Bedford MWR

[nicholas dunford]

Hello all as this is my first post on maple leaf up i want to say thank you for letting me join and introduce my self and my truck , my name is Nicholas Dunford i am a self employed Hydraulic engineer living and working in south Yorkshire England ,my truck is a 1942 Bedford MWR (this is the wireless equipped version of the MW 15 cwt truck )
photo no1 shows the truck as purchased for restoration in 2013

[nicholas dunford]

Hi all i seam to be having problems up loading photos at present will post more when i have sorted the problem
Nicky

[Tim Lovelock]

Welcome :-)

[nicholas dunford]

i think i may have got this image posting sorted now
The second photo shows the truck in Normandy in June 2014 the mechanical s on the truck are all sorted ,the new gs body was finished but all of the MWR rear body fittings are still missing
Nicky

[motto]

Welcome to the forum Nicholas. I don't have a Canadian vehicle either but nobody has said anything about that and there is always something interesting popping up. Like your truck for instance, nice to see something different. If I was to have a British MV it would probably be an MW Bedford, they are quite a smart looking, practical little rig. May you enjoy it for many years to come.

David

[nicholas dunford]

The restoration work continued over the winter of 2014-15 with the refitting of the MWR interior, the second photo i think is taken in Aalas Holland on the 18th of September 1944 and shows the wireless truck of B squadron Irish Guards and as seams with all in service photos of MWRs to have most of the equipment stowed on the out side of the truck , the photos was used to supply the markings for my truck photo no 3 shows the truck as it is at the moment ,with more work still to do this brings me to my first question .

1)when in service would the truck have been operated by Royal signals personnel attached to the Irish Guards or signals trained Guards men , as you can see from the original photo the arm of service marking is not visible i have used the number 53 for the junior armored regiment but should the color the back ground be red (Guards) or white over blue (Royal signals ) ?.

2) What would be the correct number of crew for an MWR with no 19 set attached to an armored regiment ,the truck has five seats so this would give in the cab driver ,wireless mechanic in the rear radio operator and two signalers on to code and one to decode the signals

[Ivor Ramsden]

Eyup Nicky, you turn up in some unexpected places!

I'm fairly certain that your truck should have its AoS number on Royal Signals colours and it would have been crewed by Royal Signals bods.

This is my conclusion after studying the 15th Light Ack Ack Regiment War Diaries. During the early part of the war there were separate diaries kept by the Signals and REME sections attached to the Regiment so they were definitely separate from the RA itself. This might have changed later in the war because no separate war diaries exist from that period but I've seen references (I think in Dick Taylor's "Warpaint" series of books) which state that signals vehicles carried their own AoS colours with the parent unit's AoS number.

The MWR is a fine looking thing. Pity it's not a Morris!

[nicholas dunford]

Eyup Ivor (translation, this Yorkshire for hello )
i get to find the good forums eventually
The truck is marked at present with the Royal signals arm of service marking overlaid with the number 53 but just wanted to know when the control of wireless equipment passed to the Royal signals ,i would think that the basic infantry man with a radio on his back would have been an infantry man first and then a signaler and that the Bedford QLR S would have been operated by signals personnel but not too sure were the MWR fitted in or exactly what the trucks roll was in an armored division do the MWR S get any mentions in the war diary's you have the first trucks would be delivered late 1942 early 43
PS if it was a Morris i would still be looking for parts
Nicky

[Ivor Ramsden]

The 15th LAA used Morris and CMP wireless vehicles rather than Bedfords in NW Europe although we have a couple of photos taken early in the war showing aero screen MWs with GS bodies.

The boys on the WW2 Talk forum might be the best people to ask about the role of Royal Signals within other units.

[nicholas dunford]

I think i may have found the answer to the first of my questions .

1)when in service would the truck have been operated by Royal signals personnel attached to the Irish Guards or signals trained Guards men , as you can see from the original photo the arm of service marking is not visible i have used the number 53 for the junior armored regiment but should the color of the back ground be red (Guards) or white over blue (Royal signals ) ?.

I have just received a copy of British Army Communications in the second world war by Simon Godfrey and within the first couple of pages it gives the following information "To avoid confusion ,it is important to make clear that while the main responsibility for communications in the army during the second world war rested with the Royal Corps of Signals ,the Royal Signals personnel themselves normally only provided communications down to headquarters of armored regiments ,artillery batteries and infantry battalions .Regimental signalers normally provided the communications below this level on equipment that was generally maintained by the Royal Signals " .

if this is correct then with my vehicle carrying the markings of B squadron 2 Nd Armored battalion Irish Guards the arm of service mark should be a red square with the number 53 in white

Nicky