Godwin, as soon as I get back my copy of AN ACCOUNT OF OUR STEWARDSHIP I shall give everyone chapter and verse as the book says it all. Meanwhile here is an extract from HERITAGE COMMERCIALS which I edited, relating to Bedford At War:
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To trace the start of Vauxhall’s war production, we must travel back to 1935, when the company were invited to look at ways in which standard production model vehicles could be adapted for military use. The two chosen by the company were the 12-cwt BY van and the WH 2-ton truck, but the 20hp 6-cylinder van had already been proposed for discontinuation and it fared badly in the subsequent trials. The 2-tonner did considerably better, and it emerged from the tests as having the highest tractive effort in its class, even when compared against other models that had been specifically designed or adapted for military work. Larger tyres were fitted, and a ‘hot country’ export radiator was fitted before the truck went for further trials at Farnborough. There it was tested in all kinds of conditions, and performed well in every respect, excepting ground clearance where it failed miserably. In 1936 further trials were held in North Wales, and the truck distinguished itself by easily climbing up the 1-in-3 course up Alt-y-Bady. This time the Army engineers found the truck ideal in most respects but the matter of engine cooling, which led to changes to the fan and bonnet design. The 1937 WD trials were also held in North Wales, but this time the company had submitted an experimental 15-cwt military vehicle based on the 2-ton truck, [W.D.1] which performed every task asked of it. In 1938 trials took place again, when the Bedford entrant carried their new 28hp engine, but the tests were reality a formality as Vauxhall had already been given a provisional order to produce 2,000 military trucks in the event of war breaking out.
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However the draft 1939 WD Trials Report on the MW proper stated that the truck tested was inferior to that of the prototype, and required modification and re-submission. I would suggest that the 1939 WD Trials had a 'pilot' MW albeit with latest Bedford engine but something got lost in translation from prototype to pilot.