Quote:
Originally Posted by David_Hayward
Jan, War Department Census Numbers were allocated to vehicles that were purchased, requisitioned, gifted to, or whatever and acquired by the Ministry of Supply for the War Office & Air Ministry, and by the Admiralty for the Royal Navy & Royal Marines. Up to 1940 these had to have civilian registrations and the Census Number was just that! From 1940, no tax disc was required, and the requirement to register vehicles (in the Middlesex County Council in practice) was abandoned in favour of reliance on the WD Number.
The Ministry of Supply with the Ministry of War Transport also acquired vehicles of all types for Government users, such as staff cars for official use, Air Ministry staff, Salvage Corps, local authorities, police, fire services, et al. These had civilian registrations either in Government-allocated batches by the Middlesex County Council, or by London County Council, or regional local authorities. In addition there were various ambulance authorities, church and religious groups, Ministry of Food, etc. vehicles that were often military types with civilian or military tyres but carrying civilian registrations.
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David, regarding non military users: vehicles for the Home Office(Min Home of Security) and Scottish Office [i.e.pre- 41 AFS, NFS 41-48, CD rescue services] were aquired through contracts raised by the Office (later Ministry )of Works. In 1938 when the HO needed to start procuring vehicles and equipment to meet the deteriorating international situation, it did not have its own contracts and purchasing dept. With the permission of the Treasury they used the OoW resources for the task, a post -1948 HO report I have an extract from, gives this info and makes a point that the arrangement worked well and continued through the war. In addition all emergency fire fighting vehicles and equipment for use by HM forces and all other HMG ministries and depts for war emergency purposes were combined with HO requirements and contracted by the OoW, not the MoS.
Regarding census numbers you say WD census number ----------allocated for vehicles ...........for the War office, Air Min & Admiralty ?? was this statement a generalisation ?? WD numbers on RAF & RN vehicles ???
TED