BFG Driving Licence

Courtesy of Brian Mac.

I still have mine somewhere, pre '84 though. I'll have to see if I can find it

Had mine from 71-73, but like a lot of things including memory lost it a long time ago

IF YOU WANT TO SEE A OLD ARMY DRIVING LICENCE



CAN YOU BEAT THE AGE OF THIS ONE

I think I might have one of them Syd, anyone know if it was still that type in the early '70's?

Mine ended up in the RC Sigs Museum in Kingston Ont. Canada

As far as I can remember, I think that the licence was a pink/orange colour when I had mine in the early '70s.

Paul.

I sat my BFG driving test in Wassenberg village while stationed at Wildenrath in 1973. Used it for a few months in the UK then sat the UK test, knowing that if I failed the UK test I could carry on using the BFG licence for the rest of the year.

I never sat a UK test, when I passed my Army driving licence you were allowed to apply for a full UK one

I have my uncles Military motor vehicle drivers Licence issued in Oct. 1944. I will get a scan and post it

I passed my driving test in BAOR in 1978 but in my own civilian car not in a Land Rover. This was important because at that time if you passed your test in a Land Rover you got your BFG Driving Licence & your UK Licence. Pass your test in a civilian vehicle you only got your BFG licence and so still had to pass your test in a L/R or take it at home whilst on leave to get your UK Licence.

The BFG Licence did however allow you to drive your car in the UK whist on leave or on a course. So I turned up for my driving test in the UK with no L plates and safe in the knowledge that if I failed I could just get in my car and drive off. The examiner was dumbfounded but passed me.

aghart wrote:

I passed my driving test in BAOR in 1978 but in my own civilian car not in a Land Rover. This was important because at that time if you passed your test in a Land Rover you got your BFG Driving Licence & your UK Licence. Pass your test in a civilian vehicle you only got your BFG licence and so still had to pass your test in a L/R or take it at home whilst on leave to get your UK Licence.

The BFG Licence did however allow you to drive your car in the UK whist on leave or on a course. So I turned up for my driving test in the UK with no L plates and safe in the knowledge that if I failed I could just get in my car and drive off. The examiner was dumbfounded but passed me.

Wonder when that changed then? I took my test in BAOR in a civilian car in the 60's and got a BFG licence and a "pink" slip to exchange back in the UK for a standard UK licence. What I didn't get was an AD permit to drive military vehicles.

I passed in my own car and got the pink slip allowing me to apply for my UK license in 72. I believe it was down to whether the examiner held a civvy examiners license as well as an Army one.

I passed in a Land Rover whilst with 11OFP in 73, the testing officer was Captain Mike Pether,to obtain the pink slip I had to answer questions on the British Highway Code,then job done.

In 1952-3-4 part of the RMP Training course included a compulsory 4 weeks MT course. Those with a civilian driver's licence for cars and motorcycles still had to do training on 1.5 and/or 3 ton trucks.
(Double-D clutching etc). Others had to do motor-cycle training only.
At the end of the course, if successfully passing testing, a 'Pink Slip' was issued by the MT officer for either classification. This "pink Slip' was accepted by the UK County Councils as proof of competance to drive and a regular licence was issued upon payment. The licence was accepted in BAOR.

Having been denied the driving course at Beachley, because I was 'caught' owning a car, taboo to A/T's. I passed my test in a K9 on the range roads at Hohne in 1960 and was issued with a WD permit. Come 1965 I required all groups to start my course at SEME. As LAD MT Cpl I filled in a new permit, asked the ASM to sign it, then went to the Batallion MTO who gave me a pad of pink slips which I filled in for each group, except steam roller and trolley bus, and he signed the lot. Posted all to Dorchester and received my new UK licence. Eventually I had to take an HGV 1 test in UK

Passed my test in Berlin 1962 in a 41/2 ton merc, ended up with a Unimog.

KINGO wrote:

Passed my test in Berlin 1962 in a 41/2 ton merc, ended up with a Unimog.

Welcome back

I thought you had left us

Paul.

Yep got mine whilst with the RAF in Butzweilerhof driving around the Ringstrasse (triple lanes) in my own car with Mil examiner in 1961. I do remember a pink ticket too, but never exchanged it in the UK, drove on my BFG til I sold the car to an MP Called Mick at Watnall, he got the engine redone for 50 Quid in Lincoln (a Ford Taunus)
I originally had a full UK license whilst with the RA in 1950, did the course in a 30cwt Bedford in Rhyl (4 week course) as an MT Driver/Gunner then posted to Germany

Around 1968, the Army started organising Uk HGV Licences via the Traffic Commissioners/Authorities in Brighton, that is IF you already held a proper HGV Licence.

As my duties in BAOR also required me to use a Recovery Vehicle with suspended tow, I was issued with a Class 1E. I kept this licence in date right up to quite recently.

My wife whilst with me in BAOR learned to drive in my BFG car and passed her test... Poor girl had to take a Cyprus driving test on posting there.
On eventual posting to in Uk, I am not sure which driving licence was traded in for a Uk one by my wife!

Got my Track Vehicle License whilst in Muenster. It was on a mid-winters morning with snow pelting down,and the roads almost impassble.Set of from Buller Barracks,in a 432. Push bikes were overtaking us.Two of us were taking the test that morning,and the intention was for one of us to drive to Hiltrup and the other drive back (14 kms each way) But it was so cold that the examiner stopped by the Toch H, in York Barracks, just down the road, change drivers and drove back to camp. He said to us, "I see you REME lads driving these things quite competently all about camp."

When I got posted over to Germany I had to take a familiarisation course to get used to driving on the other side of the road. I found some difficulty locating the gear lever on the Left Hand Drive Land Rover when changing gears. The instructor, a Grenadier Guard,must have thought that I was a bit funny, as my hand ended up on his knee a few times.

How many remember the BFG tick test before being allowed to go out on the roads?

Remember going down the RH side of the trams on a One Way Street!

I never did come across the suspended clock over a road junction, indicating which part of the road junction traffic can proceed!

It was a lng time before I really knew what the 'parrot fashion' German translation answers we learnt, for traffic signs really meant.

Remember this one: Vorsicht Steinschlag

alan8376 wrote:

How many remember the BFG tick test before being allowed to go out on the roads?

Remember going down the RH side of the trams on a One Way Street!

I never did come across the suspended clock over a road junction, indicating which part of the road junction traffic can proceed!

It was a lng time before I really knew what the 'parrot fashion' German translation answers we learnt, for traffic signs really meant.

Remember this one: Vorsicht Steinschlag

There was a Suspended "Traffic Light' clock in Detmold, in 1971 when I was there.

I got my BFG License and army permit very quickly whilst at Buller Bks, just before an excercise the ASM told me I was to be his driver! I was then reminded to take my permit...didn`t have one!! This was very quickly rectified by a trip with the ASM to the MT office where I filled in a BFG tick test sheet..through the holes in the answer card! My permit was issued duly stamped, the remainder of the excercise was taken up with learning to double declutch a series 2 landrover then a K9 radio repair truck and a water wagon ..very old can`t remember the make but it had a very long bonnet and terrible brakes!! My track licence arrived in a similar way whilst on excercise with 9th/12th lancers out of detmold.