Morris C8 Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 I have these original negatives of a water truck?, Would this truck have been used in ww1 or in the 1920s. Could it be Ex army? Thanks for any help. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 That is an Ex US Army Packard petrol and oil truck but sold surplus in civilian hands. Great photos. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morris C8 Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 That was quick, Thank you Great War truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroman Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 (edited) Can anyone read the town were Mr Mertens delivered water? Nice pics. Edited January 11, 2022 by Citroman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 (edited) 1 hour ago, Citroman said: Can anyone read the town were Mr Mertens delivered water? Nice pics. Might it be Abbeville, although the name Mertens suggests Belgian/Dutch?? Edited January 11, 2022 by radiomike7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnny Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 I thought it was Appeville.Appeville - Wikipedia Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroman Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 Looks like it. Mertens is Belgian/Dutch name indeed. But in the north of france in the region of Flandres they have also lots of dutch names. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/French_Flanders Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morris C8 Posted January 15, 2022 Author Share Posted January 15, 2022 (edited) Don`t know if this is any better to read. Edited January 15, 2022 by Morris C8 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Is it definitely being used for water delivery? If they ever put petrol in there during the war, the water is going to taste pretty awful. Would it be used for construction work/road making? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
radiomike7 Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 20 minutes ago, Great War truck said: Is it definitely being used for water delivery? If they ever put petrol in there during the war, the water is going to taste pretty awful. Would it be used for construction work/road making? Does it not say 'transport d'eau' on the side and rear? Bit of a guess but it looks like it. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Great War truck Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 Yes, it does look like that. Third photo shows a white road and a pile of white rocks. Water was used in the making of limestone based roads so road menders it is! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MatchFuzee Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 4 hours ago, Great War truck said: Is it definitely being used for water delivery? If they ever put petrol in there during the war, the water is going to taste pretty awful. Would it be used for construction work/road making? Drinking water was transported to front line trenches in petrol cans. It was then purified with chemicals. To help disguise the taste, most water was drunk in the form of tea, often carried cold in soldier’s individual water bottles. In extreme circumstances, soldiers might resort to boiling filthy water found in shell holes. Drinking polluted water could lead to diarrhoea and outbreaks of dysentery. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroman Posted January 15, 2022 Share Posted January 15, 2022 I don't think they would make a big problem of it that the truck was an ex-fuel transporter at that time. It could be that he delivered water to remote houses. Send a mail to the "mairie" of Appeville. See if they know something about Mr. Mertens. It's a very smal village. P.s. the name Mertens shows up in the regions phoneguide. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morris C8 Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 (edited) Added a bit of colour Edited January 16, 2022 by Morris C8 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Morris C8 Posted January 16, 2022 Author Share Posted January 16, 2022 Added a bit of colour Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroman Posted January 16, 2022 Share Posted January 16, 2022 Looks good, a shame the license plate is not very visible. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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