General Interest and War Surplus

[Richard Peskett]

I thought with the general international situation that a few things from my collection / library will be of general interest to all and make light reading which  I will for the time being gradually add 'new' items to and hopefully attract interest and some constructive comments .

To start with an advert page from Motor Traction  July 1921 by which time Slough Trading  Co. had created a special interest in war surplus Peerless  lorries and  had established a network of country wide agents .  Offers  are made of  ' easy payments' on a variety of makes !.

 

I wish you all safe passage through these difficult times .

Richard Peskett.

[Great War truck]

Thanks Richard. That is very interesting to read. I see that Liberty trucks are offered for sale. I wouldn't have thought that they would have access to many, just the ones that were used by the AEF in the UK which could not have been a great deal.

 

[Richard Peskett]

Todays bargain !!.  These Leyland mobile workshops look a good buy. There is no mention of the  Ham (Kingston) works in the advertisement , more on this another day .

 

Richard Peskett.

[Richard Peskett]

Synonymous with a London bus which served in France during World War 1 the  name 'Ole Bill had been created by Captain Bruce Bairnsfather  during the darkest days  of the war. The cartoon character was one of the lighter sides of the war and trench life with the cartoons being  published in a series of books 'Fragments from France ',   'ole Bill being a soldier who basically lived in a shell hole . Numerous variations of souvenir china, radiator mascots etc.  immortalizing  this character appeared on the market at the end of the war and were very popular  but at this time much appeared  labeled as 'Old Bill' and this term became a generic household  name for WW1 soldiers and London buses . This mid 1920s Halley advertisement depicts a Staffordshire operator using the name 'Old Bill Omnibus Service'. The change of the spelling may have been a copyright issue .

 

 

 

 

 

Richard Peskett.

[lynx42 Rick Cove]

Richard,  Thank you and keep them coming.  I appreciate the Albion A10 articles you have sent to me in the past.  Thank you once again.

Keep well.

Rick.

[Richard Peskett]

The sort of sale we all would like to go to !!.  Commercial Motor October   1920.    I  have found an image of the  'charabanc' sent to collect prospective customers from Slough station, probably  a Fiat 15 TER , an added bonus to the day out !.

 

 

 

Richard Peskett.

[Richard Peskett]

For a change something on tracks ! April 1920 Aberystwyth   borough council were keen to get some cash in for their tank engine, after the war many were given to towns , plinth mounted in parks and other prominent places as memorials. As a price guide in August 1920  Slough Trading  had bought many for scrap at £21 each complete or £18 without tracks and were offering engines for sale  at  £2 per horse power.  The enthusiasm for the memorial tank  soon waned and by  the late 1920s most had also gone for scrap.

 

 

 

Richard Peskett.

[Richard Peskett]

Even Harrods had  an involvement in the war surplus lorry market !. It is also possibly  the beginning of the buy one and get one free  selling ploy.  Harrods were already well established  with a large motoring department  opened in 1902 at their Knightsbridge store and even successfully took part in the November 1896  emancipation run to Brighton with a Panhard et Levassor 'hotel bus'.

Richard Peskett.

[Richard Peskett]

The one that got away ! . In my very early days of collecting  and not long left schooI   I had a friend with like interests who in turn had a friend who put up television aerials . The person was quite a good 'scout' for finding old vehicles, this is 1964, message came back that there was a Crossley half track  being offered by the gardener  on  the estate of former prime minister LLoyd George at Churt, Surrey. Upon due investigation and a visit sure enough there it was , all complete except one track broken, dry stored , much of the original paintwork and numbers visible, now sporting a civilian registration CPD 627, a 1935 issue no doubt when acquired by the former  PM.  On offer at  £12. 10 shillings !. , well the broken track  thwarted the purchase . It did find a new home  locally and appeared  at Brighton for the May 1965 Commercial run. Does anybody know what  subsequently happen to it and where it now is .?

Richard Peskett.

[Citroman]

It has an Kegresse (Citroen) caterpillar drive.

[Richard Farrant]

3 hours ago, Richard Peskett said:

The one that got away ! . In my very early days of collecting  and not long left schooI   I had a friend with like interests who in turn had a friend who put up television aerials . The person was quite a good 'scout' for finding old vehicles, this is 1964, message came back that there was a Crossley half track  being offered by the gardener  on  the estate of former prime minister LLoyd George at Churt, Surrey. Upon due investigation and a visit sure enough there it was , all complete except one track broken, dry stored , much of the original paintwork and numbers visible, now sporting a civilian registration CPD 627, a 1935 issue no doubt when acquired by the former  PM.  On offer at  £12. 10 shillings !. , well the broken track  thwarted the purchase . It did find a new home  locally and appeared  at Brighton for the May 1965 Commercial run. Does anybody know what  subsequently happen to it and where it now is .?

