BEF Vehicle Arm of Service Markings (GHQ and others)

Deleted

 

Rich - perhaps this enlargement helps? Looks like a 20 to me....

Regards, Nick

I agree - looks like a 20 on horizonatally split red and blue. Referring back to earlier pictures it looks like it is a GHQ medium regiment. We had 16 on a Morris CDSW FAT for 97 Field Regt, 17 on a Morris CDSW FAT (so another field regiment), 18 on a Scammell towing a 4.5 in / 60 pounder gun (so a medium regiment) and now this. No real clues to what they were towing unless the script at bottom right tells any more?

I will add this to the spreadsheet.

Andrew

 

Some more pictures from eBay: a carrier in Ghyvelde:



Jan

 

Some Guy Quads in Cassel:



Jan

 

A Morris Commercial in Cassel:



Jan

 

And a truck with a bar below number that I can't recognise...



Jan

 

Nice pictures Jan. The Scout carrier marked '19' has a horizontal colour split and fits nicely in with the sequences of Medium Regiments RA. We ought to be able to find Le Pont de Ghyvelde if it's still there.

The Quad and Morris 15cwt must be from the same unit and the 8cwt marked '4' would be from a Field Regiment RA at division level. What does the 'RF indicate ?

Having looked at the eBay auction, the seller also mentions Bailleul so presumably the two references are in an album ? Is it somewhere on the D933 ?

 

I think that Le Pont de Ghyvelde still exist today, coming into Ghyvelde from the canal road. Need to go anyway to Auchan somewhere in the 2 next weeks to do some shopping, I will have a look and taking the camera with me. It's about a 20 miniut drive for me anyway.

 

We ought to be able to find Le Pont de Ghyvelde if it's still there.

Rich,

Piece of cake! The building still appears to be there, although the scenery has changed a bit over the years...











Jan

 

Hey Jan, this is an AoS thread. I suppose that I should have known better than to ask Monsieur Vieux Carte Postale a question !:p

This is another interesting carrier. I'm not sure of the location. It looks a bit 'southern'. I think that it must be BEF but I wonder if it is the outskirts of St Valery-en-Caux or similar.



I can se no GHQ (or Corps) bar but the Bren Gun Carrier is displaying '7' with a diagonally split background....which can only be RASC...I didn't know that they had any carriers. At divisional level, '7' would be Field Park, RE and at Corps, HQ Corp Medium artillery (with a horizontal split)...Did they use AA guns as A/T and use a diagonal split ?

 

Here is a new number - 22 with a bar below and probably a red and blue background split horizontally. I think this is an AEC Marshall 6x4 with an office body. What type of unit would have had such a vehicle? 22 is not far from the 18 mentioned earlier so perhaps this is another GHQ medium artillery regiment.

http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=40946&stc=1&d=1290268409

Andrew

It doesn't help us with the artillery useage but this picture appeared some time ago in 'Windscreen' and was apparently captioned on the reverse; 'Englischer Tunfilmwagen' - Would this have been a mobile developing unit ? Another possible candidate for a GHQ serial but none visible. I do wonder though if it has one of those geometric arty. markings on the body side

 

Rich

I am really not sure what this vehicle is. I think I have a Conniford booklet on the AEC Marshall but it is not with me and I have no pictures of this one. The marking on the side doesn't seem to match the type of large geometric shapes I have seen on artillery vehicles such as the one Jan posted at #126 on this thread - but what is it then?

Andrew

 

Not much help from the Chilwell lists. It loks like L384334 to me and this falls within V3165 - AEC - Lorry 3 ton 6x4 GS - suggesting it was rebodied or contract info was incomplete.

 

Jan

Thanks for bringing these great pictures. I have to update the spreadsheet. Some comments / questions:

Post 243 - AoS 19

Good work on the location - it can always help with pinning down the unit. As Rich says, the horizontal colour split on the AoS of this carrier is consistent with it being artillery. It is probably medium given that 18 is already known to be a medium regt and that similar regts are probably batched together.

