Loss of Identity
Thanks Alex, I posted the website address on the Great War Forum, and several people have indicated they found the site and plate collection of interest, as I have.
The problem with the British method of using a nice brass plate with the data on it was that the data was not stamped into the hull anywhere as well. As the plate was a nice curious, both when in service and after, they are more often than not missing, which makes identifying a particular vehicle quite difficult once the painted-on registration has been rubbed off or over-painted.
Australian vehicles like the MG Carrier have the hull number stamped into a discrete place inside the hull at the rear, so are still identifiable. A Matilda tank, for example, does not: no plate, no identity.
Mike
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