Motor vehicle markings

[goldsrobin]

Can anyone throw light on the system of letters and numbers by which vehicles were identified during the Great War. Attached is a fine photo of an officer standing beside what I believe is a staff car. Similar, though less smart, cars have the initial letter 'A' and 'LC' and probably others. What was the system then used? Ambulance photos  have 'A' and 'O' and one ambulance has 'B14' on the side of the box.

Grateful for any information you can share.

Robin

 

[BradleyShoebottom]

All general purpose Lorrys began with L. Not sure why a second letter. I have Canadian Corps Lorries with L series as low as 3 digits and high as 5 digits in the 30,000 series. I found a Vauxhall Car with Series D Ambulances were generally prefix A. Motor cycles were C or MC. The Base At Calais had a master index card system of all vehicles in France and when it was bombed in July 1918, they recreated the index system in 6 weeks by asking all units to report their vehicles, numbers, manufactures, mileage etc.

Prefix letters were not always used

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205246111

[goldsrobin]

Thank you Bradley.

I suspect the recreated card index may have survived for some time but probably not now. Clearly, it was intended that the formation or unit to which a vehicle had been issued could have been established by reference to it but that the alpha-numeric was generic and not specific to the formation or unit.

Robin

[Great War Truck]

M1499 a Sunbeam was attached to 54 Co ASC and transferred to 53 Co on 22/11/14. It next appears on 23/02/17 belonging to 317 co (5th Aux petrol company) when it was transferred from 319 Co Heavy repair workshop in Paris. That is the only record we have of it but it would have been with other Co as well.

No record on A7564

I hope that helps

Tim

Edited 17 March by Great War Truck
Correction

[goldsrobin]

Thank you Tim.

Brilliant. Do you have the index? Does it cover cars, as well?

Robin

 

[Great War Truck]

Sorry, we dont have the actual index just a list of numbers built up from records of the ASC diaries to which i made only a minor contribution. The friend who did this spent a vast amount of time compiling it and I can not share it with anyone. Sorry.  

If you have a specific request i can look it up though.

Edited 17 March by Great War Truck

[goldsrobin]

Understood. If you had anything on any of these, I would be most interested.

Sunbeam O^54482

Sunbeam M^15371

Sunbeam M^15223

Sunbeam M^9840

Possibly Sunbeam ^2848 No letter

[Great War Truck]

O is a very unusual prefix and I have never come across it before. Looking at the list, there are seven O prefixes there (out of a list of 55,000).

M9840 22/11/15 was with 15 Field Ambulance Workshop. On 31/03/19 was transferred to 393 Co ASC from 177 Co ASC

M2848 no record but 2848 was a Daimler

Nothing on M15371 or M15223.

I would love to have the full index. That would be a find of a lifetime for me. Long gone I imagine.

The immense spread sheet which has been built up is certainly very helpful, but I think we have only covered the smallest amount of this story.

[goldsrobin]

I am very grateful to you, Tim. Thank you.

If you have any detail or photos on staff cars or tenders issued to the Flying Corps, I would be interested. My particular subject is the role of the Flying Corps in the ground battles of the war. Tenders collecting downed aeroplanes are frequently mentioned. Anything showing that would be gratefully received, but it is a low priority. I have several years of writing yet to do.

Robin

 

[Great War Truck]

I would always welcome any information on the Crossley Tender. Surely the most handsome of British vehicles from the Great War. By coincidence we just bought one a few months ago.  It is the next one in the restoration queue.