[David_Hayward (RIP)]

I must get some pix of Ford WO trucks! Of course V 203731 is a Ford W0T2B! I is a idiot for not finding the Census Number!

V 203677 to V 204676 Contract V.3735 'Van 15 cwt. 4x2 GS'!

So. it's a W.O. Census Number on a W.O.-owned truck, issued and used by the NZASC element of the NZEF.

The L 4515098 truck appears to have a Middle East-allocated W.O. Census Number, and therefore was owned by the War Office/Ministry of Supply and issued to the AIF.

So far we know that the AIF, NZEF and Indian Army were all issued with British-owned vehicles. It would appear that the retention of W.O. numbers only applied at most to Mid-East, Malaya, India, Singapore, China, Malta, Gibraltar, Ceylon, N. Africa, E. Africa, Egypt, Bermuda, Jamaica, Persia and Iraq. Note no Far East or Australia allocations. This means that despite what may have been conjected, Ministry of Supply Demands [Contracts] for deliveries to Australia and New Zealand were not allocated W.O. Census Numbers. Local numbers would appear to have been applied to all British purchases as well as Australian and NZ deliveries.

I have yet to find any British papers confirming what the arrangements were about the financial arrangements were about these British-owned vehicles that we have been discussing, but it may have been the subject of a 'we'll sort it all out at the end of the war' arrangement as happened with the US and Canadian Governments. Of course using W.O. numbers on British trucks must have made the supply and fitment of spare parts much easier since there would have been just a need to quote the Census Number....I assume here that British trucks had British parts supplied no matter who was in de facto ownership!