introduction Hello from Haddington - Trying to identify a WW1 Daimler war truck - photo attached

[johnxhamilton]

With this being the WW1 100th anniversary year, I'm trying to obtain more information on a photo of a Daimler war lorry. I got the photo as part of a collection of photos from my home town of Haddington in Scotland, so its thought the photo may have been taken in a war camp that existed on the outskirts of my home town during WW1.

 

The Daimler website don't have any other detail other than they did make chassis for WW1, and they pointed me to this forum.

 

I've attached the photo, so any detail would be appreciated so I can post it on the Facebook's "Lost Haddington" pages with the missing detail.

 

Thanks in anticipation,

 

John Hamilton

[Tony B]

Welcome John, I hope you'll find a lot more to intrest you than just the lorry. There is a lot of obscure knowledge around here.

[Great War truck]

The low census number on the bonnet would suggest that the photo was taken somewhere in France/Belgium. I would guess that it was a Daimler B Type (although I am sure one of the Daimler experts would be happy to correct me) and that it was an impressed bus. Nice photo and thanks for posting it.

[Tony B]

There is a well known picture of a Type B converted to a pigieon loft, with a lower census number .Deatils of uniform, espically the wrist markings of the officer suggest early war. The first of the buses went to France on about 5th August 1914 at the behest of Churchill, not for Army use but to carry a Roayl Marine expditionary force to Antwerp, about to be surrounded. Some had boiler plate fitted so could claim to be the first self proppeled APC. The operation was a failure and many vehicles ended up in German hands.

Edited August 4, 2014 by Tony B