Quebec plates
 

I'm not sure about colours but start at
http://www.canplates.com/quebec.html
The plate shown as 1937-1943 appears brown (slight reddish tinge) on my monitor with white print. I have no idea if all plates for a given year were the same colour or if cars and commercials had different colours. the pictured plate seems to be white print on dark background which fits the above. Another site says that 1940 car plates were white on black.
A third site shows both car and truck plates for the same tears (but not 1940, oldest shown example is 1966) and the colours are the same in each case shown.
The linked site contains confirmation that the plate is commercial, not car, apparently F=frais.
As curiosity Quebec's 1944 plates were black lettereing on a light grey background on a masonite plate. Ontario for 1944 was a decal placed on the windshield to extend the 1943 plate.

Here yah go.

That is the second site II looked at, it looks like a 1940 car plate (no F prefix) so I'm still not sure about truck plates.

You just got to love a bit of history
 

Pictures like this are undiscovered bits of history, seventy year old puzzles.

Thanks for finding, preserving and sharing.

Cheers Phil

Nice find Rob!

Isn't the old ghost a C15?

Interesting how they have the direction on rear tires reversed. I wonder if this actually improves traction with Chevron pattern directionals, or was it just luck of the draw when installing replacement tires that were pre-mounted on rims.

David seems to have a C15 that is ten census numbers off of this one. 40-1-703 is in your pic and 40-1-713 is in his yard! http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/showthread.php?t=8622

You are correct....
 

I had the C right.... but yes it is a C15 has it has runningboards.....

The rear wheels are mounted backwards to facilitate a retreat to the rear..... a left over from the French army....

Bottom line it must have been a nightmare for the motor pool to have the proper orientation of tires...... I can just hear it...... sorry Sir you can't have your vehicle ready untill we find some right side tires....!

Strange coincidence to have two trucks so far apart within Canada.

Bob C

Barn Update
 

Winter prep. Two words. Important work. Bob and Grant spent a good portion of the last few weekends clearing brush from the trailer parking area and the road to the wagon lines. A few large trees will now feed Lucifer on those rapidly approaching cold days. Bob also spread some gravel over the driveway near his house and on the road leading to the barn. They did a great job as you can now see the wagon lines from the trailer park. I missed out on these activities to recover from a run in with a large tree branch (it went down with a good fight...).

This weekend I finally got long-haired niner's authorization to go to the barn. The first order of business was to clean out the 45 HUP shelter so that I could move around in it. The 43 HUP shelter also needed a cleaning out. Storage space is becoming somewhat tight at the moment, so we had to make due with the resources at hand. My old car shelter (used for the infamous BBQs) got damaged in a recent wind storm. The fabric was shredded in many places rendering it useful only for covering engines etc... The frame was repaired and set up next to the 45 HUP shelter. Since I had some of Greg Wright's famous modular tent pieces, they were used to "wrap" the shelter. It would have taken three center sections to totally cover the shelter frame, but I only had two available. However I did have two end pieces and the result can be seen below. Today I spent a few hours moving various HUP pieces into the "new" shelter. I still have to put some shelving together, but overall the new shelter has given me the space to move around freely in the other shelters. I suspect that that space will be taken up with future acquistions (I hope).

Photo 1: Bob and Grant bleeding babbits
Photo 2: The "new" shelter
Photo 3: The first rule of HUP Club is "You always talk about HUPs"...

Weekend Update
 

Whew! MLU is back up and running...withdrawal is bitch. Anyway, Saturday was dedicated to a bit of maintenance. Bob's tractor required some work on its power steering pump. We broke down the pump and found that one of the many small and delicate gaskets had ruptured, thus permitting the pump fluid to leak past the drive shaft and into the crankcase. After new gaskets and a seal were installed we put everything back together. The acid test came later in the afternoon when we moved some trees to the cutting pile near the wagon lines. The oil level dropped somewhat, but there were no noticeable leaks or loss of power. Fingers crossed!

