No.5 MK1 in Malaya.

[Time Bandit]

I recently posted this picture on another forum I go on and I thought it might be of interest to people on here too.

It's members of a REME LAD in Malaya circa 1956/1957 with their No.5 MK1's. The chap squatting down on the right is my dad.

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[donpr]

thanks for the photo. my uncle was in korea. did they also have no. 5 s ?

[Bruce_in_Oz]

Time Bandit:

Is that a pair of crossed Kukris painted on the mudguard of the truck behind the band of happy spanners?

[Beerhunter]

it's probably worth pointing out that a REME LAD is a Light Aid Detachment (a REME formation attached to minor units), rather than a very young chap in the REME. :-)

---------- Post added at 08:16 AM ---------- Previous post was at 08:15 AM ----------

thanks for the photo. my uncle was in korea. did they also have no. 5 s ?

No. In terms of .303s, they were armed with No.4s

[Peter Laidler]

Yes, they are a pair of crossed kukris on the big scammell in the background. The scammell was too big and heavy for some of the roads and bridges. They were white kukris on a dark green background and I think they were from 17 Gurkha Division.

Nice picture Time Bandit. Been there, done that. Tell your dad that I had a REME Bedford QL machinery and Armourers truck, 17 YC 66

[Time Bandit]

The scammell was to big and heavy for some of the roads and bridges.

Yup...tight squeeze! I'm not sure if this is the actual time but they got the Explorer stuck under one of these arches and had lift the arch up to free it.

[Time Bandit]

I had a REME Bedford QL machinery and Armourers truck, 17 YC 66

Talking of QL's...

[RossM10]

Talking of QL's...

Ah, but that truck isn't a Bedford QL, it's a Ford WOT6.

[Peter Laidler]

Or is it an Austin K2 3 tonner/machinery truck. The figure 11 on the REME sign was one of the support arms of the Brigade, such as the Engineers. The main workshope were always (?) numbered in the 20's or so - such as 2 Inf Workshop (that you'll see marked as FW-M X-XX d/month/year stamped into the woodwork) which was numbered as 25. The Scammel in the 2nd photo will be about 1957 because there is a MERDEKA slogan on the bridge indicating the Independence. A lot of these un-saleable 'funnies' were used as hard targets for the 3.5" M20 anti-tank rocket and 84mm Carl Gustav at Asahan ranges. We did have a few 120mm Mobat anti tank guns for big stuff but to be honest, there wasn't much chance of using big tanks there although the Japanese used light tanks. Ironically, where the Scammels were useful was dragging the old Japanese target tank hulls/hulks around on the ranges

I made a mistake about my QL looking at a photo earlier. It was 77 YC 16 and a really lovely old plodder and I was sad to see it being left behind. But were they happy days............ I suppose they were looking back. Ask your dad how they ever got used to the heat - or the monsoons that seemed to last from the end of August until the following June with just July off!

[RossM10]

No, the Austin K2 was an ambulance - as in Ice Cold in Alex. The Austin 3-tonner was the K3 but that had a conventional long bonnet. There was also a larger 6 x 4 truck, the K6.
Both the QL and the WOT6 were "cab-over-engine" designs - like the later RL.