WD / Census Number tags

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

I have just started a new thread with info on wartime civvy Chevrolets which I shall update/improve in due course. The ERC minutes show that by late 1940/early 1941 some members were getting fractious about the surfeit of ambulances that were being donated, or hoisted on to the government departments. They understandably would have preferred chassis and chassis-cabs for essential user work but the US donations were of course hamstrung by the Neutrality Acts. Of course Fords also came over, donated by a host of people and organisations. Recipients of donated vehicles for ambulance, canteen, food drops, etc. included British Red Cross, British-American Ambulance Corps, St John Ambulance, Church Army, Salvation Army, Church of Scotland.

I would be interested to know who was responsible for NAAFI vehicles, as they received Dagenham-built civvy-registered Fordson vans for instance, as well as heavier chassis for mobile canteens. Then there were the Queens Messengers / Ministry of Food Guy Ants, Fordson 7V vehicles...it goes on! Something to be discussed again.

I would finish though by mentioning Red Cross vehicles. It seems that Polish RC Chevrolets, presumably funded in part by Americans, were registered as military vehicles in the Polish series. However, British RC ambulances that I know of had civvy regos but in some cases were driven by FANY drivers, and allocated to military bases.

[ted angus]

Re Naafi vehicles, there were 2 arms to Naafi, during WW2 in UK purely civillian manned, I do not recall seeing anything special about reg numbers possibly all registered from the NAAFI HQ in London. But nothing I have seen leads me to believe they were from HMG LCC blocks.
In operational areas overseas the title became NAAFI/EFI EFI = Expeditionary Forces Institute. under the control of RASC all personnel were in uniform and RASC badged but unarmed. Mobile canteens were supplied by Naafi , all other vehicles by WD so I presume these carried a WD census./ I will have a dig through my pictures.
Re B R C I think there major war role was in direct support of HMF often up to the front line in N W Europe.
TED

[David_Hayward (RIP)]

Several photos of a Dagenham Motors conversion of a E83W NAAFI Refreshment Van has the rego FGW 920.