60cwt truck photo
 

HI eveyone

I was given a copy of this photo by a friend of mine. His brother works at a photo place and is restoring the original so that the familly can have a good copy. Non of them knew anything about what kind of truck this was or when and where the photo was taken.

I told my friend that it was a Ford 60cwt GS. Unfourtunatly the soldier is standing in front of the unit sign. It looks like it may be a "7?" Also the "B14" on the door is rather odd. On my copy it appears that there is a colour demarcation going horizontaly. The upper half looks to be just a small bit darker then the lower.

We weren't sure if the picture was taken during the war or after since the headlight doesn't have the blackout and the trees are full of leaves. Im thinking May-Aug 1945.

Another interesting thing is the sign on the cab roof. They are various Dutch towns. Could this truck have been used as some sort of bus for soldiers or civilians?

Any help is much appreciated.

Reply
 

L 5927384 does not appear in my census lists, because it is a Middle East theatre allocated number, so this CMP originated I suggest in North Africa and therefore came to Europe with the 8th Army? The front bar support appears to be fixed in the front so would appear to make it a Chevrolet not a Ford. I cannot see 'FORD CANADA' stamped into the metal underneath the headlights as well.

The Dutch towns suggest that this was a troop bus service.

ford
 

I think also it is a Ford, see the horn, headlight rings, Ford type brush bar and Ford style wire mesh rad. guard.

Nice picture by the way!

Cheers,

Stefan

ford
 

going by the horn I would say it's a ford and also the bumper mounts. Chevs also have a bar in front of the radiator as part of the front shell.
Max

Rethink
 

The front guard support appears to be mounted from the front and not by supports from both sides of the bumper.

Thanks for the info already.

The div sign is hard to see on the copy but it is a maple leaf. David since you say that this census number orginated from the middle east I would then suspect that the truck was with 5 Armd Div.

I was looking through a book the other night and it showed a bunch of 60cwt CMP trucks taking part in the VE Day drive by. The caption says they were from a RCASC unit. They all had the same style "B" numbers on the door. Suppose this would mean they were for the "B" echelon of the unit?

Also any ideas as to what units were operating in the area of those towns at the end of the war?

The 'B14', if indeed the user unit is R.C.A.S.C., would mean that the vehicle pictured belongs to No. 3 Section, "B" Platoon.

Platoons within R.C.A.S.C. Companies used Alpha designations, ie: "A", "B", "C" Platoon, etc., instead of No. 1, No. 2, No. 3 Platoon, etc. The visible fig 7 on the AoS marking and from what David said about 'L 5927384' being from the Middle East, suggests that this vehicle may belong to one of the R.C.A.S.C. Companies of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division.

Also, I would agree with David, the vehicle is being used has a 'Bus'.

Cheers

Circular?
 

Looks like the equivalent of the Mid-East CABS, Canal Army Bus Service...and a circular route?

FORD?
 

I think it definitely looks like a Ford. The radiator guard on the Chev is much wider than Fords.

Also Chev has a crossmember? running through the centre of the grill horizontally.

Tim

Soest
 

Hi all:

When I first saw the picture I thought it must have been a long 'round trip as Soest is in the Ruhr valley in Westfalia, Germany... I along with thousands of other base brats were born there (actually in the British Military Hospital in Iserlohn, just down the road) in the 50's, 60's and early 70's.

I googled "Soest" and learned that there is a town of that name in Holland near Utrecht. Damn, this site is educational and entertaining! :note:

:cheers: Mike