Hi all, I have a particular interest in the RAF Rolls Royce Armoured Car Companies that served in Iraq, Kurdistan and Palestine in the 1920's. Not only do I love the way the Rolls looked - almost steampunk in appearance, I find the role they performed extraordinary. I hope this thread becomes a dedication to their long forgotten service - a place where photos, accounts and information can immortalise their memory. My Grandfather got his knees brown with the ACC's from 1924-30 as a Gunner/Driver/Fitter and I often day dream about his adventures. The motto of the RAF Armoured Car Companies - "fi kull makan" - In Every Place This passage was written by Squadron Leader G. E. Godsave, who commanded No 4 Armoured Car Company and was Second in Command of the Armoured Car Wing in the 1920's. It explains the role and captures the romanticism of the Rolls Royce Armoured Cars perfectly: "It was my privilege to command the columns of armoured cars and the many survey expeditions which, while keeping the King’s peace among the then lawless tribes, explored the vast emptiness to drive the roads and make the maps which covered some 250,000 square miles. I will enlarge on the opinion of my friend Al Aurans to say that during the six years spent exploring every corner of that unbelievably cruel and difficult desert the cars whose value he assessed was above rubies were valued as even more priceless by the Car Commanders and the crews. There was no other motor car in the world which we could have driven through the terrible stony desert of al Harrat; the shifting sands of al Nefud; the soft gravel wastes of ad Dibdiba; the clinging mud of the winter in the flooded Waddian of al Hauran; the rock strewn uplands of al Jezireh; the mountain roads of Kurdistan; the treacherous gravel of Wadi al Tharthar and the riverside tracks by the Euphrates and Tigris, ribbed as the tide swept sand, and cut by irrigation ditches. The motto of the armoured cars in Arabic was “fi kull makan” - in every place. Twenty thousand miles of desert were covered by each car every year; no workshops; the stars above and the desert sand for garage; in every expedition into the unknown the “Silver Ghosts” full of the spirit of the crews who braved it all for England went into every place. Not once in six years of desert operation did cars or crew fail. Through the grim gates of stress and strain came forth vast events, the armoured cars were driven through the land and for while brought peace to the nomad tribes. The roads were made, driven straight, as by our Roman ancestors and the inscription ‘unsurveyed’ was deleted from the maps for ever." Anyway, fire away chaps if you would like to contribute. Cheers Emps
» The Rolls-Royce Armoured Car: Its Substance and Its Place in History This is a fascinating little book that's still available for a very reasonable price through the RREC The International Club for Rolls-Royce & Bentley Enthusiasts Nice complement to the recent Haynes guide on the RRAC.
Have you looked through the RAF Historical Journal Index: https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/research/default/raf-historical-society-journals/ An idea of what the RRAC units did can be gleaned from the history of the Iraq Levies (which came under RAF command). I found it useful when researching a much later episode in Iraq. Just looked and there is an academic theses on them: https://eprints.soas.ac.uk/28511/1/10672670.pdf
Hi there Orwell, Thanks for the reply. I will certainly get a copy to go with the other material I have. I have PDF copies of the following and will happily send them over via email should anyone want a copy - The RAF, Small Wars and Insurgencies in the Middle East 1919-1939. Air Historical Branch. The Rolls Royce Armoured Car. David Fletcher. The Role of the Royal Air Force in Iraq, Under British Mandate 1920-1932. Eamonn Gearon. Cheers Emps
Hi David, Thanks so much for the links, fantastic! Since we are in lockdown here I look forward to setting some time aside to read the Thesis on the Levies. Cheers Emps
Hi Emps, I you haven't already seen it we have a few entries here:- Updated Resource - Tank Names and Census Numbers If you can see any errors or add anything please let me know. Cheers Kevin
There's a book titled after that Motto. Pretty hefty 600+ pages that I stupidly didn't get one afternoon for a few quid. Might be worth a shufti. One online source, though. (c.£25 posted in the UK).
This free RAF Museum Virtual Lecture: ‘Land of the RAF’ — Desert Flight in Mandatory Iraq is tomorrow evening and must be booked in advance. https://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/cosfor...d-of-the-raf-desert-flight-in-mandatory-iraq/
That's more or less the official history, the current RAF Regiment CO put me in touch with the author a while back. Their war diaries are worth picking up at Kew too. All the best Andreas
I know these vehicles from GEA. In his book WITH BOTHA AND SMUTS IN AFRICA, Lieutenant Commander W. Whittall describes in detail how things were then in GSWA and GEA https://ia800908.us.archive.org/35/items/withbothasmutsin00whitrich/withbothasmutsin00whitrich.pdf But in use worldwide during the Great War. (Even a certain Lawrence of Arabia appreciated them) extract from „Flight International Magazine“, 1915 https://ia801205.us.archive.org/13/...ght_International_Magazine_1915-11-19-pdf.pdf page 21
There are some photos from SDASM Archives San Diego Air & Space Museum on flickr.com. Ready for action [Many armoured cars] Armoured Car which elsewhere is described as Iraq 1920: Number 1 Armoured Car Company RAF, No.4 Section, No.33, His Majesty's Armoured Car (HMAC) "TIGRIS". HMAC Victory, RAF Possibly has [No.] 11 added. There are some Armoured Car deaths in https://www.stevebusterjohnson.com/hinaidi-armoured-car-company-deaths from Baghdad Burials at Hinaidi RAF Cemetery, (now Ma'Asker Al Raschid RAF Cemetery) 6 Squadron, Books & Early Military Aviation website. Mentioned previously The Role of the Royal Air Force in Iraq Under the British Mandate, 1920-1932 by Eamonn Gearon 2008. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of MA, Near and Middle Eastern Studies, of the School of Oriental and African Studies (University of London). issuu.com There were also Armoured Car Companies in India, including Rolls Royce, as part of the Royal Tank Corps. See the FIBIS Fibiwiki page Royal Tank Corps Royal Tank Corps - FIBIwiki Maureen
Hi everyone, Thanks so much for the replies and information. I can't wait to chase it all up. A document I really want to get hold of is "The Tales of the Tin Trams" by Godsave. I think a copy is held at the RAF Regiment Museum but I'm not sure! Cheers Emps
Information about Godsave who commanded No 4 Armoured Car Company and served as Second in Command of the Armoured Car Wing. Orders, Decorations, Medals and Militaria : Dix Noonan Webb : Free Download, Borrow, and Streaming : Internet Archive From a Dix Noonan Webb catalogue, item 798, 6 December 2017. Archive.org. Maureen
Dear EmpireUmpire, I would be very grateful if you could share pdf copies with me of 1 and 3 as mentioned above. Dear All, do any of you have any links or photos relating to British armoured cars used in operations against Kurdish uprisings around Sulaimania, Iraq in 1919-1932? Thanks, Richard
Not about the RAF's armoured cars though. An article by Harry Fecitt on the insurrection: Request Rejected Where a Manchester's Bn was battered near Hilla. Then the MGC: Request Rejected and the taking of Rumaithah, it's relief then a withdrawal: Request Rejected The links given do work, for an unknown reason that text appears!
