Welfare Vehicles

[Matthew P]

This mobile canteen looks to be British and most likely . The building behind it still stands today in Brussels. It was a canteen/club/leave centre late in WW2. I zoomed and cropped on the markings on the truck because it is so unusual to see that on these vehicles. Can anyone help me to identify those?

Thanks
Matt

[Richard Farrant]

Originally Posted by Matthew P

This mobile canteen looks to be British and most likely . The building behind it still stands today in Brussels. It was a canteen/club/leave centre late in WW2. I zoomed and cropped on the markings on the truck because it is so unusual to see that on these vehicles. Can anyone help me to identify those?

Thanks
Matt

A British built Fordson 7V

[Matthew P]

Richard,

Thanks. Even I can at this point figure out a Fordson 7V. Or at least I think I can... Always good to get confirmation. I should have been more clear. I was interested in what appear to be unit markings on the cowl.

Edit: I asked this question on Facebook and apparently it's many units. It seems this canteen was "zapped" to use one gentleman's parlance with the various units it was associated with or supported, presumably from Normandy to Brussels.

Matt

[Alex van de Wetering]

Great pictures again, Matt.

I asked this question on Facebook and apparently it's many units.

It does indeed seem to show several small markings....what looks to me like the bull from the 79th Armoured division, but also the Polar bear from the 49th Infantry division.
The poor Fordson did get a nose job sadly....

[Matthew P]

Here's another photo. The canteen in question is a left hand drive Vanette, probably built on a Ford Chassis exported to Britain from the United States, a gift of the British War Relief Society, USA. Couple of military trucks to the left, one appears to be an ambulance? Looks like a cross painted on the canvas. Interesting hood cover blankets. Also two of the soldiers have M-1938 US leggings. Looks to be US uniforms?

Matt

[Ed Storey]

This is an interesting photograph, thanks for posting. The vehicles to the left are British Bedfords and most of the troops in the photograph are also British although there are two Americans in the foreground.

[Matthew P]

So I recently visited The Salvation Army archives in London again. This time one of my focuses was on a couple of "unpublished manuscripts". One was a sort of memoir type paper about 20 pages long written by a Salvation Army Officer who was in Arras at the War Graves Hostel at the outbreak of war and gives some details of the time from September 39 through evacuating at Saint Malo.

But the other manuscript was about 8 pages and written by nephew of a Red Shield Worker who was in Italy. Alan Clawley has since passed away himself. But his research into his Aunt Elsie brings us these three photographs of a Dodge in service with the British Forces in Italy.

Matt

[Steve Guthrie]

Originally Posted by Matthew P

This mobile canteen looks to be British and most likely . The building behind it still stands today in Brussels. It was a canteen/club/leave centre late in WW2. I zoomed and cropped on the markings on the truck because it is so unusual to see that on these vehicles. Can anyone help me to identify those?

Thanks
Matt

Looks like a number of British Divisional markings, including Airborne, 49th Infantry and 79th Armoured. Could represent the units the vehicle visited

[Radek]

The picture with Austin inst war time, but from ree event ;-)

[Matthew P]

Steve,

I wonder where/when that Canadian Red Cross vehicle served and in what role? During WW2 the four agencies providing welfare to the troops were Salvation Army, YMCA, Knights of Columbus and Canadian Legion.

Thanks for the vote of those were units that Canteen served. That seems the likely consensus so far.

Matt

[Matthew P]

That Canadian Legion canteen photo was most likely in England. The first many canteens by the services I listed above in England were local trucks, the very first were donated from a tea company. It was several months before Canadian trucks caught up with their Welfare services in Great Britain.

Matt

[Hanno Spoelstra]

Any interest in the Queen’s Messengers food convoy trucks?

This one was pictured in Rotterdam, early May 1945. Courtesy of Alex.

562CACA3-C2DC-421A-91DB-11D33989C350.jpeg

[Matthew P]

Hanno,

That's a Bedford OXC correct? Somewhere I have reference to these canteen body Bedfords and it's my understanding the UK War Office was trying to standardize the chassis used because so many different ones were being donated it was hard to maintain them in good running shape. Here's a few more from the very late war, post war period. The first picture is captioned as being in Lengerick Germany and in the same series one of the gentleman at the canteen is a German officer POW stripped of rank and title conversing with a British Sergeant. The second of the cargo box is captioned as Brussels headed to Germany and the last is missing it's captions. No dates were given, but the circumstances and locations can give us a pretty good idea of when these photos were taken. There's also a series of pictures I've found from an air field in England with POWs being re-patriated. A Bedford chassis canteen and trailer feature prominently. I'll try to post them up later.

Matt