 

Richard Peskett.

Hi Richard,

This Crossley Kegresse may be the same one that Tony Oliver owned in the 80's and had in his museum at Eton Wick, Windsor. See my photo taken in late 80's at D-DAY Show on Southsea Common.

 

[wally dugan]

Another find that's going in the box

[Richard Peskett]

Todays offering is a ride on a WW 1 tank !. I think few WW 1 tanks found any practical use  after the armistice but one 'Annie Laurie' found its way to Southend  and used for  'joy rides'.  There were some Alpine trials held in 1919 but  I have yet to find any images of this, later in the 1920s more trials were held  in an effort to expand winter tourism  to  'new' ski resorts with considerable success but using more conventional tracked vehicles . 'Joy rides' in ex. military vehicles was not confined to the Southend tank, I remember in the early 1950s when as a small child taken to Bognor Regis for days out  where  D.U.K.Ws. were being used and at Southport in the 1950s into the 60s a small fleet  of ex. WD Bedford QLs  were owned by the corporation  transport dept. and fitted with open almost charabanc type bodies and used  for trips across  the sands and for circular tours .

 

Richard Peskett.

[Doc]

Here's some photographs taken by the late Derek Hackett of Ross-on-Wye.

This vehicle was last seen by us in the Williams sale at Symonds Yat, Herefordshire, in April 2007. Lot no. 253, £180 on the hammer. Anyone know what became of it?

[Citroman]

A Kegresse tractor?  Citroen did try something like that too. With not much succes. Or did they transform an normal one?

[Richard Farrant]

1 hour ago, Citroman said:

A Kegresse tractor?  Citroen did try something like that too. With not much succes. Or did they transform an normal one?

I think the Citroen Kegresse was successful as I recall a team crossed the Sahara with them and another epic trip as well. My grandfather drove what may have been the first one in England when he was a chauffeur for a wheelchair bound landowner in Sussex in the early 1920's. It allowed the gentleman to be taken to all corners of his estate.

regards, Richard

[Richard Farrant]

4 hours ago, Doc said:

Here's some photographs taken by the late Derek Hackett of Ross-on-Wye.

 

 

This vehicle was last seen by us in the Williams sale at Symonds Yat, Herefordshire, in April 2007. Lot no. 253, £180 on the hammer. Anyone know what became of it?

Is this an early Fowler tractor? Trying to read the name on the radiator.

[Minesweeper]

Maudsley ?

[john1950]

I think there is a Citroen half track on a large estate in Scotland

[Citroman]

The normal Citroen Kegresses were rather succesfull but the agricultural version without normal front wheels not. They even did put Kegresse caterpillars on several ww1 Renault tanks.

 

Edited April 27, 2020 by Citroman

[wally dugan]

There is a CROSSEY KEGRESSE 30cwt at the RLC MUSEUM that is been rebuilt

[Runflat]

2 hours ago, wally dugan said:

There is a CROSSEY KEGRESSE 30cwt at the RLC MUSEUM that is been rebuilt

I think that must be the 30cwt one?  I seem to recall it was found in a farmer's duck pond requiring the need to remake the road wheels.

Of the smaller type, I'm sure the one that Richard P posted is the one in the History on Wheels museum, as Ricard F says.  The last time I was there it was parked next to a Citroen variant (of which there are many).   The remains of second smaller type Crossley-Kegresse donated some of its transmission to the restoration of a Crossley six-wheeler but I assume the Kegresse parts are still out there.  

[Runflat]

23 hours ago, Richard Peskett said:

Todays offering is a ride on a WW 1 tank !. I think few WW 1 tanks found any practical use  after the armistice but one 'Annie Laurie' found its way to Southend  and used for  'joy rides'.

 

There's quite a bit on this 'attraction' over on Landships: https://landships.activeboard.com/t62859895/tank-joy-rides-southend-on-sea-1920/

 

[Runflat]

On 4/24/2020 at 4:56 PM, Richard Peskett said:

There were some Alpine trials held in 1919 but  I have yet to find any images of this, later in the 1920s more trials were held  in an effort to expand winter tourism  to  'new' ski resorts with considerable success but using more conventional tracked vehicles .

Some info on the 1919 trials, also on Landships: https://landships.activeboard.com/t55561917/char-banc/

[Richard Peskett]

Some may well be bemoaning the fact that there will not be a FA Cup Final this year but in 1921  the final was held at Stamford Bridge  and was between Wolves and Spurs ( Wolverhampton  Wanderers and Totenham Hotspur ) .Those travelling from Wolverhampton and nearby Bilston must have had a somewhat epic journey !. 

Richard Peskett.