Mark Ellis

I wonder if anyone knows any background to these containers, please. The current owner was told that they were used for taking food down to miners. There's no crowfoot on them. George Fowler invented the Fowler Field cooker whilst in the RAMC, He and his wife set up the Fowler bottling method to preserve food, and patented a number of different bottle sealing methods. The Company became George Fowler and Lee after discharge on 30 years service in the army, in 1903. The company incorporated into a Ltd in 1908. George died in 1923, and his wife continued, followed by her daughter and son in law - who had taken the Fowler name when he married. Dimensions a follows:- Height 200mm, External dia. 180mm, Internal dia. 140mm, Thickness of walls, lid and base 20mm. Total weight 2.7kg George and Elizabeth's patents 1885 14940 Not printed George Fowler C Portable stove Patent with George Harris Haywood 1890 7082 Have George Fowler C Improved Portable Cooking Apparatus, applicable for Carrying Food or Rations. 1895 8682 Have George Fowler Improvements in the Construction of the Joints of Steam pipe and Connections of Culinary Utensils and other similar Vessels. 1895 9003 Not printed George Fowler C Cooking apparatus 1896 87 Have George Fowler C Improved portable cooking apparatus 1898 660 Have George Fowler C Improvements in Steam Cooking, Sterilizing, and Condensing Appliances 1895 23819 Not printed Elizabeth Lee B Preserving vegetables, fruits, &c. 1898 “How to Bottle Fruit, Vegetables, Poultry, Milk, Meat, etc” By Elizabeth Lee. E Lee and Co. Maidstone: Young & Cooper, [1899] 1900 13832 Have George Fowler C Improvements in portable cooking apparatus 1908 17032 Have George Fowler B Improvements in the Means for Covering Bottles, Jars, Tins, and other similar Vessels also for Closing Ends of Pipes 1909 25628 Have George Fowler B Improvements in the Means for Covering Bottles, Jars, Tins and other similar Vessels also for Closing Ends of Pipes 1911 22972 Have George Fowler B Improvements in the Means for Covering Bottles, Jars, Tins and other similar Vessels, also for Closing Ends of Pipes 1911 25671 Have George Fowler B Improvements in Sterilizing, Disinfecting and Cooking Apparatus 1913 5846 Have George Fowler C Portable Cooking Stove Fitted with Oven and Boiler 1918 125314 Have George Fowler B Improvements in Means for Securing Caps, Lids, and Covers on Jugs, Bottles, Jars, Cans, and the like. 1923 George died 1926 258159 Have Elizabeth Fowler B Improvements in and relating to soil sterilizers. 1928 299653 Have Elizabeth Fowler B Improvements in sterilising, disinfecting, cooking and similar apparatus

Just wondered if anyone has anything, including clear photos on :- Bluff apparatus Feetham's Stove comprises an oven and hot-plate Dean's Boilers Dean's (or Galton's) Iron Ovens I think this is a Deane's iron oven. The Brick Oven 1903 Treble Boilers. These boilers have been constructed with a view to their adoption in small forts, where, in addition to the cooking, hot water is always required. Benham's Apparatus 1. A ventilated Brick Roasting Oven. 2. A Steam and Hot Water Boiler. 3. Tin Boilers for meat, soup, &c. 4. A Hot Plate. 5. An Iron Chamber for steaming potatoes. 6. A Furnace to heat the whole. 1910 Dean’s Combined Cooking Apparatus. Richmond Cooking Apparatus. Is comprised of two distinct parts. (A) consisting of oven and steam chambers, hot plate and boiler for generating steam, also providing water for tea or coffee. (B) portion consists of soup or vegetable boiler and stock pot. There are two sizes in use. The small apparatus will cook for 50 men. The larger cooker will cook for 150 men. 1933 Hot-Air Ovens Many thanks