Following the pump maintenance, our attention turned to the 45 HUP. I took the truck out to the mud hole near the wagon lines and had some fun trying to get her stuck. During the ride, I was having problems with the engine when shifting from first to second. The engine would labour and then stall. The issue turned out to be timing. Back at the barn, Bob adjusted the dizzy and showed me the two adjustment nuts that had to played with to ensure that things worked well. The following test drive showed a dramatic improvement in speed and engine performance. Bob came along for the ride and wisely grabbed ahold of the OJC handle on the passenger side of the truck. We tried starting out in second gear and the truck took off with no hesitation whatsoever. Some day soon, we will be taking the HUP back to the big field for some more cross country fun. I'll be sure to bring the video camera.

A big thanks to Bob for the timing adjustment and the subsequent adjustment lesson.

Photo: The HUP warms up (-2oC at 1300hrs) while Bob heads over to chat with Joyce

Black and White Gold
 

I ran into a former co-worker at the recent Ottawa Militaria Show. I wasn't aware of his interest in things military of a historic bent, but Mike recently got interested in the historic military vehicle scene. I showed him the photo of the C15 I bought at the show and he mentioned that he had a number of photographs taken by his grandfather during WWII .

Mike's grandfather was with the Canadian Ordnance Corps stationed at Peper Harow, Surrey, England. This was the location where vehicles and equipment were readied for both the Dieppe and Normandy operations. It was also the Headquarters for the Cdn Ordnance Corps in England.

I got 10 small photos and five slightly larger photos showing Canadian Army vehicles and equipment parked in the beautiful English countryside. Please note that these photos are the property of the owner and are not to be used without his permission (thru me).

You Ford nuts will love these shots, but there is something there for everyone. The first is a close up of a row of Fords:

More Wartime Treasures
 

More of Mike's photos - A HUP in the background...drool! There is a baseball backstop in the background of photo number one. A quick search of the internet revealed that there was an active competition between the Canucks and Yanks stationed in the UK. While the Canadians had some success beating the Americans at their own game, the US prevailed in the ultimate championships. No word about how our southern cousins fared in the hockey championships...

More Wartime Treasures
 

Next installment - More HUPs...

Final installment
 

Many thanks to Mike for providing access to these wonderful shots.

Then and Now
 

Thanks to Rob and Mike Cassie (owner of the photos posted above by Rob) I offer the following 'then and now' comparison. The manse is located at Peper-Harow, location of an RCOC vehicle dump prior to the invasion.

http://www.servicepub.com/images/peper-harow1.jpg

Strange.......
 

Just a few observations.......

..if this is before the Normandy invasion..... it would have taken months to move that many vehicles...even just to park them in such neat rows.....

How come there seems to be no attempts to hide them.... camouflage, etc...?
....nor any attempts to park them further apart to prevent aircraft straffing..

Although stored ouside in the beautiful English Spring weather most of the vehicles do not have the side windows installed.....and many have missing mirrors.

The size of such a dump.... and possibly others existed...... not being noticed by the Germans is unbelievable......


A final Observation..........The mix of vehicles...cab 11/12 and 13..... never realized that so many early models cab 11/12 were used in the invasion.... I always assumed that they had been issued all new equipment which precluded older cab 11/12.

If I ever get my time machine working....guess where I an headed....

Bob

Observations/Responses
 

Bob Carriere: Just a few observations...if this is before the Normandy invasion... it would have taken months to move that many vehicles...even just to park them in such neat rows...

My theory/response: Yep. It would have taken quiet a few lads to park them. Fortunately, there were elements of three armies in the area (UK, US, CA) all of whom had ready access to manpower.

Bob Carriere: How come there seems to be no attempts to hide them.... camouflage, etc...?nor any attempts to park them further apart to prevent aircraft straffing...

My theory/response: German fighters escorted their bombers on runs up to the English coast and sometimes further. Their limited range prevented them from hunting for targets of opportunity such as vehicle parks - I am sure the pilot was very much more interested in getting back to the airfield for a fast look in the mirror, a quick schnaaps and refueling for the next mission - as opposed to getting fished out of the drink. There were many more larger US vehicle parks in the south of England that were far easier targets than this small one.

