RASC Vehicle Census Branch

Has anyone come across the records of this office in the National Archives?

I have just been reading the history of the RASC 1939-1945 which refers to this office briefly. It would appear that they kept excellent records of vehicles and I find it hard to believe that these records have been lost.

 

Hi Bill,

That's a great book, rare as hens teeth and costs a small fortune too!

If you want to know more about vehicle records, I will point you in the direction of the Royal Logistic Corps museum who have digitised these records. You can access them for a fee through the website: Welcome to the RLC Digital Archive - RLC Digital Archive

Or travel to the museum which has just relocated from Deepcut to Worthy Down, near Winchester; it's in a brand new purpose built location and opened to the public last month.

Regards

Bruneval

 

Does this archive include details of impressed vehicles?

 

The RAOC kept detailed records too, but it seems that a definite decision was made to destroy all earlier records when the new registration system was introduced in 1948 or so. The 'Key Cards' that accompanied them survive but many vehicles had already received new 'rebuild' serial numbers and the card system seems to have involved pencilled entries which were subsequently erased.

Unfortunately, the records with RLC are a lot less accessible for historical research than they were when with the former Museum of Army Transport.

 

I would expect to find the records of the RASC Vehicle Census Branch to be in the National Archives since these show the civilian vehicles which were impressed to support the war effort? They are historically important documents.

 

As far as I can tell, 'Impressed' was an old-fashioned RASC term that brings with it an idea of press-ganging and confiscation. RAOC seem to have termed the procedure 'Local Purchase' which gives a much better idea of the process. They were in fact vehicles purchased off-contract from individuals, companies and manufacturers. As such, once the vehicles had been disposed of, the records were considered surplus to requirements.

I have found some files in the NA relating to 'impressed' and loaned vehicles but none list individual vehicles, merely compensation levels for vehicles loaned to the Home Office and Home Guard and that sort of thing.

 

"Impressment" was a War Office responsibility, through the Chief Inspector of Supplementary Transport. It involved RASC officers visiting companies that owned vehicles and earmarking suitable examples of selected makes and models for service. Each vehicle had to be well maintained and fit for at least three years’ further service. As soon as the government announced that the country was to mobilise for war the vehicle owner was responsible for delivering his vehicles to one of four centres around the country where they would be repainted and prepared for military service. The owner, naturally, being reimbursed in much the same way as he would have been under the old subsidy scheme.

Hiring was done at a local level, based on the Army Command district. The principle of inspection and selection was the same but a wider range of vehicles could be considered since they were intended for local use for a shorter period.

Many thousands of civilian vehicles were obtained through impressment with many never returning to their original owners. Many were lost in France following the completion of Operation Dynamo and the withdrawal of troops from mainland Europe - some 65,000+ vehicles were abandoned.

 

My search for these records continues.

I wonder how the UK coaches that were abandoned in France in 1940 came to be there. Were they taken into military use before the introduction of impressment or were they impressed?

I have tried to get an idea of how many vehicles were brought into military use by checking the "Allocation by Central Census of 'B' vehicle W.D. numbers" which has been compiled by Rob Van Meel. Sadly this list does not show all the vehicles which carried W.D. numbers as I have records of buses and coaches which do not appear in Rob's lists.

 

Hi,

I have a listing of soft-skinned vehicle and have the following:-

Chevrolet M33504
Morris - Commercial M38613 a 4 x 2 24 seater contract V3288
Leyland M203076 Impressed
Morris M239648 – M239652 Impressed
Bedford M385862 a 4 x 2 14 seater contract V3251
Morris – Commercial M388446 a 4 x 2 24 seater contract V3288
Morris – Commercial M398768 a 4 x 2 20 seater
M1303617 – M1303618 Impressed
M1303644 – M1303768 Impressed
M1312331 – M1312334 Impressed
M1312596 – M1312605 Impressed
Bedford M6245054 – M6245063 a 32 seater ex RN
Bedford M6260664 – M6260688 a 4 x 2 32 seater contract S8734

Apologies if you already have this information.

Cheers

Kevin

 

Kevin

Your list seems to be drawn from the source but these vehicles all of which are buses/coaches don't appear at all on Rob's lists.

C65029
C65031
C65033
C79548
L1261801
L1261802
L1261803
L1261810
L1261811
L1261812
L1261825
L1261834
L1261838
L1261847
L1261848
L1261849
L1261851
L1261852
L1261853
L1261857
L1261859
L1261860
L177171
M191784
M192525
1261321
12612LO
B13521
M4326645 CK 4492
M4326650 CK 4494
M4326653 CK 4498
M4326655 CK 4503
M4326652 CK 4504
M5326632 CK 4507
M5326656 CK 4510
M5326646 CK 4512
M5326627 CK 4515
M5326647 CK 4516
M43326641 CK 4529
M43326651 CK 4532
M43326637 CK 4535
M43326629 CK 4538
M43326630 CK 4539
M43326635 CK 4540
M43326644 CK 4541
M43326654 CK 4545
M4326639 CK 4552
M4326660 CK 4719
M4326666 CK 4721
CK 4725
M4326661 CK 4727
M4326675 CK 4728
M4326634 CK 4734
M4326633 CK 4735
M4326663 CK 4738
M4326667 CK 4742
M4326659 CK 4744
M4326689 CK 4747
M4326665 CK 4751
FV 5735
M1262992 FV 5738
1262987 FV 5740
FV 5741
1262989 RN 7775(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
1263003 RN 7776(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
1262997 RN 7777(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
1260605 RN 7779(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
1260616 RN 7780(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
L12609614 RN 7781(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
1263005 RN 7786(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
L12609613 RN 7999(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
1260622 RN 8527(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
n/k RN 8528(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
1260624 RN 8529(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
1260631 RN 8650(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
M1262980 RN 8650(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
M1360628 RN 8651(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
RN 8653(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
RN 8521(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
RN 8523(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
RN 8522(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
RN 8524(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
RN 7786(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
RN 7999(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
RN 7997(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
RN 7998(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
L1260614 RN 7784(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
L1260613 RN 8000(Civilian Preston number plate not Royal Navy)
L784529
1261757 CH 8903
1261369 RG 3692
1261406 AV 5911
1261428 WG 571
1261432 WG 539
1261437 FG 3284
1260312 BDK 907
L1262995 BU 9393
1260966
595 RN
L1260989
L1262123
L1260224 EV 8334
L1260240 WG 2312
L1260567 UF 9784
M1261819 US 9609
L1262184 SM 8861
L1262187

 

Hi,

Thanks for those. In the listing I have the numbers starting 126 fall in the bracket of 1260001 – 1263027 Various Impressed / Gifts.
The numbers starting 4326 again fall into a various bracket 4326418 – 43271417 and those starting 532 are in Various 5307001 – 5327000 (N.Africa) or are these 432 numbers/
Should those 4332 should they be 432, 7 digits numbers?
I have several gaps in my listing.

Cheers

Kevin