Tomo.T

Glad you could join us. Well done on the restoration and epic road trip. What's next ? Tomo

I think it will be necessary to make a new UJ. The old one was badly pitted and no longer fit for purpose as it turned out.

We had one bad day when the temp. dropped from 30 to 15 degrees and it rained pretty much all day with a cold breeze. The run up to Menin Gate was the worst as we were driving into it, and it finally got through my service dress tunic. Otherwise fine and sunny with two good channel crossings. Tomo

Much as you would expect really! As they say in Yorkshire 'Steady Away'. Tomo.

Next day was bright and sunny for the delivery of the bells to St, Georges. The Dennis was still going, but the Thornycroft had suffered a broken universal joint and needed some assistance.

Visiting Menin Gate, The rain had set in for the day unfortunately.

Next our arrival in Ypres and tour of local Military Cemeteries :

Bells to Ypres. Mission accomplished. Photos to follow. First the bells on display at GDSF;

Ok, that seems fairly comprehensive. Anyone else for a nice green radiator then ? :undecided:

Oh ! Well spotted. That would explain the strange wheels then. The book is quite heavy going with a lot of intrusive and repetitive corrections, however, there are occasional nuggets buried within. Good luck. As far as polishing radiators goes, I am sure the intention was to improve heat dissipation, but we may need a scientist to explain why !

Steve, please see previous reply, also photo of new lorries, post #2533. The information about overheating came from a book about the experiences of a wartime Thornycroft driver. I will plough through it again and try to find the relevant bit. Frank's War in a Thornycroft (I think) If not there, it is from one of the War Diaries ? Tomo

Ok, Tim, I take your point, but both sides of the straps are visible in the picture, The leather parts are dark both sides and what I am suggesting is the webbing section, is much lighter front and back. The ends have been tucked behind the cross straps and the way the straps are hanging seems to me to be unlike leather. Also, a faint weave effect is just visible on some of the webbing parts. The enlarged picture is still very clear and I wonder if it was originally from a glass plate negative? Would it be possible to view the strap ends on the front vehicle in high resolution? They are just out of shot in your picture.

E & N Ritchie are supplying the transport to Belgium.

No, but they are in N. Yorks and both attend the Beamish rally.

I am pleased that you like the composite strap theory. I happened to have a couple of WD leather straps, with buckles, from the 2nd WW that were looking for a job. Also found some suitable 1 1/2" webbing on eBay and a Saddler. I am picking up the result tomorrow. Should be a great improvement on John's current nylon cargo straps. Might get them set further apart too! I must agree with you, the only Drivers Instruction plates I have seen have been black on white, but white on service green would be more suitable for Military use perhaps. Although camouflage was not hugely important as motor transport did not venture that close to the front line as a rule. A good example was the painting of radiator surrounds in service colour, which drivers found caused overheating and it became common practice to remove the paint and polish the ally instead. Later Thornies were turned out with polished radiators from the factory. Tomo

Thankyou for your interest John. :-)

Also, just visible in this pic is the Drivers Instruction Plate on the end of the fuel tank. It is printed in white on a dark background contrary to expectations, perhaps showing up less than a white plate? The seat is unfortunately not visible and the jury is still out on whether that steering wheel is black or not !

Hi Steve, Close inspection of the Pic enlarged from Tim's excellent book, of the lady painters at Thornycrofts will reveal what I mean. There are pointed ends to the straps, (not seen on Webbing) and a clear dividing line between the darker leather ends and the lighter webbing straps.

Just a reminder that both Thornycroft 2282 and John Arthur's Dennis subsidy will be on display with the new peal of bells for St Georges Ypres, at the Great Dorset Steam Fair. South Down, Tarrant Hinton, Blandford Forum, Dorset, between Thurs. 24th and Mon 28th Aug. 2017. They will be found in the WW1 area together with many other 1st war vehicles, horses and a manned trench system. Immediately following the steam fair both Thornycroft and Dennis will be transported to Belgium to deliver the bells to their new home. More info here; http://www.stgeorgesmemorialchurchypres.com/latest-updates/latest-news-on-the-bells-for-st-george/

Hi Tim, I was very interested to see the pics of the Leyland model. A couple of things stood out in particular on this early J type, firstly the leather seat cushions, which was a surprise and also, all the driver's controls being finished in black. I am assuming that this is an accurate representation, having been built by Thornycrofts themselves ? Although the shape of the radiator top looks a bit odd to me ? Whilst on the subject of leather I have convinced myself from studying photos, that the canopy straps were originally fitted with leather ends sewed on to the webbing straps, these had buckles half way up the leather portion and were thus attached to the radiator brush guard, allowing the straps to be quickly removed to raise the cab. The model has leather ends but no webbing straps, perhaps webbing was difficult to find in that scale. I noted the silencer is visible in the mirror beneath the model, which I'm sure did not escape your attention ! Regards Tomo

Probably fairly safe to assume that most of the survivors were originally built for, or were commandeered by, the War Dept. There was a roaring trade in the sale of Ex Military lorries after the War and many businesses were founded this way by Army trained drivers looking to employ their new found skills.

That's interesting Tim, of the additional civilian ones how many were original WD lorries ? Tomo

Wow ! Only four, out of 5,000 built? Any more in Oz / NZ ?

I've had a brilliant idea. Why don't you read the book?

Thornycroft Automotive were based at Basingstoke. The Marine division was a separate company later becoming Vosper Thornycroft.