Nikos Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Hi chaps, a group of us are working towards piecing together the history of the Jeep in British postwar service. But we could really do with input from other light vehicles in British service to complete the picture. In 1949 when the new vehicle identity system (ERM) came into place, Jeeps, and other light vehicles were given registrations in the YH and YJ range. They would look like 06YH78 or 48YJ27 for example. This included vehicles such as the Humber heavy utility, and likely Tillys, staff cars etc. I have attached a Humber Keycard below to give you an idea of what we are after. Can anyone who has a keycard with a vehicle in that range please share their keycard. We are a group of enthusiasts who do this not for profit. If you don't have the keycard for your vehicle, we can point you to how to get it. We have a facebook group 'WW2 Jeeps rebuilt by the British Army', and below is my personal flickr page where I log all keycards and images of the Jeep in postwar British service. https://www.flickr.com/photos/139397156@N06/albums Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry275 Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 Good work Nick. Amazing the way it's starting to come together. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wally dugan Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 A lot of the tillys will be found on key cards in the YG RANGE staff cars on key cards in the YF RANGE Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikos Posted May 5, 2016 Author Share Posted May 5, 2016 Thanks for that! Any ideas on what else was on the YH registrations in the 00YH - 09YH range? We know they aren't jeeps and the Humber card is one example. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Interesting! I've owned my own Jeep for over 30 years and it came to me as an ex British Jeep (Butler lamps etc). But I've never checked it out. It is chassis number 159838 and I've kept the same bonnet census number that it came with 5474235. It has a Ford tub fitted, but no post war army rebuild plate. My Tilly however still has it's rebuild plate which states it's post war number was 00 RA 25. Regards Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Ashby Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Thanks to Nicks perseverance I now have a key card record for my GPW (see the amendment to my restoration blog) this is a registration that Deepcut were adamant that there was no surviving record for. So if you have a 1949 ERM number for your vehicle let Nick know he's a guy who won't take no for an answer :-) Pete Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wally dugan Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 NICK 00 YH OO to 05 YH 25 were not used 05 YH 28 to 09 YH 20 were HUMBER's heavy uty 4x4 09 YH 21 to 99 YH 99 JEEPS for RON 00 RA 31 to 10 RA 50 AUSTIN TILLY's 10 RA 51 to 20 RA 38 HILLMAN TILLY's REGARDS WALLY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikos Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 NICK00 YH OO to 05 YH 25 were not used 05 YH 28 to 09 YH 20 were HUMBER's heavy uty 4x4 09 YH 21 to 99 YH 99 JEEPS for RON 00 RA 31 to 10 RA 50 AUSTIN TILLY's 10 RA 51 to 20 RA 38 HILLMAN TILLY's REGARDS WALLY That is really useful info, thanks a lot for sharing! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikos Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 Interesting! I've owned my own Jeep for over 30 years and it came to me as an ex British Jeep (Butler lamps etc). But I've never checked it out. It is chassis number 159838 and I've kept the same bonnet census number that it came with 5474235. It has a Ford tub fitted, but no post war army rebuild plate. My Tilly however still has it's rebuild plate which states it's post war number was 00 RA 25. Regards Ron Nice jeep! I am checking your chassis numbers and will let you know if I can find the ERM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Thanks Wally. Mine is indeed an Austin Tilly. But my number 00 RA 25 seems to fall before the sequence you posted? Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wally dugan Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 RON numbers 00 RA 01 to 00 RA 30 were listed as AUSTIN LIGHT 4X4 when l sorted the key cards out l found that it contained a mixture of TILLY's the human error had crept in REGARDS WALLY Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Thanks again Wally. It least it looks like I have the correct badge on the front of my Tilly (Austin) Ha Ha! Nick I await your findings in the hope of proving it's genuine ex British army. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikos Posted May 7, 2016 Author Share Posted May 7, 2016 Interesting! I've owned my own Jeep for over 30 years and it came to me as an ex British Jeep (Butler lamps etc). But I've never checked it out. It is chassis number 159838 and I've kept the same bonnet census number that it came with 5474235. It has a Ford tub fitted, but no post war army rebuild plate. My Tilly however still has it's rebuild plate which states it's post war number was 00 RA 25. Regards Ron Ron, yep yours is a British service jeep. Your 1949 ERM registration was 29YJ13, You can use this number to get your keycard from the RLC at the link below. It costs £35 and will give you instant access. If you get the keycard, I would very much appreciate you sharing it with us, thanks. Nick http://www.rlcarchive.org/VehicleSrch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 Fabulous! Thank you very much Nick. I have a reasonable collection of vehicles and especially motorcycles. My theme is and has always been 'British Forces WW2' and I'd hate for a Yanky vehicle to have crept in. Even my Indian motocycle is ex British forces. I'll PM you as soon as I get a result from that link you posted. Regards Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 Nick PM sent. