ted angus

Fantastic thanks for sharing

TED

So is this one !!

Gentlemen,

One of the many things that has intrigued me concerning the Queen Mary trailers is the coupling. It is unique to them, I believe, and was designed and built by Taskers. It is different to the Scammell and not a modern 'fifth wheel' so presumably both the tractors and the trailers could not be used with any 'non Tasker' equipment.

Does anybody have any drawings or pictures of the Tasker coupling?

Most of the Queen Mary images show the trailer coupling as a sort of 'inverted pie dish' but I have also seen one with a definite steel pin projecting vertically downward from the centre of this 'dish'. I have never seen an image of the tractor coupling installation.

Can anybody help? And did the post war Queen Mary trailers persist with this coupling or did they change to a less exclusive system?

John

During WW2; the lack of standardisation was a bit of a problem, the RAF had a lot of various trailers by Taskers, they were in the majority.

trailers with Scammel couplings in the RAF were a minority.

TED

some more

 

Mark

Mark any idea where the shot of 65 KC 79 was taken please

TED

Richard I am positive I have seen this photo elswhere with a caption saying words to the effect production continued even after VE day ???

TED

They may mmean the pump engine in the back but there is a lot in that write up that doesn't gel ! tanker served with 617sqn

Strange how every bit of kit that went through Scamptons gates was for 617 ?/ MT of that type was a Station assett !

TED

They have a curtian sider now with some pretty nice art work and a MAN bowser carrying their gallon of Esso Blue !!

TED

Ted, going from the size of the roundels on the vehicles do you think they might be 'left overs' from 2TAF? As huge roundels were a trademark of theirs and they probably had not reached a re-paint stage yet. Or was there a post war AMO that specified these large items for certain situations? (Before the pedants dive in, this is asking not stating).

The TAF vehicles were required to have the "as large as possible" air recognition symbols in the form of a roundal. I was sent an interesting document recently which was from a joint service committee file circa 1948 on devicing a future air recognition marking. It stated the clearly that the star was the Army's chosen marking for D Day whereas the large roundal was the RAF's choice.

So yes I would say many roundals would have remained until a repaint was undertaken

TED

For an Ambulance to be registered as an ambulance it has to satisfy the rule that the word "Ambulance" is clearly visible on both sides of the vehicle, so that it is readily identifiable as an ambulance. I have not yet seen an ex Military Ambulance, that has this wording, (and I guess many owners would not want to make its livery un-original, by adding this wording), so how does your ambulance manage to be registered as an ambulance, or am I wrong and you do have the word Ambulance lettered on both sides of the vehicle??

 

Most Military ambulances seem to be identified by use of the "Red Cross" symbol, alone, and this is not enough for a vehicle to be viewed as an ambulance....

Mike you are spot on I had to produce the blue lettering to put on our Pinzgauer airfield ambulances. -- sorry Trauma units !! We then produced lettering for the Wolfs with our local TA unit and for 612 RAux AF.

I attended a briefing on joint service matters at HQ 2nd Div as it is now , at least one of the Army MTOs attending had the attitude if people can't see it an ambulance then tough it was pointed out that without the word on there, driving on the public road with a blue light FITTED put the driver in an illegal situation.

The Geneva Red Cross should only be displayed in operational areas, it is a marking covered in law by the Geneva convention; It certainly should never be displayed in the UK. It is illegal for preserved vehicles to display the red cross but thankfully that seems to be ignored. Turning to blue lights in the past few years lots of changes to the legistation; Briefly only Bona Fida emergency vehicles as listed in the Lighting regulations can have blue lights fitted note the word fitted it used to say "use blue lights" now they should not even be fitted unless bona fida. covering them does not satisfy the law although most traffic officers apply common sense.

Flying P -- I can tell you that drivers working for private fire protection companies etc have to have the EFAD qualification (Emergency Fire Appliance Driver) No EFAD then no driving with the blues. Some organisations cover the blues up if it is being moved by a member of the workshops staff. I have a couple of RAF friends who are First Responders before they can crew the First Response vehicle supplied by Scottish Ambulance Service they do an Advanced driving ticket with Fife Police. You need to check your firms insurance policy very carefully I bet somewhere it will require any blue light work to be done by suitably qualified drivers. Good Luck

TED

The Typhoid squad !

I can remember in the 80,s seeing FX4 could have been Headley Court....?

 

Blimey im getting old:(

I was ic the Rehab workshop at Chessington dec 84 to july 85 then we amalgamated with Headley and all moved over there july 85; we had a taxi at both.

TED

Les my Dad drove one of those Whites 279 Fld Co RE 15th Scottish Div.

I have a photo somewhere but it only shows part of the truck.

TED

Not only seen them but rode in one or 2, turning the clock back to the days when the RAF /UK military had its own hospitals, there would be a daily run or twice daily run from stations to the hospitals for outpatients appiontments and for conveying wives visiting husbands who were in patients. Several units them for the "several times daily " run to the local railway station and for shuttle runs around airfields. They were ideal for these purposes and far more comnfortable than a rattly old Transit or J4 minibus !!

