Richard Farrant

Yes, in the past I have done some work on a Champ and Saracen there. There is a member of this forum who used to crew the Chieftain from there, when it was at Beltring.

Thanks Andy These were done when I worked for REME Workshops.

CW, Some used B60 ( 6 cyl ) or the bigger bore B61 and others used B80 or B81 ( 8 cyl ). The Dennis here is a B80. I have driven it many times and it is a real classic machine with a good turn of speed and yes they do tend to flame, just tell people its the afterburner :rofl:

Paul, I know your army structure was based on the British one and I would suggest that "squadrons" were not introduced until after WW2. During wartime period, what is now refered to as a squadron was then a company.

Having been involved in some restorations in the past for the Manston Fire Museum, here are a few that we done for them, not completely finished in these photos though. They are a 1956 Dennis F12 appliance built for the Royal Navy and used at an Ammuntion Depot and the other is the first 1969 Land Rover TACR1 issued to the RAF, its last use was at Lydden Motor Circuit before laying derelict. These photos were all taken over 12 years ago now and the vehicles are well known at shows, both fire and military.

Paul, From the references for the three companies that I have found, there is only one that mentions Meiktila, so see if this fits: quoted from "Wait for the Waggon" Edited by John Sutton "the other transporter unit, 590 Company, served 255 Indian Tank Brigade and probably had the hardest task of them all. In order to effect a surprise crossing of the Irrawaddy at Pakokku, and from there make a dash for Meiktila, 4 Corps,which included this tank brigade, was switched from the left flank of 14th Army to the right and sent down by way of the Kabaw and Gangaw Valleys. The route was difficult: it was 400 miles long of which 110 through the Kabaw Valley were over a fair-weather road, already the L of C of 33 Indian Corps and deep in dust. The difficulties encountered by 590 Company in moving the tank brigade over the last 200 miles, without using too much track mileage, were immense. The whole move took eight weeks to complete because of the arduous nature of the route and the lack of transport. Throughout this period the company worked extemely hard in terrible conditions and carried much praise for their sustained efforts."

Correct Ted ! The guy wearing the helmet was one of the welders from Workshops where we restored the F12........and also Steve's TACR1

:-D:-D:-D Degsy, quite a few PM's having been going back and fore already

Adrian, Another equivalent to C600 is Morris Lubricants AG140, a straight 140 gear oil.

OK Paul. There is a bit more info to relate on each of those units and their time in Burma.

Ted, Not a good photo, but the chap on the left is wearing the blue "RAD" marked helmet, as you can see it is a quite bright blue. Your comments on Radiac survey was something along the lines of what I thought. All I recollect about the helmet was the black sticky headband :shake: You might be intrigued by the red thing, it once served with the RN.......does that give you a clue?

I think the same procedures were used right up until the last time they were used. GG is 12 volt so it was easier to use army control vehicles as a link. The numbers would possibly be call signs, my guess is the GG would have some kind of inter vehicle radio link to the Land Rover :confused:. Ted will no doubt know more on this.

Tanker Tony ???

..............and one less GMC, the way things are going :rofl:

Catweazle, Are you refering to the Land Rover in the black & white shot of GG's at Battersea? They would be army Land Rovers, that one looks like an FFR version by the canopy, I think they were used as communication links and escorts for the GG's

Hi Les, Something odd about that photo..........there are wind up windows in the doors..........and no fuel filters on the bulkhead :confused:

:rofl::rofl::rofl:

Tracing the civilian history of your Bedford, might help. My own Bedford will not show up on Key Cards, because it was never transfered to the post war numbering system. It was passed on to the Danish Army after the war, along with many other vehicles. Other countries recieved vehicles, also. Some makes of vehicles had chassis numbers and WD census numbers in order, so once you find a couple of examples, it is easy to cross reference and obtain your wartime serial / census number. BSA M20 is one type in particular, unfortunately, Bedford numbers are a mess, no order whatsoever. This can be seen by selecting a few pages of Key Cards. There are times when a vehicles wartime history can be found, but as they moved around, this could only be a snapshot of its history. I have seen armoured vehicles, which have never been restored and unit / div signs have been found.

Hi Paul, There were three tank transporter companies in 14th Army, Burma ; 553 Company - engaged on the L of C 589 Company - joined 254 Indian Tank Bde in March 44, when Japs invaded Assam. 590 Company - serving 255 Indian Tank Bde None of the accounts for these units mention anything about the theatrical link. Apparantly drivers were in short supply in that campaign and the Indian Army Service Corps bolstered the numbers. A thought crosses my mind that perhaps members of an ENSA concert party helped out :??? Info from "Wait for the Waggon" ,story of RCT and predecessors 1774 - 1993

:-D I did....after I posted and realised it was only one from Aden :tup::

Aden ?

Ted, While in the RAF, did you ever come across WW2 Tommy type helmets, painted a bright blue with the letters "RAD" in yellow on the front? I came across one of these dumped from a RAF establishment, years ago. All I could think was that it was something to do with Radiation :confused:

Sorry Rick, that had slipped my memory :confused: :tup::

Neil, Corowa is an annual event, so no worries about 2010. If my memory serves me, that years theme is "Year of the British Vehicle". I have attended the event on 4 occasions between 1996 and 2001, going there with a friend in his MV, and it is a very enjoyable week. The website appears to be down at present, hopefully only temporary, but if you want any more info, I know one of the organisers.

Forgot to answer this one CW. I think those slabs cover the steam pipes for heating, there would be a boiler house somewhere nearby. A lot of military sites were laid out like this.