I agree with Rich that the vehicle is a Scout Carrier but did artillery regiments have such carriers? Does this indicate it is an early AOP carrier version?

Can you read the marking on its left mudguard?

Post 244 - AoS 17

A close look indicates that the vehicle nearer the camera with AoS 17 is a six wheeler - in fact a Morris CDSW FAT. I would have expected that given that we have seen another similar vehicle on Post #7. So we have confirmation that this is a field regt with GHQ and we know it is not 97 Field Regt which has an AoS of 16.

I think the Quad in front is a Morris (stepped door and big wheels) but I'm not sure where that gets us.

Is Cassel definitely the location? (The countryside looks a bit flat.) Did Rich indicate another location?

AoS 17 in Post 245

The Morris CS8 at the back is the fourth sighting of this number 17 (posts #5,7, 244 and 245). We must be getting closer to identifying the unit.

The Morris PU 8 cwt in front has a tactical marking of RF which means a troop commander, possibly of 'F Troop' -see RA 39-45 Markings An AoS of 4 would be from a divisional field artillery regt but is it sure that the 4 is an AoS number? Its background colour doesn't look split horizontally.

Lorry in post 246

Pity the number is obscure but could be another 170 type number. Perhaps we can find a picture of the front as it is in a popular location near the wreck of L'Adroit (assuming that hasn't moved!)

Andrew

 

Not much help from the Chilwell lists. It loks like L384334 to me and this falls within V3165 - AEC - Lorry 3 ton 6x4 GS - suggesting it was rebodied or contract info was incomplete.

Thanks - we can pursue it in due course. I am off to bed!

Andrew

 

Ref Post 249 Le Pont de Ghyvelde the building doesn't exsist anymore - Its a different building on streetview.

 

Post 243 - AoS 19

Good work on the location - it can always help with pinning down the unit. As Rich says, the horizontal colour split on the AoS of this carrier is consistent with it being artillery. It is probably medium given that 18 is already known to be a medium regt and that similar regts are probably batched together.

I agree with Rich that the vehicle is a Scout Carrier but did artillery regiments have such carriers? Does this indicate it is an early AOP carrier version?
Andrew

They certainly did modify Scout carriers for the AOP rôle. This one's marked to a Field regiment and is complete with the cable-laying equipment. I can't see the extra equipment in #243 though.

 

Jan

Thanks for bringing these great pictures. I have to update the spreadsheet. Some comments / questions:

Post 244 - AoS 17

Is Cassel definitely the location? (The countryside looks a bit flat.) Did Rich indicate another location?

Andrew

Andrew,

"Cassel" is what the eBay seller said... Unfortunately there's not a lot to recognise on this picture...

Jan

 

Derek

Here's another scan of Jan's original picture of the Guy quad in Cassel. It is reasonably clear that it has the upright arrow of 1 Corps on the front mudguard which, combined with the 10 (and subject to your caveat about following regulations), makes it 140 Fld Regiment.

http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=39971&d=1289016523

While we are on the subject, here are two pics from different viewpoints of a Morris Quad in Place Plummer. The one showing the 10 is from e-bay, the other is from a site by Alain Beck.

Andrew

Just by way of confirmation that the artillery vehicles in Cassel are carrying the 1st Corps formation sign, here's a very clear image of a Bedford OY in the town. Perhaps in the future, we'll be able to pin it down from the door markings ?

 

Andrew,

"Cassel" is what the eBay seller said... Unfortunately there's not a lot to recognise on this picture...

Jan

One of the pictures also mentions Bailleul and the German 15 IR - I can't find a record of them fighting there so presumably they were following up and moving from Bailleul towards Cassel.

My guess (and it is only that) is that it might be associated with the positions abandoned along the road from Eecke, through Caestre where 44th Div had been defending. German columns had pushed through between Cassel and Hazebrouck so perhaps withdrawal was not possible ?

There is a further picture from the same seller showing a CDSW again and an 18 ? Pdr and limbers.