TED

Richard that reg is in the middle of a batch of Ford Zephrys ! So you can guess what my money will be getting put on ???

TED

Richard I recall that piccy from an edition of the "Flamingo" which was the station magazine; I am sure it was a charity stunt; Its on the RAF Akrotiri website photo taken By Sgt Chris Pettmen who was the SNCO ic photo section the driver was a Don Madge. taken 69/70. I will dig further I may have the mag in the loft

TED

Its the big A RAF Akrotiri

TED

I too know little about trains other the Kings Cross line runs within a mile of the hooose ( Leuchars Junction FIFE ) Hooose is Lutonian for a dwelling in Scotland !

BUT all these piccies presented by you Alan are just pure nostalgia

PLEASE keep them coming

TED

didn't the Red Arrows have specials allolcated to the pilots in the past?

They used to get Rover cars when they were sponsors.

Here's the piccy I should have attached

I spent a year down on Ascension Island, everything was either sun bleached, semi sand blasted or corroded with the humid sea air.

 

I remember the Fire section had a vehicle which didnt last long, but it wasnt the climate.

They were driving from the airfield up to the camp on the longest stretch of straight road on the island, at slightly faster than the 30 Mph island limit in the Range Rover TACR......and a feral donkey stepped out in front of it, which re-arranged the front end and left a vague donkey shaped impression in what was left of the front end.

 

The donkeys were descendants from Napoleonic times, Royal Marines were stationed on the Island, with a Royal Navy ship and crew, Ascension is North of the next island in line, St Helena, which is where Napoleon Bonaparte was prisoned by the British, the detachment on Ascension were an early warning and strike force to prevent the French from springing old Boney, which never happened. The donkeys were introduced as transport by the Royal Marines, and therefore were early Military Vehicles, and pure wild bred from the original articles.

Not that we were misty eyed about the bas***ds! they used to raid the camp at night, stealing everything and chewing it up, or go and trash the bins all over the floors, a bit like marines after a few sherbets infact!

 

In the end they decided to have a cull and reduce numbers and brought in a sniper from the Falklands, so we took great delight to point out the best donkey hang outs.

 

A really interesting place, and i would love to go back!

It wasn't this one was it or was this one being driven by a donkey !!??

No doubt some fiddling senior officer the CO at Akrotiri in 1970 was an Air Commodore Stacey who had a L:andie with all the galv. parts stripped and chromed and painted in the yuck cam scheme being carried at the time on some of the V force.

TED

That was Rifleman Craig Wood, hIs picture is on the front of our local paper today, a triple amputee .

My Grandfather lies out there somewhere, known only to god !

TED

Great shots Les, I would guess Germany they typify the vehicle shed at German Barracks, Camps etc. Even on the new airfield post WW2 at Bruggen Laarbruch etc the design was followed.

TED

Both my Grandfathers served in WW1, Grandad Angus was killed on the eve of the battle of the Somme he was 22nd, R. N'umberland Fus. Grandad Bruce survived the war.

Grandad Angus died when my Dad was still a baby, Grandma then brought up 3 children alone; She was a wonderful lady.

Having moved south for work, My Mum & Dad were living in London when the Blitz started and moved to Luton, Dad worked at Commers (remained there all his remaining working life). My Dad when called up was 279 Fld Co RE 15th Scottish Div and took part in the fighting accross europe to the Elbe including witnessing the horrors of at least one concentration camp. After the war He & my Mum spent hours every week undertaking welfare work for The British Legion now of course the Royal British Legion. I did my stint of 39 years, but the only bullets I saw were in the run up to the Cyprus civil war when my wife ( who also served) and I were pinned down several times in gun battles in Limassol. My oldest son has served 21 yrs and saw service in N.I, then on the black Chinooks in GW 1 and with the Tornados in GW2. Youngest son served 16 years and saw service in GW1 then in GW 2 at Al Amarah and Basra.

Both their wives have served at Basra.

Tomorrow I will be thinking of the Lads and Lasses in Afgan ; Many of whom are just teenage boys and girls who have the hearts of Lions .

I will also be thinking of all the women and kids without a father /husband partener etc as a result of recent conflict and hoping they get better treatment than my Grandma Angus.

TED

ps I wonder what Mr Blair and his family will be thinking of may be the next ride on the gravy train sorry to be political but that's how I feel.

Gotcha yes there is a meaning to the number but not the letter.

I joined in 64 as a craft apprentice; we continued the old Boy Entrants numbers which were 19*****. Halton were attested 48 hours before us at Locking the first number issued to the Entry there was 1960000 when the letters were issued some time later 1960000 would have got A 1960001 would have got B etc etc. Some letters were not used. I was the alphabetically the first in the block of numbers allocated to Locking when the numbers were introduced I was A . Looking at your number and your mate's he should have been P as O was not used.

I will ask my daughter in law if she knows she was at PMA for several years.

At the time the letter was added we were told it was to make our service numbers compatible with a computor system being introduced at Records later known as PMA

TED