Meanwhile, down on the farm.....

[Bruce_in_Oz]

[Sapper740]

I wonder if he has plans for all those CMPs in the background visible near the end of the video? One of them looks to be a rare C30 Wireless Lorry with the 3J1 body. Early on they made a few wireless lorries based on the longer wheel base C30 by adding 18" to the C15 box which still gave space between the box and the cab for the spare tire. Reports from use of the lorry in service conditions indicated a preference for the shorter wheel base C15 so the tire was relocated to the left side of the box intruding into the interior space allowing the wireless lorry box to be installed on the shorter C15. I hope he knows what he has there and restores the lorry.

[Peter Laidler]

We had a fairf few CMP and US vehicles still on charge when I was in NZ in the late 60's. If my memory is right,, all of the RNZEME recovery vehicles were CMP or Chevrolet bodied. The exception was a couple of ex WD/Singapore/Malaya Bedford RL Light recovery vehicles. The twin boom wreckers were always a bit of a puzzle for me when I was on weekend recovery duty. Luckily I was only called out a couple of times and went out with Robbie, a NZEME fitter who knew the ropes! That said, I never heard such quiet and smooth running petrol engines especially compated with our UK Bedford QL and RL's

I wonder where these now rare vehicles are now. We also had a Valentine tank near the tennis courts that the kids used to play on

[Sapper740]

Peter, while a young lad growing up in Dundarave in West Vancouver, B.C. a local service station used a surplus CMP wrecker well into the late Sixties to tow vehicles that had broken down to their repair shop. Around 1970 a friend of mine bought it and started a towing business at the Whistler Mountain Ski Resort. He then sold it to a gentleman in Lillooet, B.C. where it soldiered on for who knows how many years. I've started making inquiries as to its current whereabouts but the so far the trail has run cold.

[Peter Laidler]

In the 60's, in my time as an apprentice and later into actve service, we - the Brits - still have a lot (?) of US lend lease vehicles. I remember Diamond T's, Half tracks that had a big jib on the front, used for tank engine lifts and Centurion and Conqueror barrel changes by the REME. We also had some Weasles that I saw used as hard targets too. There seemed to be plenty of DUKWS too. We had some at the RASC WaterBorne units at Palau Brani and Blakang Mati. They were slowly condemned at 40 Base as they slowly rotted out and couldn't make the swim from Singapore to Palau Brani. A couple of DUKWS were in regular use by the Aust, UK and NZ RAAOC/RNZAOC ammo techs who were slowly de-mining the Japanese submarines scuttled at the Naval Base. . The NZ ammo techs were the main participants clearing out the Japanese ammo stores in Penang. A REALLY dangerous job if ever there was one!