Bob Carriere: Although stored ouside in the beautiful English Spring weather most of the vehicles do not have the side windows installed.....and many have missing mirrors.

My theory/response: The windows should have been stored in window bags inside of the trucks. As for the mirrors, some enterprising lad from Argentina stole the mirrors to sell on ebay in the distant future for considerable profit.

Bob Carriere:The size of such a dump.... and possibly others existed...... not being noticed by the Germans is unbelievable....

My theory/response: The issue is priority of targets at the time. The vehicles lined up in the country side were not seen as an immediate threat and could be dealt with when the time came. The priority was to break the will and spirit of the British people by bombing their places of work, worship and their homes. I am sure that the German spy network was well aware of the vehicle parks.

Bob Carriere: A final Observation..........The mix of vehicles...cab 11/12 and 13..... never realized that so many early models cab 11/12 were used in the invasion.... I always assumed that they had been issued all new equipment which precluded older cab 11/12.

My theory/response: The exact time frame of when these photos were taken is not known, but spans pre-Dieppe to pre-D-Day. In any case, I don't think that the cab 11/12 were scrapped on a one for one basis when the cab 13s arrived, but would have been kept as strategic reserve vehicles.

Bob Carriere: If I ever get my time machine working....guess where I an headed....
My theory/response: Screw that. I'd go back to high school and improve my knowledge of female gross anatomy...

Looking at the website of the location, which is now a private estate, it looks like the owner died in 1942 and his two sons were killed in Italy in 1943. It says that the Canadians requesitioned the property in the latter part of the war, so it could be post-Dieppe.

Requesition vice Alloted
 

Richard. Good point. However, the requesition could have occurred after the Cdn Army was in situ for a number of years. Worth researching...more later.

A Little More Peper...
 

Website: HISTORY OFQ (MOVEMENTS), SOUTH EASTERN COMMAND 15 FEB 1941 TO .... http://www.movcon.org.uk/History/Doc...CHS%200507.htm

There is an indication that early in 1942, No 1 Canadian Base Ordnance Depot was formed and began operating its traffic office at Peper Harow. How early? Not known. The Dieppe Raid or Op Jubilee took place in August 1942, making the span of years that the photos were taken "plausible".

Fascinating read, my area, quite familiar to a lot of those places. Will have to read it through properly. Anyway it has given you a timeline for the depot.

Merry Christmas from the Hammond Barn
 

As 2010 winds down, the crew at the Hammond Barn is taking time to reflect on another year of CMP restoration. A lot of good things have happend around the barn, and for that we are truly grateful. We of course mourn the passing of Geoff W-B, but are comforted knowing that he lives on in his legacy, MLU.

From the Clarke household, we wish you and yours the best of the season and a Merry Christmas.

Xmas Greetings
 

Carolle and I would like to wish everyone at the "Barn" the best for the new year. I have one question though, will I ever see a complete restoration????? I know in 2010 you guys made a lot of progress and I actually saw a Hammond Barn CMP chassis move across a field under its own power, well done BOB.
Also we are looking forward to the next Hammond Barn Camping and BBQ weekend, we hope to bring the MKT again and this year we will have a new menu. Carolle is really looking forward to showing off here new M38A2.
For those interested we finally got the Contact Maintenance truck (M1031 CUCV) fully operational and we are stocking the truck will common parts so we can help anyone with minor problems, especially if we attend rallies.
This year we plan on having a gathering/BBQ/ ride through the Hills. MTF
As soon as you get a confirmed date for the BBQ plse advise us. We are planning a few sorties this summer. We will be in Windsor in August and hope to attend COE Hill this year.
For Rob I have some parts you might be interested in. M143
Gilles and Carolle

Pssstt.....
 

..... it's a secret but Big Bad Bob's Beer & Burgers BBQ will be June 24-25-26

We are hoping to have the back field dug up to make a muddy testing ground...

