Census numbers for Ford LAAT
 

Although I have initiated this question under "New Thread" it is a fairly old chestnut.
Having spent a happy morning using the search facility to try to track down definitive lists of contract numbers and census numbers, and having read many fascinating posts, I am no further forward.
My brothers and I are rebuilding a July 1944 F60S and, having established that the Isle of Man Territorial AA Regiment had such vehicles in the Normandy campaign, we would like to dress the truck as such. The Manx Museum has kindly given us permission to do so but do not have any pictures of the actual vehicles from which we can copy the census number.
Where do I start to find the correct batch of numbers that may apply to this vehicle? Is there no option but to visit the RLC museum at Chillwell?

Possibly try the regimental war diaries. Sometimes you get lucky and the war diary officer put in a list of the vehicles held by the Regiment.

D supporting
 

Sadly, all master records relating to vehicle allocations seem to have been destroyed when the post-war registration number system was initiated in 1948 or so. The Chilwell records relating to unit allocations would truly be the Holy Grail but it must have been a huge quantity of paperwork and probably doesn't survive.

Chilwell is no longer a depot and the RLC records are at Deepcut but there have been so many changes and amalgamations that ex-RAOC records only seem to form a small part of it.

As Jordan says, War diaries can turn up trumps. Territorial units seem more likely to have recorded detail. If not, perhaps the REME diaries covering the LAD supporting - sometimes they'll mention vehicles out of service or awaiting delivery.

Have you thought of a trip to the IWM to look through all their NW Europe photo albums (I'd have thought that the Manx Museum would have done that though).

Census numbers
 

Thanks for your suggestions. I have bigger problems in getting the truck on the road but would like to add authenticity before next year's commemoration.

Hello Alastair,

I had a quick look in Rob van Meel's "B" vehicles WD numbers by alphabetical order of manufacturers. This is a reworked Chilwell allocated number blocks list, in four chapters: vehicles, Motorcycles, trailers and miscellaneous. It lists two blocks of numbers for Ford LAAT trucks:

Attachment 98956

• H6100201 - H6100448, supplied under contract SM6111
• H6100505 - H6101404, supplied under contract SM6143

There may be more, but this is what I could find during a quick glance.

HTH,
Hanno

Attachment 98955

Census numbers
 

Thanks, Hanno. You have lead me to exactly the reference I was looking for. A copy of the book is now on order.

Hanno,
That's really interesting, does that publication give production numbers? I was trying to understand how the Loyd Carrier production numbers are so screwed up and this may explain it as I bet it doesnt tally with the bovington contract cards!