MLU FORUM - British Tillies arrive

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British Tillies arrive

Tillies arrive down under

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/a...army%20utility &searchLimits=l-decade=194

Nice Investigative find!

Great Find Mike! that make a lot of sense and lines up well with the 40 late model morris tillies that were sent here in 45, my guess is ours are almost certainly in that shipment.

cheers

Chris

Hi Mike,
I know of a Hillman Tilly in NSW that was in a contract supplied to the Australian government and according to the present owner it had belonged to a hospital for some years, so there is a possibility that is where it was allocated to on arrival, essential services, makes sense.

regards, Richard

Observed on all the Morris Tilly’s Chris Collins has recovered is the detachable roof. Obviously to save on shipping space one would think, but it is not a feature I have noticed on European based tillies.
The Hillman you mentioned Richard I think is similarly roofed.

Think these are the Ford WOT2 and Morris CS8's used by the bush fire brigades

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/a...army%20utility &searchLimits=l-decade=194

Hire your vehicle to the army

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/a...army%20utility &searchLimits=l-decade=194

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/a...army%20utility &searchLimits=l-decade=194

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mike Kelly (Post 255261)

Think these are the Ford WOT2 and Morris CS8's used by the bush fire brigades

https://trove.nla.gov.au/newspaper/a...army%20utility &searchLimits=l-decade=194

A good thing The went to the bush fire brigades and had a somewhat less abusive life otherwise none of them would have survived to reach restorers hands. Some barely did as it was.

West. Australia tillies

A few made it to Western Australia.

West Australian (Perth, WA : 1879 - 1954), Saturday 31 March 1945, page 8

UTILITY TRUCKS. LIGHT VEHICLES ARRIVE For Sale to Essential Users. A small number of light utility trucks have arrived in WA for sale to essential users. The procedure for their release, said the Director of Emergency Road Transport, WA (Mr . L.. Millen) on Thursday was for applications to be made through the distributor of the particular make of vehicle, who, In turn, would submit the applications to the officer in charge of new vehicle release at the Department of Emergency Road Transport. Allocation would be made to users in the defined classes on the basis of essentiality of use and need. The vehicles, he said, had come from England. Although the number that had arrived was small, It was hoped that they were the forerunners of at least 250, the types being Austin 10, Morris 10, HEiman 10 and Standard 12. With a more favourable turn of events in Europe, the possibility existed of securing some more. For a long time, he said, the Department of Emergency Road Transport had been concerned at the shortage of utilities for essential users, and he and the directors of Emergency Road Transport in other States had been pressing for an exploration of the avenues of new imports to relieve the position. As a result approaches had been 1 made by the Commonwealth to the! US, Canada and England. American utility production was found to be fully absorbed. Canada could pro-i mise some relief in the heavier utility class, but not immediately. England could only offer relief by making an allocation of the smaller type of utility out of her current army production, and this, in the light of the urgency of Australia's' need, she agreed to do. The circumstances in which the utilities were obtained, Mr Millen said, should make it obvious that they would be available only to users of the highest essentiality. Their: release was restricted to 14 classes , of users whose activities were closely related to war organisation and production. Such of the vehicles as had arrived were of sturdy construction. admirably suited to the work for which they had been allotted, and would afford material relief to the utility position. It was the duty of his department, he said, to see that vehicles spared out of British war production achieved the maximum good in the spheres for which they were allotted, and he was drawing attention to their arrival in order that no defined essential user should be precluded l from consideration by lack of know;ledge of their existence. I

Northern Star (Lismore, NSW : 1876 - 1954), Friday 22 June 1945, page 6

IMPORT TRUCK PRICES NOT YET DISCLOSED

CANBERRA, Thursday.—Essential users of imported utility trucks released by the Government had not yet been told the price of their vehicles, the Minister of Trade and Customs (Senator Keane) admitted in a statement released in the House of Representatives by the Acting Prime Minister (Mr. Chifley). *

He said the United Kingdum had failed to notify the Australian Government of the selling cost; of vehicles. "To ihe present 798 vehicles have arrived," he said, ''and of these 182 have been released to Government authorities and other essential users. Of the remaining 638, a quantity of 192 is held by distributors and the balance of 426 is held in store for the Commonwealth Government."

If 798 tillies did arrive. Where are they all ? Even if the survival rate is 25 % , there should be many more of them around