Jeep.
David did his National Service in the early 1950s, and this involved driving and maintaining a great variety of motor vehicles, as he now describes:
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"I promised to dig out photos of some military vehicles with which I was involved during Army service in the Suez Canal Zone of Egypt in 1952/53."
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"One of my jobs there was MTO (Mechanical Transport Officer) of a Royal Engineer field squadron that was part of 32 Guards Brigade. My unit had about 35 vehicles to keep running in arduous conditions of extreme heat with fine sand everywhere, so one got to know them all well. Of the lot, my favourites were three Daimler Dingos (with pre-selector gearboxes and fluid flywheels giving 5 forward gears and 5 reverse) and my Ford jeep (that had already served from Normandy to the Rhine before coming to Egypt where finally its engine exploded)."
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"Incidentally, in this little-remembered campaign of keeping the Egyptians and Israelis away from the Suez Canal (then the lifeline of the Empire!), British fatalities in the 3 years 1951-53 totalled 520."
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The first of David's photos shows the trusty Jeep negotiating Egypt's eastern desert in 1952.
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Photograph number two shows David stood with his Ford GPW, again in Egypt, but a year later in 1953.
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Original photographs such as these can be a great help, when a derelict Jeep is brought back to life and its owner wishes to equip it correctly for a given period. Thanks for sending them over David.
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Other references to classic Jeeps on OCC.
An owner of a CJ-3A introduces his restored Jeep.
Metamet Jeep spares & conversions of the 1950s.
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Return to Page 19 in the photographic archive, or visit the main index here.
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