Ontario armour

[gcrossley]

Hi,

I think you are referring to the Russell/Jeffrey cars manufactured for the Eaton Motor Machine Gun Battery in 1915. 40 were built, based on a Jeffrey Quad chassis, with dual driving controls. The chassis was US built, but the armoured bodies may have been made by the Russell Motor Car company in Toronto. The US army also had an armoured car made on this chassis, but the superstructure was quite different. There was also one partly-armoured Scouting Car called the Russell-Knight. The one picture that has been published shows an open touring car with an armoured hood and low sides to the back of the driver's seats.

The entire outfit, consisting of 40 Armoured Cars, the Scout Car, headquarters, supply and workshop lorries were shipped to England in late 1915. They were destined to sit in a depot there until the summer of 1917 when the entire outfit was turned over to the India Office. Before the vehicles were shipped, 20 of the Armoured Cars were sent to Ireland to serve with British Forces and the remainder sent to India. 16 Armoured Cars made it to India, but the ship SS Shirala carrying the Scouting Car, 4 Armoured Cars, and all the spare parts, was torpedoed in the the English Channel on 2 July 1918. The Armoured Cars served out their lives in Ireland and India, but with no spares they soon wore out and were discarded.

References:

1. War Cars - British Armoured Cars in the First World War - David Fletcher
2. Article by John F Wallace MC - Armour Bulletin Winter 1990
3. Dragons of Steel - John F Wallace MC - Chapter 1

Here is one link with a picture of the Armoured Car from a member of this forum.

http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/jeffrey_armd_car.htm

Most of the published photographs of the cars in Canada are from the T Eaton Company Archives.

Hope it helps,

Gord Crossley
The Fort Garry Horse Museum and Archives