This is another one form the same set. No guarantee that it was anywhere near. This Morris looks to have a '17' on the front but my 'reading round corners' glasses are not letting me see a formation sign. Definitely a mixture of British and French here and those oh-so-poignant boots. I wonder who left them there and why ? I hope just removed at capture.
Cracking photos , what a great historical archive ebay is turning out to be! Stating the obvious maybe but some of the vehicles in pic 1 are definetly French.
This is a tool box from a Matchless G3/WO which has recently turned up in Normandy. It is original Khaki Green No.3 and carries the early 1st Armoured Division marking. Bearing in mind that it is from an early vehicle and that they were largely evacuated from Cherbourg, it is highly likely to be a BEF relic.
From Hammerton's The Second Great War: First up, if this is a divisional code, it's the junior troop leader of the third battery of the anti-tank regiment (assuming they used the same system as the field regiments) - but which division? http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=42343&stc=1&d=1293025892 http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=42344&stc=1&d=1293025892 Not a very clear photo, but the eye of faith sees a 3 Corps fig leaf and a 42: http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=42345&stc=1&d=1293025892 http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=42346&stc=1&d=1293025892
Nice pictures idler. From which book are they ? The stags head is the early 51st (Highland) formation sign so it would be 51st ATk Regt. RA. I'm struggling with the second image. It looks like a '42' which would be an RASC Corps Ammn. Park Company. I'd like to see a decent copy of that one. I wonder who has the originals ?
Hammerton's The Second Great War is a contemporary nine-volume history of the war. I'm not sure if it was published as a part-work like War Illustrated. These pictures are out of Vol 3, print quality isn't great, as you can see.
Would you believe it? One of the ECPA newsreels that Jan found - Journal de guerre n°35, semaine du 30 mai 1940 - had this fleeting shot. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=42356&stc=1&d=1293041242 Andrew
Well spotted ! It's not an easy marking to see in B/W Presumably it was red on blue as per the later marking ? It seems to match the RA AoS colours fairly well. The credit to Section Cinéma de l'Armée on the still photo suggest that the two French camera types were present. I'm intrigued by the light coloured patch on the left hand side which also seems to be frequently visible on the front wings. Could it be early type bright yellow gas-detector paint ?
I had always assumed this was white paint either for better nightime visibility or as some sort of equivalent of the white square BEF marking used on carriers and tanks. Andrew
Apparently I forgot to post this image here - A couple of WM20 BSAs belonging to 51st Divisional Provost that made it down onto the promenade at St. Valery-en-Caux.
OK, not a wartime picture, but this is my M20 taken at Sint Valery exactly 70 years later on the same spot. Had a great time there.
There are some excellent colour pictures of BEF vehicles posted on Missing-Lynx here: Allied WWII AFV Discussion Group: BEF in color ! ( Christmas following ) I would be interested in buying a couple. They seem to come from the CEGES-SOMA website but I find it difficult to input a search term which finds them. Any ideas? Andrew
I have found that these colour pictures come from a collection related to German photographer Otto Kropf. Putting his name in as a search term in the image bank section mentioned here CEGESOMA - Image Bank... produces a list of the pictures which can be trawled through. It was here that I found a picture of an AEC Matador at Dunkirk which I have posted in a new thread. Andrew
Fresh from eBay: 2 Corps BSA M20 somewhere around Dunkirk: Jan Good spot! It seems that 2 Corps sign had some variations - eg this Austin K3 at Malo Terminus. http://www.ww2talk.com/forum/attachment.php?attachmentid=43224&stc=1&d=1294403099 Andrew
There are some excellent colour pictures of BEF vehicles posted on Missing-Lynx here: These really are superb , anyone know what make/model the staff car is ?