MLU FORUM - Truck Identification in the area of SOLLUM

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Quote:

Originally posted by David_Hayward
1935 or 36 Ford? Note the WD rego plate, half Arabic, the other I think said 'WD and a serial number'.

Here's a trivia question. Why aren't Arabic "Arabic numerals" the same as Western "Arabic Numerals"? Did they lose something in the translation? Imagine numberplates if we still went with Roman Numerals.

There is definitely a story here for David to investigate. There are an awful lot of Fords respresented here, all to a fairly common Middle East design, that I have never seen before. There must be some evidence of a fairly large contract/contracts awarded by the Egyptians or the British during the period 1933/4 up to 1941 that has not to my knowledge been reported on very much.

Most of the stuff I have seen, mainly via Bart, had to do with the LRDG lads.

Have at it David.

Oh, and Tony, we can also thank Islam for pretty near perfecting the use of IEDs but that is a story for another day.

Cheers
Bill

Quote:

Originally posted by Tony Smith
Here's a trivia question. Why aren't Arabic "Arabic numerals" the same as Western "Arabic Numerals"? Did they lose something in the translation? Imagine numberplates if we still went with Roman Numerals.
Thanks be to Islam for Arabic Numbers, Alcohol and Barbecques!

I think you answered your own question Tony...Arabic vs. Roman numerals is like comparing apples to oranges. They both had different origins.
Here's a question...we all know the Roman numeral for four is IV, so how come four on clock faces is often represented as IIII?
Don't thank Islam for Arabic numbers, alcohol, and barbeques. All three predate the birth of Islam, which arose around 600 A.D.
And lastly, we can thank the Arab world for our alphabet which evolved from Ugarit which dates to 1400 B.C.

:cheers: :salute: :drunk: CHIMO!

One Day! Think Ford Alexandria, basically. Like GM, Egyptian Government contracts, WD contracts, and civilians, plus exports to the west. All earning $$$$ from Egyptian ££££

Heres one for you guys to dribble over, dont forget a large number were issued to the Sudan Defence force before and leading into the war these fords are part of that force the Abbisinian campaign, is that how its spelt saw the use of a lot of early converted trucks and also as mentioned the egyptian army were issued with them and of course the British serving in those early pre war days

Re: Re: Re: Ford?

Quote:

Originally posted by sapper740
I think you answered your own question Tony...Arabic vs. Roman numerals is like comparing apples to oranges. They both had different origins.
:cheers: :salute: :drunk: CHIMO!

Derek, I realise that Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, etc) are quite different to the numerals that we use today (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), but why are these "Arabic" Numerals different to what's on the Egyptian plates?

(Scene: A Roman highway patrolman is on duty cruising the main Via on the way to the Forum. "I need a registration check on a 12BC model Chariot bearing registration Mike Mike Mike Charlie Mike Lima X-Ray X-Ray X-Ray India India".
Radio Room: "Checking details for Mike Mike Mike Mike Charlie Lima X-Ray X-Ray X-Ray India India""
Officer: "Correction. Number reads Mike Mike Mike CHARLIE MIKE Lima X-Ray X-Ray X-Ray India India".
Radio Room: "Sorry repeat last. Transmission garbled".
Officer: "Registration Mike Mike Mike Charlie...... Oh stuff it! He's gone".

Re: Re: Re: Re: Ford?

Quote:

Originally posted by Tony Smith
[B]Derek, I realise that Roman numerals (I, II, III, IV, V, etc) are quite different to the numerals that we use today (1, 2, 3, 4, 5), but why are these "Arabic" Numerals different to what's on the Egyptian plates?

Arabs use what are called Hindu-Arabic numerals which had their beginning in India and slowly moved west with the silk caravans. The first use of such numerals by Arab countries was around 825 A.D. There are great similarities between eastern Arabic numerals as used in Persia and by Urdu speaking people and western Arabic numerals such as Egypt.
As U.N. Peacekeepers we took the time to learn their numeral system when posted in the Middle East to ensure we weren't taken to the cleaners.
In 1202 Leonardo of Pisa introduced the system of Hindu-Arabic numerals to Europe. The historical facts are unclear as to the evolution of the numbers but what we English speaking countries use today is the current incarnation of Arabic numerals.
So, the short answer to your question is that different cultures have seen the same numerals evolve in different ways.

:cheers: :salute: :drunk: CHIMO!

Sorry, I do not have any information about the date the fotos have been made. I thought to get an idea about the date once it is known what type of trucks are shown...

To the numbers: In Libya the use of latin letters, plates etc. is forbidden by the law. However; the libyan number plates wear "our" numbers (1,2,3,4...). They call the the ARABIC numbers. Those shown on they egyptian number plates are called "indian" numbers... :teach:

I found my notes based on the National Archives file on German Eiffel cars being sold in Egypt. This I hope will clarify what was going on at the time:

Quote:

..An Alexandria, Egypt Ford dealer complained to the British Embassy in Cairo in May 1938 that he was being undercut by the German-subsidised Ford Eifel 10 h.p. car that sold for E£135 as against the British product at E£190 to E£195. This was passed to the Department of Overseas Trade, and thence to Lord Halifax at the F.O. E.W. Flower said, inter alia:

My information is that exports of German cars are subsidized by a 3% levy on the motor agents in Germany. All agents have had their trade discounts reduced by 3%and the pool created by this levy is used to subsidize exports.

In my view this cannot be regarded strictly as a Government subsidy. It exists in a mild form with British manufacturers who quote lower prices for export than for home consumption and the German scheme only takes that policy a step further. After all the export car should not carry the overheads of advertising, road service men, exhibition and sundry expenses inherent in their home sales, so a reduced price is de facto logical.

Flower added that he was informed that an Alexandria Shipping agency had a contract for 1,000 Fords to be sent from Hamburg to Alexandria in ‘Belgian bottoms’, and thus deprived ‘British bottoms of cargo’ It was thought by the Trade Counsellor in Cairo that the Morris and Austin light cars that sold for E£160 approximately might be affected by the competition from the German light car . C.E. House of the D.O.T. wrote to H.A. Denne at Ford in London and asked him for elaboration as previously all Fords sold in Egypt were Dagenham-assembled . It was explained that the Ford Motor Company Limited had no direct control over the German company, whose shares [were also] held in the U.S., and Ford of England were unable to take any steps to prevent this competition, “which they view with dismay”. The Cologne and Dagenham products directly competed in various countries outside the U.K., U.S. and Germany. Given the close relationship between Lord Perry and Henry Ford, the suggestion seems plausible and yet Perry as Chairman of Ford in the U.K. made a speech to shareholders in May and referred to the ‘unfair competition’ of the German car and claimed that it was a case of dumping and further gave the opinion that the British Government take action to protect the British manufacturers . A D.O.T. correspondent later advised that he had seen several Eifels in Germany and although they were the equivalent of the 10 h.p. Dagenham product, they were less well finished. He also added that as Ford in the U.K. and Germany were both controlled by U.S. Ford, Dagenham could have exercised some pressure in Detroit. “It is tolerably clear that G.H.Q. in Detroit have arranged that the German product (indirectly subsidised by the German Govt. {sic.}) should have a free hand in Egypt’

You can see therefore that Ford-Werke and Ford of England sold in North Africa, and I seriously question whether Koln sold their trucks as well?