BATUS and BATUW vehicles and kit

[robin craig]

Over the years I have been involved with having photos taken on my behalf at both Suffield and Wainright in Alberta, Canada where there are British Army Training Units hence BATUS for Suffield and BATUW for Wainright. All these images are my property.

 

The general rule of thumb was that Wainright was smaller unit formations and infantry goings on and Suffield was all out armoured warfare with live fire for main battle tanks and down to the infantry support.

 

Over the years things have changed and BATUW doesn't really exist the way it did.

 

I wont bore you with the history but it started in the early 1970s and continues to today.

 

I am no expert, and I welcome people chiming in and giving their slant and viewpoint and knowledge. Both BATUS and BATUW were home of the non standard for many reasons which I will try and explain:-

 

1 The prairies are so different no one else has the set up they do so the needs are different

 

2 They were both "make do and mend" but "get it rolling" establishments. Exercises required minimum numbers of vehicles and so field fixes were common, ie it was very close to war footings.

 

3 Both units are thousands of miles from the UK and the supply chain is long and expensive. The practice of having CAST vehicles in a bone yard and actively robbing them of parts was SOP. Often CAST vehicle looked like a carcass after the hyenas had had their fill.

 

4 both units seem to be the home of every "I have never seen that before" modification going.

 

A lot of kit was local purchase ie a white fleet of Chevrolet GMC and the like.

 

If you have pictures of your own why not drop them in here with an explanation.

 

Hope you enjoy

 

Robin

[robin craig]

It was nothing for the workshops to make modifications based on what the users needed. That was fair game. Look at these very closely and you will see many subtle modifications.

 

The basic season of exercises meant that over the winter there were work parties sent out and both the civvy and military staff went through the kit for a major rework as needed. Usually a score sheet was conducted and decisions made on what needed to be done to which vehicle and which would be a donor. That was especially true as the series fleet wound down just before the coil sprung fleet appeared. At Wainright the fleet changed in one season but at Suffield it continued to be mixed series and coil Land Rovers for a couple of years.

[m109a3uk]

Keep the pictures coming. I'm sure I've seen some in the landy mags!

It was nothing for the workshops to make modifications based on what the users needed. That was fair game. Look at these very closely and you will see many subtle modifications.

 

The basic season of exercises meant that over the winter there were work parties sent out and both the civvy and military staff went through the kit for a major rework as needed. Usually a score sheet was conducted and decisions made on what needed to be done to which vehicle and which would be a donor. That was especially true as the series fleet wound down just before the coil sprung fleet appeared. At Wainright the fleet changed in one season but at Suffield it continued to be mixed series and coil Land Rovers for a couple of years.

[robin craig]

Yes Tony you have seen some of these years ago in LRO when Richard Howell-Thomas was the editor. It was my article and pictures.

 

I thought you were dead FYI, check your home email.

 

If you think that a lot of my pictures are biased towards Land Rovers they are, as that was my main interest, but I do have others as well.

 

There are a lot of details to take in if you look closely

 

R

Edited January 27, 2014 by robin craig

[m109a3uk]

Hi Robin didn't get an email feel free to send again! Oh and more pictures