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Remembered Today:

WW1 Military Motors - 1916 set x 50 cards


Lancashire Fusilier

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Post 1973. Top left they appear to be trueing the wheel on jigs. Bottom left appears to be hub renewal and then to the right of the picture appears to be stripping wheels for parts. The one chap is holding a wheel with a rim that is some what flat. So they would strip it for the spokes hub and any thing else useful. A rim with a dead spot be it motor or bicycle is useless!

As all ways top stuff.

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Fitting spokes to a wheel is a skilled job because the rim can easily run out of true if the tension in all the spokes isn't correct.

Keith

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Claude Grahame-White, well known aviator of the time, converted surplus Rolls Royce armoured cars to be suitable for civilian use then sold on at Hendon after the war

Rob,

What an interesting man was Claude Grahame-White ( Born 1879 in Bursledon, Hampshire - Died 1959, Nice, France ), he really was one of those early ' magnificent men in their flying-machines ' aviators, and the first man to make a night flight during the London to Manchester air race in 1910.

Here is a photograph of Claude Grahame-White, with one of his repair/support ' Standard ' cars taken during that race in 1910.

Regards,

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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Claude Grahame-White getting ready for take-off.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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Claude Grahame-White, well known aviator of the time, converted surplus Rolls Royce armoured cars to be suitable for civilian use then sold on at Hendon after the war

' Hendon Aerodrome ' has a quite a history dating back to 1908. In 1911 Claude Grahame-White open his Flying Club at Hendon, and with the then new flying craze, the Hendon Aerodrome attracted vast crowds, with some 500.000 spectators going to Hendon Aerodrome in 1912 to watch Hendon's first ' Aerial Derby '. Another notable first for Hendon was in 1911, when an aircraft made the first official U.K. Airmail flight, flying from Hendon to Windsor carrying mail in celebration of King George V's Coronation.

Interestingly during WW1, Hendon Aerodrome was loaned to the Admiralty ( 1916 ), and not the R.F.C., the connection to the Admiralty possibly being due to Claude's brother Montague being a Lieutenant-Commander in the Navy. After WW1, Claude Grahame-White returned the Hendon Aerodrome back to an upmarket Flying & Country Club ( see attached photos ).

In 1925, after a contentious legal battle, Hendon Aerodrome was sold to the R.A.F.

R.A.F. Hendon was closed sometime in the 1960s, and fell into disrepair, and by the 1980s the buildings were derelict ( see attached photo ). Today, the former Hendon Aerodrome is part of the ' Grahame Park ' Housing Estate named after Claude Grahame-White, and is also the site of the R.A.F. Museum.

The first two attached photos, taken in 1919, show an aerial view of Claude Grahame-White's upmarket Hendon Flying & Country Club, complete with Tennis Courts etc., and also the Hendon Flying & Country Club's entrance building ( which now forms part of the R.A.F. Museum building )

LF

These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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The entrance building to Claude Grahame-White's upmarket Hendon Flying & Country Club photographed in 1919, this building now forms part of the R.A.F. Museum.

LF

These images are reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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A forlorn looking building ( the Watch Office & Watch Tower ), once part of Claude Grahame-White's exclusive Hendon Flying & Country Club stands derelict in the 1980s.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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The same former Hendon Flying & Country Club building, now fully restored and forming part of the R.A.F. Museum at Hendon.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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Off topic I know but I remember running round the aerodrome at Hendon when they were filming the 'Dirty Dozen' with two dimensional Dakotas made from hardboard and 4 x 2 timber!

Ken

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Fitting spokes to a wheel is a skilled job because the rim can easily run out of true if the tension in all the spokes isn't correct.

Keith

I'm a qualifed wheel builder. You do not fit spokes on a build, you knit. Start with the master spoke, work around and work for true on the "circle" of the wheel and also the true of the wheel. each spoke pulls from another.

Removing them is a simple job. :thumbsup:

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Lancs.

I'm waiting with baited breath for a pictures of a Crewe Tractor!

David,

Wait no more !

The ' Crewe Tractor ' which was developed for use on Western Front light railways during WW1, was based on a Ford Model T chassis and adapted to run both on rails, and on road wheels.

