Cab11 C8 Bush Find

[Mike K]

Originally Posted by Pete Ashby

As you know we were receiving trucks as CKD through the Southampton rebuild plant up until it was bombed on the 30th of November 1940 and then via the Citron dealership in Slough. The early 11 cab trucks all seem to come of the lines with Canadian built bodies.

If your truck was shipped direct to N Africa it would have been reassembled at at two locations close to the the port of Suez up until late 1941 again as CKD with Canadian bodies.
A plausible scenario may be that the C8 was shipped into the UK issued to British forces and shipped out with them to N Africa then 'acquired' or legitimately transferred to Australian forces in theater. The second option is that it was shipped direct to N Africa in late 1940 and issued directly to Australian forces.

Sorry rather hijacked this thread

Pete

That may be so but as found there was nil evidence remaining on the vehicle in the form of reg numbers, unit markings , or M.E. theatre paint eg light stone or a camo scheme, nothing. The original faded factory green was evident under a post war applied grey . The only other option is: a post war comprehensive re-paint, this process would have stripped the panels down to bare steel and in the process removed all of the unit markings and reg numbers, but the evidence says this is unlikely. How many people had the time or money to do a strip back to bare steel re-paint job after the war ? I purchased it from the first civilian owners grand daughter. Been in the one family until I found it.

The other two 8cwt's I have . One Morris has the M.E. reg number on the bonnet 0 36?0 . These odd reg. numbers appear on Morris and Motorcycles in Palestine , in service with the AIF ( see the AWM pics) . The second Morris has the light stone paintwork still evident and a faded unit marking. The first C8 has markings all over it .