Quote:
Originally Posted by Richard Farrant
Rich,
This system started around 1930, from No. 1, in fact No.1 to 5208 was allocated to Impressed Vehicles of various makes and types, next was M5209 to 5230 Austin 2 seater car, 4x2. It is by pure coincidence that the first two digits on the example you mention, are around the year of manufacture. There appeared to be batches of numbers not used and 399999, prefixed L, because it was a Thornycroft, was the last five figure serial starting with 3. 40000 to 46000 was a group not taken up. Then C46001 to C47551 was for Impressed m/cycles of various makes.
Your example C39**** to C41****, is I assume, six figure numbers? If so they were used with various makes of vehicles and m/cycles, inc. BSA Royal Enfield, Norton, Morris Comm., Scammell, Ford, Guy, etc.
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Richard,
After having studied the Chilwell list intensively, I have come to this conclusion:
The Chilwell records started in 1933, with number 33 000. At that time, there was no difference between the RASC and the RAOC numbers. There were less than 999 numbers allotted in 1933. Logically, in 1934, the sequence started with 34 000. But in ’34, the army needed more vehicles, and after 34 999 came 34 1000 of course! Same story in 1935 and 1936, but in 1937, there was a block from 37 000 until 37 999, then 37 1 000 until 37 9 999, and then came the 37 10 000 until 37 99 999 block…
Towards the end of 1939, it became clear that this situation was getting extremely complicated: the censusnumbers were allotted in small blocks, to make sure that the prefix (e.g. 39) corresponded with the build year. But with so many contracts that were being ordered by now, this system was no longer feasible, it was becoming much too complex…
Instead, a split system for RASC and RAOC vehicles was chosen. The 40 000 until 46 000 numbers were not used up, the 46 000 until 60 000 block was reserved for impressed vehicles etc, and the RASC started with the number 61 001 for their motorcycles, and 150 001 for their four wheeled vehicles. The RAOC started its own sequence with number 4 100 001, census numbers for two- and four wheeled vehicles were mixed up there.
A few months later, the Canadians wanted their own blocks, and 4 200 000 untill 4 299 999 for RAOC and 74 000 until 75 249 for RASC motorcycles (plus other blocks for RASC four wheeled vehicles) were reserved for them.
So it happened that during BSA contract C6654, RAOC census number 4 199 999 was followed by number 4 300 000…
And after RASC census number 258 957 (the 300 000 block was arriving rapidly by then) must have come number 500 000 (in that way, they jumped over the 30 0000 and 40 0000 blocks that were already being used / used up !!!)
After the 500 000 block came the 600 000 block, then 700 000 etc.
Somewhere around Dec ’41 / Jan ’42 (according to my Royal Enfield data), number 1 000 000 was in sight.
From then on, the RASC had to think about another system. Some blocks that had already been used previously were approaching rapidly: two other blocks of Canadian RCASC motorcycle numbers had already been allotted: 1 037 601 until 1 038 300, and 1 039 802 until 1 041 036, and the numbers higher than 1 130 000 had been reserved for (RASC) cars, 1 200 000 upwards are (RASC) ambulances, and there were also blocks for trailers and other oddities… (also some smaller Canadian blocks for RCASC trucks, cars, …)
And there was a (RAOC ??? RASC ???) block from 1 400 000 onwards that was reserved for reconditioned motorcycles. There were similar blocks for reconditioned (RAOC ??? RASC ???) cars (1 500 000), trucks and lorries (1 600 000 and 1 700 000). But there were no numbers higher than 1 800 000 in this series.
So in early 1942, by which time the RAOC numbers must have had reached the 4 600 000 cape, the RASC system was replaced by / integrated in the existing RAOC sequence.
The combined RASC - RAOC sequence continued until shortly after the war, by when it had reached 6 277 376.
Summarised:
- 33-123 : 1933
- 34-123 : 1934
- 34-1234 : 1934
- 35-123 : 1935
- 35-1234 : 1935
- 36-123 : 1936
- 36-1234 : 1936
- 37-123 : 1937
- 37-1234 : 1937
- 37-12345 : 1937
- 38-123 : 1938
- 38-1234 : 1938
- 38-12345 : 1938
- 39-123 : 1939
- 39-1234 : 1939
- 39-12345 : 1939
- 61 000 > 258 957 : RASC 1940 (approximately)
- 500 000 > 1 000 000 : RASC 1941 (approximately)
- 4 1XX XXX : RAOC 1940 onwards
- 4 2XX XXX : Canadian forces
- 4 6XX XXX > 6 2XX XXX: RASC plus RAOC 1942 onwards (approximately)
- Plus some small blocks for impressed vehicles, rebuilt vehicles, …
Regards,
Jan (Numbers Nerd #1)