The Donkey Walloper and Trog Guide to Driving and Maintenance for Mechanical Vehicles (Wheeled) - 1937 Bearing in mind that back in 1937, a vast part of the British army was still horse drawn, I've scanned in this wonderful book. It contains everything from the correct way to use an adjustable spanner, to preventing accidents whilst driving. I worked with a chap years ago, who served in ww2. He was in the Lancers, and said that they spent more time training to ride horses than using tanks and tank tactics, as the senior officers thought tanks were just a fad. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1wd0yRvwgLiGwCUSW0Y74Z8VKhsS3Etaw/view?usp=sharing

Don't know if this is of interest to anyone, that I scanned in the other day. Ford Special Pattern Vehicles for the British War Department - 3rd edition 33mb, or view online https://drive.google.com/file/d/184u161dRmVtTwPc9i3MNjY6GIripHYj_/view?usp=sharing Ford Special Pattern Vehicles 3rd Ed O W.pdf

@ruxy The MJs started coming 1982/83 to RE field squadrons, and were fitted with the bigger sidelight lenses. All screw thread lamp glasses were glass in those days We also got the larger MJ wing mirrors for all the Mks and Stalwarts when we realised that they existed.

@LarryH57 intrigued as to why you think vehicles went to workshops to be painted, rather than by the driver in the MT shed? Around 1982 2/78 (2 ADER) on the right wing, Union flag on the left wing. No Bridge weight. Still has the 12th (Nova Scotia) Field Sqn logo in use. 1983 - 1 BR. Corps demanded that the white 12 sqn decal be removed from all vehicles. 1984 - 2/78 gone from front of wing, and replaced by HQ Tp diamond. Troop sign now colour coded instead of red to stand out. Bedford MJ behind has the colour coded bridge weight, and unit tac number gone from above Bridge weight.

Hi, I'm looking into the more modern catering equipment used by the British armed forces. I'm now looking at the American field ovens of WW2, which started coming into service during the Falklands. I've submitted an FOI, but wonder what knowledge and facts people have on the different sized M57, M69, etc, Field stoves. Apparently, they run on petrol and LPG Many thanks

I pinched these images off an Australian group on Facebook. Whilst they seem to have been used by the Australians, they also appear in a 1934 film called the Cookhouse door - which Pathé have on youtube. They're similar but smaller than the Triplex No. 4. The hob range is only short, is to the left of the oven, compared to the Triplex being on the right. Except for the hob plates, the whole thing appears to be made from sheet steel - compared to the Triplex having a lot of cast parts in it. Any suggestions on the make and model would be appreciated. This is from Aldershot in 1934

I've measured a Ludgate 1952 "Soy" Soyer style stove, which is at the Nothe Fort. PDF with measurements at https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dnqDoIefxoQuLphM2IvUfwRJiK8kqoJ4/view?usp=sharing The main difference between Soyer and Ludgate, is that the Ludgates have twin, parallel doors at the bottom of the stove - that are of cast iron rather than steel sheet. Think I've sourced a 1985 Soyer, so will measure that in due course if it is a Soyer.

I heard a story the other day, of an ex military vehicle sales place that bought a job lot. Amongst it was a container full of manuals and EMERs for Obsoleted vehicles. The owner burnt the lot, as "there's no money in it" 🤒

Because Alvis were part of British Leyland when the crane version was launched in 68, and Alvis were busy with the CVR(T), I think there were 3 Stalwart brochure versions - by Alvis. Even the one with the Mark 2 Stalwart in it still used numerous images and drawings of PV1, PV2, and mark 1s. The FV600 brochure PDF that I have from Sweden is in English, but have or have seen versions in French and German. They all show PV2 with her HIAB as the crane version. I'd love to hear if there were more.

Many thanks, @wally dugan Wally. At least we have a confirmed date for the Salamander with wheel arches now

Back in the days when you were allowed to climb on the tanks, and in some of them

Lovely bit of history, all helps to explain the process from end to end of a vehicle's career in the military

Looking for Air Publications, please AP4574A - User handbook AP4574A Vol 3, part 1 and 4 AP4574A Vol 1 and Vol 6 AP4576B Vol 3 part 1 AP4576B AP4576D Vol 1 and Vol 6 AP4576G Vol 1 and Vol 6. Thanks