REME 245 Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 What make is the vehicle between the two Guys in this picture. Almost looks like one of the Canadian CMP prototypes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 Commer 'Beetle' Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REME 245 Posted October 11, 2019 Author Share Posted October 11, 2019 Looking again neither are Guys. The two outer ones are Commer Beetles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Farrant Posted October 11, 2019 Share Posted October 11, 2019 23 minutes ago, REME 245 said: Looking again neither are Guys. The two outer ones are Commer Beetles. Take a look at Bart's Observers Army Vehicles Directory to 1940 on page 191. Centre vehicle is Commer's pilot model that developed into the Beetle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 (edited) Funnily enough I've been discussing this picture on a none military motorcycle forum. I ID'd the two outside vehicles as Commer Beatles, but wasn't sure about the center one. (I've only got Bart's WW2 directory.) I also ID'd the two motorcycles as BSA M20's and dated the picture at 1938/39. Strangely though I'm being told by several other guys that the CMM registration is 1952.......How can that be? The guy who first posted the pictures lives in Trowbridge and has identified the place as in the yard of the old drill hall (Used by the TA) The building on the right is the gate house to County Hall Trowbridge which was completed in 1940 and then covered by netting to disguise it from enemy bombers.He thinks the cap badges are from the Horse Artillery and they changed from horses to vehicle in 1939. Ron Edited October 12, 2019 by Ron 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REME 245 Posted October 12, 2019 Author Share Posted October 12, 2019 (edited) These are a friends pictures that I posted on local site so it shows how quickly they get round the web. Interesting how the person posting them has put his deatails on them to presumably claim ownership. The exact identification on location is yet to be confirmed. I dont have Barts earlier book. Edited October 12, 2019 by REME 245 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 (edited) I don't think anyone is claiming ownership! The guy who posted them on that BSA C10-11-12 forum lives in Trowbridge and is interested in the history of the town. Any pictures posted on that forum, automatically get tagged with the site name, and I just lifted them off the forum. Do you think he's not correct with his ID of the location? He seems to have done some research on it. I'd still like to prove the guys wrong who claim the registration CMM is 1952!!! Ron Edited October 12, 2019 by Ron spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REME 245 Posted October 12, 2019 Author Share Posted October 12, 2019 I was told they were Trowbrigde by the owner and I suggestedthe locations on the original post and the buildings match but not the back grounds. In one there is a different building and on the gate house main picture you cannot get the orientation correct for the location so I am still to be 100% convinced. Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 Ah Neil I didn't realize it was you? I guess you also have a interest in the Town. Here is a link to the thread......I think you're able to view it in 'General Discussion' https://bsac10c11c12.co.uk/smf/general-discussion/can-you-help-me-ron/ Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Noel7 Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 (edited) 1 hour ago, Ron said: I'd still like to prove the guys wrong who claim the registration CMM is 1952!!! Ron I suspect that this date has come from the Old Classic Car website lists of VRNs. That for "MM" shows AMMnnn as running from 10/1933 and nnnAMM from 11/1953, which makes sense, as the 'letter first' series up to ZMM999 would normally be used up before the 'number first' series was started. However, the start date for the BMMnnn series is shown as 6/1952, and for the CMMnnn series as 7/1952, which do not fit the pattern. DMMnnn is shown as starting in 4/1936, and this and subsequent series are as expected. London had a lot of number series, and registration authorities sometimes did odd things, but I think that the date for BMMnnn and CMMnnn are probably errors. The other entries in the list suggest that BMMnnn should start about 8/1934 and CMMnnn about 6/1935. The list for the "MG" series runs from 3/1930 to 3/1949. All of this is dependent on the lists as published, and my assumption that the "MM" list has the errors identified, but I hope it helps. Edited October 12, 2019 by Noel7 Correction of an error Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted October 12, 2019 Share Posted October 12, 2019 Thanks for that Noel. It puts it right in my mind.👍 Your explanation makes perfect sense to me. Whether the other guys will believe it is up to them. Regards Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
79x100 Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 (edited) The explanation for the apparent registration number anomally is contained in Les Newall's book. The pre-war MM series are a bit all over the place anyway as some were Government but the majority were reserved for the car dealer Stewart & Ardern and therefore spread over a longer period than might have been expected. The 'CMM' series, CMM 2 - CMM 999, was issued for WD vehicles commencing May 1935 of these, CMM 800 - CMM 999 were allocated to armoured vehicles. The crucial aspect here is that the post-war Glasses Guides carried no mention of the WD number blocks, only civilian issue. Apparently in 1952, when Middlesex ran short of numbers, the decision was taken to re-issue numbers allocated to armour, including CMM 800 - 999 and these were used again from July 1952 - January 1953. It was only done with armour as it was considered that there was no prospect of them still existing and requiring road registration. Some pre-war 'B' vehicles had entered the civilian market still with their original numbers and with no central computer record, the risk could not be taken that there were duplicate numbers in use. Glasses Guide picked up on the 1950s re-issues and having no record of the 1930s issue, stated slightly incorrectly that these were 1950s numbers and in the case of CMM failed to document that it was only 800 - 999 anyway. CMM 275 was an early Morris-Commercial and CMM 754 was the MEE test model of the Norton WD 16H which can be dated exactly. (CMM 749 was a Matchless) Edited October 13, 2019 by 79x100 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ron Posted October 13, 2019 Share Posted October 13, 2019 Bloody Hell! Thanks Rik. Ron Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.