WW II Motorcycle Census Numbers and Contracts

Before I post other A and B census number ranges I thought I would start with the motorcycles first as it was the easiest to sort. The spread sheet was not mine originally I have just tweaked / merged stuff.
I know that some contracts were cancelled or sub-contracted but this is a starting point.
Please let me know of any corrections or additions you can make.
Anyway I hope it is of some interest to someone.

Cheers

Kevin

 

In your list can you explain the abbreviation 'LP' in the contract column?
Thanks.

 

It's 'Local Purchase'

It would seem that the term was used for RAOC 'B' vehicles during the period that they were dealt with separately from RASC 2nd line vehicles for which the term 'Impressed' was used. This latter term often gives rise to an idea that vehicles were taken by force much in the way of the earlier Naval impressment of men.

In actual fact, with motorcycles at least most of these 'LP' machines were either purchased via a number of large motorcycle dealers, including their unsold pre-war stock or perhaps more often were simply non-WD specification machines assembled by the manufacturers from their spares stock and purchased under emergency contracts with local authorisation.

Similar things occurred in the Middle East where export trucks particularly from the US had been at sea for some time and were purchased from the importers as they arrived.

 

good morning historicans!
in reference with the above list, the motorcycles from Royel Enfield must have numbers up to max 5861429, today I saw pictures from a 1940 WD RE 350, a 1942 RAF-RE 350 and a 1941 WD RE 350 all nicely restored and all had a C9-registration number.
Are these numbers real or did the restorer pains phantasy numbers on the tankor are did the Navy or Airforce use another system of numbering?
here the links.
1940
Identification help? - Britbike forum

1941
1941 WD Royal Enfield 350

1942
1942 wd co/b
The bike from the user "Ron"

greetings from Austria and safe riding
eberhard

 

I am not sure if this is the right place to upload this photograph but here goes.
61417, not sure of the make and I cannot decipher the first letters/numerals on the front mud guard. G/68?

 

It looks like 7968 to me

 

It may well be, but I do not understand why the motor bike has two numbers allocated to it.

 

The motorcycle is an "impressed" Ariel. A civilian model indicated by the fact it has a twin-port engine, instrument panel fuel tank and the MT1130 rear lamp. In practice, many of these impressed machines were bought from factory stocks during the later part of 1939. C61001 - C62360 were used for various makes.

If the photo was in France then the number could conceivably be a movement serial / embarkation code in that loaction. It's not a normal placing for a WD serial number during the early part of the war.