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikos Posted May 7, 2016 Author Share Posted May 7, 2016 Fabulous! Thank you very much Nick. I have a reasonable collection of vehicles and especially motorcycles. My theme is and has always been 'British Forces WW2' and I'd hate for a Yanky vehicle to have crept in. Even my Indian motocycle is ex British forces.I'll PM you as soon as I get a result from that link you posted. Regards Ron Great news, and I know just how you feel. I have always tried to buy British service wherever possible. Everything I have was British service except perhaps the Dodge, have to wait and see if I can get records for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brown cow Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 A BIG thanks to you Nick. After reading about the digitised key cards I looked up my Humber 4x4 79ZB53, paid the money (ouch in Aust dollars!) and there it was to see after a few minutes. I now know the original WD number. My Humber was struck off in Nov 1956 and apparently migrated with it's owner to Western Australia not long after. The card even shows a Humber living in New Zealand as yet unrestored. Like Pete Ashby I had previously sent payment to be told that the record could not be found. (25 pound fee I think!) I would never have given this another thought. thanks again. Andrew B. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gerry275 Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 [quote name= Like Pete Ashby I had previously sent payment to be told that the record could not be found. (25 pound fee I think!) I would never have given this another thought. thanks again. Andrew B. We know other people who have also benefited from both the digitalisation of the records and Nicks drive to find records. I am indebted to both Nick and Gregory for their help in our research. Also to the owners for working with us to build our knowledge of contracts and wartime hood numbers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikos Posted May 8, 2016 Author Share Posted May 8, 2016 A BIG thanks to you Nick.After reading about the digitised key cards I looked up my Humber 4x4 79ZB53, paid the money (ouch in Aust dollars!) and there it was to see after a few minutes. I now know the original WD number. My Humber was struck off in Nov 1956 and apparently migrated with it's owner to Western Australia not long after. The card even shows a Humber living in New Zealand as yet unrestored. Like Pete Ashby I had previously sent payment to be told that the record could not be found. (25 pound fee I think!) I would never have given this another thought. thanks again. Andrew B. No problem. Glad you finally got your records! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rupert condick Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 HI All the key cards are 35 pounds now ouch! and 10 pounds for a chases no search. the RLC team are helpful. But is just some records. regs Rup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wally dugan Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 As the person who saved these records in the first place from certain destruction l must take issue with your comment they are not just records they in most case's they are the only records of there type and over the years have been used by numerous members of the military vehicle ownerships While l think the fee is high when we charged ten pounds some people did comment but we asked them to ring first if the information was available and then send the fee and if by chance they did send the fee first we would return it no record no fee and l have even rang people to tell them over the phone what was in the records so they could say if it was worth the fee 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the DT guy Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Wally dugan i don't know if you had any involvement with the Diamond T prime mover key cards but either way they have been invaluable in finding lost wartime H numbers and chassis numbers for trucks. which in turn has led to many wartime & post war photo's being linked to trucks know in preservation. the key cards are a significant piece of vehicle history and i think there worth paying the £35 for as it all goes to the up keep of the documents and the labor involved in digitalising the documents to make them available via computer. i myself have purchased 4 key cards for the trucks i own and those cards have also helped other's with trucks which are included on them. the other great thing is the cards give you the H numbers for the trucks which in turn relates to various truck movements in the war diaries so it can open up if your lucky. regards sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wally dugan Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) SAM the no 2 key cards were among the first to be saved the bundles had hard front sperate covers red bound in series numbers held by a slice of inner tube to act as a strong rubber band in a heap in the bottom of a cupboard and did included the DT cards in the YZ series Edited March 12, 2021 by wally dugan correction Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rootes75 Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 Wally, what information is needed from the owner of a vehicle in order to search for a key card? I just have a year of manufacture and the chassis number? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
welbike Posted March 12, 2021 Share Posted March 12, 2021 (edited) I think Deepcut, the RLC museum have digitalised the Jeep ones now, not sure about the others. I own the motorcycle Key Cards, and they all have been digitalised, a chassis/frame number should be enough, or the postwar ERM number, sometimes can be found on number plates, or rebuild plates. Below a stack of cards, like Wally mentioned, the EY series, BSA M20, the cards give a wonderfull insight, as to sometimes the last using arm, the original wartime registration number (Census number) and date and place of sale. I am asking 20 euro's for a scan, to cover costs of aquisition and digitalizing, this had all to be done by hand, and was a tremendous work, luckily had some volunteers. Also added a brief list of the ERM numbering system as used from 1949. Lex Edited March 12, 2021 by welbike additional info Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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