Hey Knokneemuss

I'll get in early,
Happy New Year and we are all looking forward to "The Barn 2011"
Regards Rick

Early.......
 

..... you guys are always a day ahead of us any ways....


Well it is a chilly very bright and sunny day at the barn.....very little snow for this time of the year but temperature with the windchill is -22 Celsius....slightly colder than a Mother in law's heart....

So A Happy New Year for 2011........ lots of discoveries and recoveries..... and the time and health to work on your toys......

The Barn Boys......


PS....doing our last recovery of the year Dec 28th... a running GMC 270 engine..... more to follow.

Winding Down 2010
 

Earlier in the week we got an urgent request for CMP axle parts from a chap who lives near Kemptville, ON. Bill runs a CMP that has been converted to a snowplow. Earlier in the week, he lost power to the front axle. After some investigation, he found that the long drive axle had snapped about two inches from the splines on the diff side. So, he made the trek to Hammond to do some shopping. Bob fixed him up with a spare axle shaft. Bill parted with some money and a replacement part. But before he left, he passed on some local knowledge about mil veh wrecks in his neck of the woods...there will be some recces and recoveries in the New Year!

Saturday was a quiet day - most of us stayed home to enjoy the company of family and friends. Sunday saw some activity at the barn, but not much. There was no sense in firing up Lucifer as the visit to the barn was going to be short. My tasks were to dump some diesel fuel down the carb and in the spark plug holes of a few engines that refused to turn over - including the prototype HUP (which I come to find out is actually a "pilot" model). The HUP was easy to get to as it has its own shelter. The Ford (yes, a Ford) had to be unwrapped and space made in the cab to remove the doghouse. The plugs were caked in crap and it was too windy and cold (-32oC with wind chill factor) to mess around with them, so a liberal dose of diesel was dumped down the carb. Interestingly, the diesel started to leak out of a small tube that appears out of a rail assembly on the left side of the engine - the tube's free end spewed the diesel until I pinched it off with some vicegrips. I have no idea what the tube is for, but will seek this info later when it warms up. The Ford has moved up on the restoration list given its historic and "colourful" provenance.

Later in the afternoon, Guy, the Steam Guy made an appearance after a lengthy absence from the barn. He made a beeline to the barn to bask in the warmth of Lucifer's embrace, but was shocked that there was no fire. After catching up on his Christmas presents, Guy left us to our devices.

After Guy left, Bob and I stacked some wood for his home furnance. That worked up a bit of a sweat, so we had a couple of cold ones. Bob showed off his Christas presents and two photos that he got from Joyce's family. He will post copies later. After a quick snack, I headed back home to plan a couple of recces for the New Year.

Just in case the New Year sneaks up on us, all the best to MLU in the New Year!

Photo: Guy and Bob

M38a2
 

Hi fellow members.

I have been luking here for the past few months, and enjoy the posts.

I just noticed someone has a M38A2

I am wondering what the difference is between the M38A1

Thanks
And keep up the chatter

Howard :thup:

Visit to the Barn
 

Hey Guys just wondering if there will be someone at the Barn on Thursday 30 Dec, Carolle and I will be taking a ride and thought we would stop by. Gilles

Can only answer for me......
 

Hi Gilles

Sorry but I am doing baby sitting duties at the office all this week.....

.....unless Rob or Grant drop by no one will be home......

No rest for the wicked.....

Bob

According to me only one number difference....
 

Hi Howard

That is the extent of my Jeep knowledge....... guys like Don Dingwall, Eric Booth, Jim Fraser, etc....... could identify a jeep bolt at 100 yards but not me...... I am knee deep in rusted old CMPs...... the Chevy kind !!!!

Bob C

Trailer..............
 

To Bob Carrier:

Re: found trailer....

I got a chance to see the trailer we talked about the other day. I am pretty sure that it is military. Under the yellow paint, I can see the distinctive army green. The tail-gate along with the two sides fold down. There are also 2x4 openings on the sides to hold frames for a roof.... Next time I bring a camera.

PS: Don't tell anyone