer) for a QL is 6 tons on a normal road, for a C8GS it was 4 tons. If you go through photos taken at the time and you will see lorries had the gross design weight on the plate, rounded off to highest figure. I am still searching for my copy of the Bridge class regulations, but know for sure it shows gross weight for each individual vehicle in service at the time. This was the system post war as well. cheers Richard

Just before you all get too far on this, you may like to know that the Churchill on Hill 112 is looked after by a group in France called the Hill 112 Association, mostly people from the surrounding area I understand. They actually have the repainting task in hand, I am told the paint has been obtained from the UK and has been delivered ready for them to do the job. It would not be very diplomatic to arrive over there and take over what they consider a responsibility and honour to undertake the upkeep of this memorial. regards, Richard

Could be a result of stripping out all the electrical circuitry and safe load switches ... oh and rear legs not deployed. I have a photo somewhere of a Leyland Martian lifting an airdrop frame with a Land Rover on it, suspension locks were not in, the operator only realised when the glass of beer he was holding started to slop over the side! :-D

Hi Locolines, Good advice on renewing vehicle fluids, but a WARNING. The Mk4 Amphibious Ferret has a different braking system and DO NOT USE normal brake fluid. It should be OM13 only in a Mk4 (that is a mineral hydraulic fluid of ISO10 grade). regards, Richard

This information seems to fly in the face of all photographic evidence from the period and somewhere I have a WO pamphlet from about 1942 that lists individual vehicles by make and type with Bridge Classifications showing gross weight, ie. a Bedford QL GS truck at 7.

Nic, Yes I spotted that and have seen it before on a Saracen, not normal for the Army to fit KPH speedos and if you look the temp is in Cent. to. I think Libya comes to mind as an original destination, but might be wrong.

Draining the coolant and removing the two block drain taps completely to see what comes out will give you a good idea. If sediment the colour of Ayers Rock comes out then you know the problem. You might have to poke around in the holes with a bit of stiff wire as there could be a lot of muck built up in the bottom of the water jackets.

Andy, That reminded me of going to a local 40's event about 15 years ago with my QL. I had barely driven on to the site when a bloke came up to the cab and said that the Americans did not have Bedford QL's, so I asked him "Why do you say that?", his reply, "the American star on the side". I then had to explain that all Allied vehicles that landed in Normandy carried the star, he went off in disbelief, later I had another one say the same. The last time I painted it, the stars were not put back on! Another one ........ not the QL or stars ............. about 18 years ago, at Beltring we were sitting back behind our vehicles watching Joe Public going by and a friend had his Halftrack on display. We watched as a young guy walked all around it and took lots of photos, then he turned around and saw us, siddled up and asked who owned the Halftrack. Once he established the owner, he then proceeded to tell him what was not right and what should be where. The owner by now getting fed up with this, asked "Where is your Halftrack then?" ............... his reply "At home in the cabinet" ............ I cannot say the words the owner used

You will probably find the British Army in Normandy next year just prior to D-Day, are out with their paint pots going over these tanks, I recollect in the past at the big anniversary years that Charlie 1 and one several others had the treatment.

While on basics, I suppose you have used an air line and blown back through the fuel pipe from where it enters the pump to make sure there is no muck or debris in the pipe, or even drained the tank to see how clean it is?

I would not wish to deprive you of your lunch Bernard :-D

Thanks John, The markings, well the only one that I might have a clue on is AB R/I ........ It reminded me the at the Workshops we had the R & I section, which was Receipts & Issues, where equipment was booked in and out again. The AB could be Airborne, maybe an Airborne Depot or storage facility, this is an avenue worth checking out. regards, Richard

Nic, I forgot that it had a BA number originally, there were a few FF numbers which date from around 1972 on Saracens. Now I might be wrong, but it might have been that the Saracen was disposed of, possibly to Alvis, who reworked it for another country/customer, then either the deal fell through or the MoD took them back as they were needed for NI, this could explain why it had a change of ARN. Someone else might have a better explanation, so will be interested to hear.

Gee thanks Bernard, don't know what to say, thought I was out of the running this morning when you did not comment on my post about potatoes. Now, what was the prize ? a tray of chips when we meet at W&P I suspect

Well that was a surprise !! Well to finish off, is it to do with making a nitro-starch explosive from the spuds, or even to produce Potato flour .........

Hi Nic, If the MS number had been allocated to the vehicle before it had the FF number then it might have been one destined for export to another country and then bought my the MoD for NI. That would explain it being fitted with reverse flow cooling, usually for those overseas. MS stands for Military Sales.

potatoes ?

Sorry Scott, did not intend it like that, just to put the record straight, not many would know the difference, but somebody would pick it up if I didn't! Best of luck with your Saracen, looks a tidy one. regards, Richard

A stab in the dark, is it to do with Flax ?

Good work John. The legs have a safety chain hook into a hole in the foot, in case the come loose while travelling, I noticed you had not drilled the hole, or do you think this was not done on that one? I am going on a Lightweight No2 we restored about 20 years ago, maybe it was a "local mod". :undecided: