Rustman Posted September 24, 2022 Share Posted September 24, 2022 Hello all. Matthew here from the United States. I'm an MVPA member and co-owner of a military vehicle parts vendor that specializes in US "Ben Hur" G518 trailer parts. But that's not why I'm here. I'm also a reenactor and current day Salvationist. My wife and I reenact WW2 Salvation Army Red Shield Services with The Forces. As we began our research we learned that the British Salvation Army had both men and women in the combat theaters of WW2. As in modern life I work in/on mobile canteens for The Salvation Army my interests naturally leaned towards the historic examples. I have been trolling forums and visiting the archives of The Salvation Army in Toronto and in London on multiple occasions and am moving towards readying a series of articles for publication on the topic. There are four reenactors in the United States that portray US Salvation Army during WW2. There are three more who regularly do British Salvation Army (my wife, our friend Andrea and myself) and I occasionally portray Australian. When we set up at reenactments or air shows we serve fellow reenaactors and show/museum volunteers/staff coffee, tea, donuts and other snacks. We hope to one day do this from a mobile. Here's some pictures of us and of my research. Thanks Matthew 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rootes75 Posted September 24, 2022 Share Posted September 24, 2022 Looking superb, well done. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon_M Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 Welcome here, seen you on the tools forum for years and never knew your background - interesting Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustman Posted September 25, 2022 Author Share Posted September 25, 2022 7 hours ago, Gordon_M said: Welcome here, seen you on the tools forum for years and never knew your background - interesting Ah yes, either OWWM (Old Woodworking Machines) or G503 I am in two different tool forums. You have found me out. Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon_M Posted September 25, 2022 Share Posted September 25, 2022 36 minutes ago, Rustman said: Ah yes, either OWWM (Old Woodworking Machines) You have found me out. Matthew I can't weld wood ... There are some similar interests / displays of Red Cross stuff, Clubmobiles and the like, which are worth seeing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REME 245 Posted September 26, 2022 Share Posted September 26, 2022 (edited) There are very few original surviving NAAFI type vehicles so you may be better off making your own copy on a suitable chassis and cab. The most common surviving version over here on WW2 Austin chassis were converted post-war for Civil Defence purposes. We used to have a Salvationist in one of my reserve army units but his membership was frowned upon and eventually he left. You could do with a more period looking cap badge. Edited September 26, 2022 by REME 245 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustman Posted September 26, 2022 Author Share Posted September 26, 2022 REME 245, from my limited research it seems any sort of Welfare vehicles. Be they NAAFI, Red Cross, YMCA etc are extremely rare anywhere in the world. In Australia there is a Jeep that was used by Red Shield/Salvation Army and there's a CMP truck that has Australian Comforts Fund markings still visible on the door. But that is nearly it, globally. As for the suitable chassis/cab that is the direction we will likely go. As I'm in the US I was looking at either having to import something or "make do". But I've recently identified 3 distinct types of vehicles that were exported from the US to England in 1941 of which at least 15-20 saw service with The Salvation Army and others appear with Church Army, YMCA and other entities. I don't know how many total were exported. But they are distinctly US vehicles complete with "CAUTION LEFT HAND DRIVE" stenciled on the rear. Building my own based on one of these is probably my best option. As for the cap device. Good call. That's a current one I ordered through Salvationist Supplies. I have some older ones, but I need to get an older Soldiers one (blue) and not Officer's (gold) most period ones I come across are Officer's type. The cap is also one of the low quality reproductions and I'm not thrilled with it. The Battle Dress is original and patches on it are reproduction. Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trena79 Posted November 21, 2022 Share Posted November 21, 2022 (edited) hello everyone, how are you doing? Edited November 21, 2022 by Trena79 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustman Posted November 22, 2022 Author Share Posted November 22, 2022 22 hours ago, Trena79 said: hello everyone, how are you doing? Well, but could be better if you were contributing to this thread. What's your scam? Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trena79 Posted November 22, 2022 Share Posted November 22, 2022 1 hour ago, Rustman said: Well, but could be better if you were contributing to this thread. What's your scam? Matthew That's rude enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonnyrobmunn Posted June 9 Share Posted June 9 Hello Matthew. found this post when doing some research on the Red Shield Club as the local Salvation Army for our town’s 40s day. I am very interested in your uniform and looking to create something similar for the events in the future. Do you have any reference photos or are you happy to show the badge details, what the jackets had on them, caps etc. so that I can recreate a RSC repro for our SA events? I am very interested in creating a UK reenacting group for this if the 40s events grow in our town. thanks Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustman Posted June 15 Author Share Posted June 15 Jon, Great to hear from you. I am happy to help. For a quick start we have some more photos and information here (if you use Facebook) https://www.facebook.com/SalvationArmyRedShieldClub Actually most of my photo references are scans I did of the photos at the Heritage Centre at the William Booth College at Denmark Hill. Some of the badges, buttons etc on our uniforms I bought from Salvationists Publishing & Supplies when they were still near Elephant & Castle. You can email me at Matthew.Picciotto@gmail.com too. Matthew Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goanna Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 (edited) Hi Matthew Many thanks again for the US army Welder manual..... the welder is a brute of a thing but a very handy machine to have around with the Chrysler flat 6 engine. Found this recently . The Citroen would possibly have been purchased or borrowed from a local source . I will look up the AIF reg. number and see what the ledger says ! https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C356129 Had a look in the books and the next number down (M15118) was also a Citroen , it looks like it came back to Australia, a YWCA vehicle. The particular page in the AWM 126 is a list of vehicles that were returned to Australia from the Middle East, of interest is the Bantam car D/S (M15296). Normally D/S = Dual seats . Could this have been a Bantam BRC Jeep I wonder ? Hmm it was likely a little Bantam car AKA a US version of the Austin 7 . The page can be found here: Edited June 15 by goanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goanna Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 (edited) Found a few more: https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C2145876 https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1101130 https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C356125 In the desert https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C189165 Edited June 15 by goanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustman Posted June 15 Author Share Posted June 15 Thanks for those! AWM has added more photos since the last I looked. That video was great too. Really shows how the "Army Tea" was made. Biggest batch I make at a time is a meager 2 US gallons. I need a bigger pot! When the men are in a row sipping tea the Digger nearest, his mug looks just like mine. Looks like the same chips on the bottom! For those interested in the work of the Salvos among the Aussie forces check out the book "Cuppa Tea, Digger?" By my friend Lindsay Cox, available here: https://salvationarmysupplies.com.au/cuppa-tea-digger-/ There's also an older book out of print now "Salvos With the Forces" that is a good read as well. But Lindsay's book is chocked full of photos, many previously unpublished. Matthew 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroman Posted June 15 Share Posted June 15 Nice find that ex french army Citroen truck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goanna Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 (edited) 8 hours ago, Citroman said: Nice find that ex french army Citroen truck. OK thanks for the info. Did you also spot the Peugeot sedan D/S it was used by the Red Cross - this car was shipped back to Australia. I also found a Opel sedan somewhere in the AWM 126 books. Salvation Army Chevrolet panel van (M15033) was written off after a accident . Purchased in Australia and shipped to the M.E. where it was stripped for parts. Edited June 16 by goanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Citroman Posted June 16 Share Posted June 16 I see a lot of vehicles marques D/S or G/S what is that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Suslowicz Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 On 6/16/2024 at 6:46 AM, Citroman said: I see a lot of vehicles marques D/S or G/S what is that? G/S is going to be "General Service" - they seem to be all trucks, so that will cover any "non-specialised" vehicle (i.e. not Wireless Trucks, Mobile Workshops, etc.). The D/S entries all appear to be cars, so maybe "Dispatch (Rider) Service" - there was a "Signals Delivery Service" for messages and parcels, so it may have been that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
goanna Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 (edited) 27 minutes ago, Chris Suslowicz said: The D/S entries all appear to be cars, so maybe "Dispatch (Rider) Service" - there was a "Signals Delivery Service" for messages and parcels, so it may have been that? I believe D/S means: Dual Seats i.e front and back seats as found in a typical sedan. There are many thousands of vehicles in the Army census books.. https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/C1424610 The abbreviations can be confusing. The red annotations usually describe the disposal information i.e. Ford Mo Co means the vehicle ( usually a Ford) was sold back to the original supplier , it was then sold to a civilian through a Ford dealership . SAN= Sales Advice Number . GMH or Holdens were the original supplier of Chevrolet vehicles to the Army and CVT = Chevrolet. There are some weird and strange vehicles listed , I found a captured Japanese truck, a Rolls Royce and a model A Ford. Edited June 20 by goanna Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rustman Posted June 20 Author Share Posted June 20 On 6/15/2024 at 9:38 PM, goanna said: OK thanks for the info. Did you also spot the Peugeot sedan D/S it was used by the Red Cross - this car was shipped back to Australia. I also found a Opel sedan somewhere in the AWM 126 books. Salvation Army Chevrolet panel van (M15033) was written off after a accident . Purchased in Australia and shipped to the M.E. where it was stripped for parts. I know some of the Salvation Army station wagons were purchased "on the economy" in Cairo. Matthew 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REME 245 Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 Another picture here. Fordson chassis were very popular in the UK for this use. Facebook Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hair Bear Posted June 20 Share Posted June 20 The gentleman on the left is my great uncle. Date, location and vehicle unknown. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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