It was the invention of a Charles John Bowen Cooke ( 1859 - 1920 ) who during WW1 was the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Western Railway at their Crewe Locomotive Works, a member of the War Manufacturers Sub-Committee of the Railway Executive Committee, and also a member of the Machinery Committee of the Inventions Panel appointed by the Ministry of Munitions.
I am sure, that his not only having been the L.& N.W.R.'s Chief Mechanical Engineer at Crewe, but also his being a member of the wartime ' Inventions Panel ' at the Ministry of Munitions, which led to this vehicle being known as the ' Crewe Tractor '.
Again, with that link back to the Inventions Panel at the Ministry of Munitions, it is not surprising that one of the uses for the ' Crewe Tractor ' on the Western Front, was the hauling of heavy munitions.
From the photographs, it seems that with little effort, the ' Crewe Tractor ' could be easily changed from being a light railway engine running on rails, to a wheeled motor vehicle, simply by raising or lowering a metal arm which housed the rail wheels, and removing or replacing the road wheels, quite ingenious.
In Charles Cooke's 1921 Obituary, there is a reference to his work at Crewe being involved with a " type of tractor developed out of a Ford car " i.e. the ' Crewe Tractor '.
Attached are 2 photos of the ' Crewe Tractor ' in use on the Western Front as a light railway engine, and also a photo of the ' Crewe Tractor ' fitted with its road wheels, and with its rail wheel arm in the raised position.
Regards,
LF
This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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Posted Today, 08:45 PM

A ' Crewe Tractor ' hauling munitions on the Western Front.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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A ' Crewe Tractor ', fitted with its road wheels, and the arm housing its rail wheels in the raised position. The front rail wheels have been removed, and are stored behind the driver's seat.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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A ' Crewe Tractor ' being used during the Battle of Langemarck, transporting artillery shells. This photo is packed with details, including an overturned light rail cart showing details of the cart's rail wheels, shell cases, and in the background can bee seen horse-drawn artillery and a convoy of motor vehicles all moving forward on the road behind Elverdinge, 19th August 1917. In all, this is a great photograph, particularly of the ' Crewe Tractor ' in use.


LF



IWM2662 This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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Third Battle of Ypres - Ypres Salient - Men of a Royal Engineer's Light Railway Operating Company using a ' Crewe Tractor ' to haul shells to gun positions in St. Julien, 13 March 1918.

St. Julien was a small village close to Langemarck on the Ypres Salient, in West Flanders, Belgium, where on 22nd April 1915, the German used poison gas for the first time. The Germans, held St. Julien until it was recaptured on the first day of the Third Battle of Ypres ( 31st July 1917 ) by the 13th Royal Sussex Regiment.


LF



IWM10716 This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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A particularly important photograph, as it is the only one I have seen where the name ' Crewe Tractor ' is actually painted on the vehicle, this one being ' Crewe Tractor No. 121 '.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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Charles John Bowen Cooke ( 1859 - 1920 ) who during WW1 was the Chief Mechanical Engineer of the London and North Western Railway at their Crewe Locomotive Works, a member of the War Manufacturers Sub-Committee of the Railway Executive Committee, and also a member of the Machinery Committee of the Inventions Panel appointed by the Ministry of Munitions.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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These are the best photographs of the Crewe Tractor I've ever seen and in fact until they cropped up on this thread I didn't realise this was what they were known as - well done.

David

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These are the best photographs of the Crewe Tractor I've ever seen and in fact until they cropped up on this thread I didn't realise this was what they were known as - well done.

David

David,

Yes, a very interesting little ' vehicle ', and all credit to the railway engineers at L.& N.W.R. Crewe.

Regards,

LF

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Off topic I know but I remember running round the aerodrome at Hendon when they were filming the 'Dirty Dozen' with two dimensional Dakotas made from hardboard and 4 x 2 timber!

Ken

Ken,

The film ' The Dirty Dozen ' came out in 1967, and as you say, some of the film was shot at Hendon Aerodrome, which in the film, was an American Airbase in England.

Here is a still photo from the film showing the entrance to the ' American Airbase ', and that section of wall/railings and the entrance guard building, are located at the top right hand corner of the Hendon Flying & Country Club layout shown in post # 1979.

Also, in the attached photo are some of the American Dakotas in the background.

Regards,

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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An interesting photo of the Watch Office and Watch Tower at Hendon in use, probably with the R.A.F.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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The derelict Watch Office and Watch Tower at Hendon Aerodrome, photographed in the 1980s.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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Another photo of the fully restored Hendon Aerodrome Watch Office and Watch Tower which is now part of the R.A.F. Museum.

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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Claude Grahame-White, well known aviator of the time, converted surplus Rolls Royce armoured cars to be suitable for civilian use then sold on at Hendon after the war

Rob,

Not exactly a Rolls-Royce, however, this photo does show ex-WD vehicles being sold at Hendon Aerodrome in 1919.

Regards,

LF

This image is reproduced strictly for non-commercial research and private study purposes as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, as amended and revised.

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