Hi Roddy,
I will attempt to answer your questions as completely as I can. However, since so little was documented about the Kangaroos during the war and the immediate post-war that some points of interest are little more than speculation.
First of all there are a few historic overviews that can give you more history than i can in this space. Please refer to Geoff's website:
http://www.1cacr.org
There are also a couple of books that are well detailed:
Forum member Mark Tonner has written " The Kangaroo in Canadian Service", part of Clive Law's "Weapons of War" series.
1st Cdn Armd Carrier Regt. veteran, Ken Ramsden wrote a history of his regiment in 1997 (now out of print and difficult to find), "The Canadian Kangaroos in World War II".
To answer your questions. No, the "Kangaroo" carriers did not all belong to the 49APCR. The British 49th (RTR) APCR and the 1st Cdn Armd Carrier Regiment were specifically "Armoured Personnel Carriers". Armoured Ammunition Carriers (Wallabies) were created for separate armoured regiments as echelon vehicles to carry and supply ammunition. Armoured Gun Towers belonged to certain, designated artillery field regiments and as the name implies, towed guns. There were also a limited number of Wasp Flame Throwers euipped Rams called "Badgers".
The Canadian Ram chassis was deemed suitable for all roles and once turretless, all look pretty much the same at first glance. However, each role demanded slightly different modifications and requiremnts for it's proper use in the field. (Ram based Gun Towers were discontinued in December of 1944 and those still in stock were converted to the role of APC.) In the APC role, the tank specifically retained their .30 Browning in the bow (or aux. turret in earlier Rams) and when travelling to the front had an additional .30 mounted on the turret ring. (sometimes a second MG was mounted on the turret ring and there is documentation to support the use of .50 in some instances)
While these individual regiments and branches of the Army had specific roles, there are instances of Ammo Carriers and Gun Towers being pressed into service as APC's and vice versa. (as the photos in this thread have shown). The Kangaroos were officially in a support role to infantry brigades/divisions and when not carrying men were asked/required to preform other tasks (make themselves useful) Kangaroos were crewed by two men, a driver and co-driver (gunner/op) some tanks in the troop would have a third or fourth member riding along (replacement drivers and officers/observers).
Officially the WE for an Armd Carrier Regt. as established by the 1CACR show the Rams as strictly an APC. The Regt. had other vehicles, (scout cars and half tracks and Armd 15cwts) for other roles. The MO had a half track. However in reading the War Diary and in my talks with veterans of the regiment what happened on paper vs. reality were very, very different.
Regarding the clutter. Most photos you see of Kangaroos, unless taken by an official war photographer up at the front, are veteran photo taken away from the frontlines. In these rear areas the tank has become more travelling caravan than combat ready vehicle. When called into "action" all that mess would be removed and stored at the rear area, the extra brownings come out and the infantry go inside the cramped hull, not draped on the outside/rear deck as so many "non-combat" photos show. See attached photo for a kangaroo moving into action. There is still a few bits of stuff on the back.
Regarding welded brackets/modifications... there was no standard configuration for stowage and hull modifications. The 1CACR war diaries mention that the individual crews and troops made all sorts of wonderful modifications to their individual tanks. No two kangaroos look alike. My observation is that the British crews kept their tanks neater and less cluttered, they also cut their fenders back, some used hand holds or rungs on the hull (see the photo of "Armadillo") and ladder like rungs across the front of the transmission. Most photos of 1CACR tanks show the fenders falling off! I have the maintenance log book for a kangaroo and it shows both fenders being replaced in a two month period. Mines and mud really took its toll on the suspension and I suppose too, the fenders.
Markings... again no uniformity. Some of the Rams retained residual markings from their previous roles before being converted. I have yet to see a photo of a kangaroo properly painted as proscribed in the Regt/Divisional regulations. The markings on the British kangaroos are a mystery to me (R9, S8, etc...) I haven't seen anything in the 49APCR WE or WD to describe or explain the meaning of these markings.
Hope that clears up a few things?!
Bill.