Half Tracks

Before the advent of the REME FV434 in Germany , Half Tracks were used by the Company Fitter Sections , one of which was equipped with a folding lifting boom arrangement.
After installing a power pack on a 432 at Buller Barracks ,1968 I drove down the camp road to park up the Half Track, forgetting that I still had the boom extended. Down came all of the telephone lines.
Unlike the 432 and 434, when going on exercise to Soltau they were not transported on the flats,but had to be driven all the way there.

They also had a habit of burning out the clutch, especially the one at the REME LAD at Paderborn. I was the Tels Tech there, and got abandoned in the village of Heinsen because the Halftrack couldn't be towed by a Leyland Recovery. It took them some time to realise I was missing!

I really missed our half-track, it would follow the tanks (almost) anywhere, comfy and warm in the back during the winter months and pretty much totally reliable. The only problem we experienced was on one PRE inspection, the half-tracks had to have roadworthiness tests and it was found that there was no master cylinder cap, the reservoir was half full of mud and leaves and at this time I had had it on signature for 18 months or so and I couldn't ever remember checking the brake fluid.........brakes, who needs them!!

I remember the Belgians driving those old Fargo 1/2 tracks in the 60's Rattle, flap and bang. Ya heard them long before seeing them. Lord, just the memory of them gets me grinning. Still, the buggers would pass our convoys like a bunch of kids out for a days fun. All grins and not a care in the world.

Any one got any in service pictures of these vehicles.

They had left service by the time I joined up, I went straight onto the FV434.

01ED27 was my `Barra`.

Back in '52/54 we had two White Scout halftracks at 20 Armoured Bde Signals aptly named Certa and Cito, and could those buggers move, they had no problems following the Centurions of Bde HQ or the 17/21 Lancers who we regularly exercised with.

Len (Ciphers)

Yes I remember a few half tracks with 1st Gds Bde Inf Sig Sqdn at shorncliffe bks in 1959 spring but we did not move them to Wilts in autumn move to Winterbourne Gunner. We did have a bugler at our training stints at Willsworthy camp near Dartmoor prison. Rather unusual but then that was signals.

Dulaigh wrote:

We did have a bugler at our training stints at Willsworthy camp near Dartmoor prison. Rather unusual but then that was signals.

What the hell were you training for, man - the Charge of the bleedin' Light Brigade ?

Hardrations wrote:

I remember the Belgians driving those old Fargo 1/2 tracks in the 60's Rattle, flap and bang. Ya heard them long before seeing them. Lord, just the memory of them gets me grinning. Still, the buggers would pass our convoys like a bunch of kids out for a days fun. All grins and not a care in the world.

I remember we were in a concentration area once, in the 60s, during one of those interminable div exercises they used to hold , (when the MOD had money).
All heads turned to watch as a Belgian unit came through, in those days their equipment came from any NATO country that was having a throw-out.
Leading the column was this Patton-like figure, standing in some sort of Yank
1 tonner with the canopy removed. Bolted to the canopy rail was a .50 Browning.
The gun was so heavy that the canopy rail had collapsed, the Belgique looked quite hurt that we were laughing at him.

In addition to stints at Willsworthy we had an annual two week summer camp at Penhale sands ? near Perranporth but no Bugler there. We trained to move across country by feet for the use of. I believe we were training for the III WW. I do think the sound of the bugle gave a certain elan to the proceedings.

Our halftrack was always burninjg out the clutch, and we were in a field somewhere in Germany, and were due to run out of compo and all we had had for the previous ten days was Irish Stew!

I radio'd in for re-supply, advising that there were no Irishmen at our location and a Wessex with an underslung net appeared from out the sun and as it approached the net split, and boxes of Compo rained down around us and buries themselves in the soil. On digging them out, we discovered that every one was Irish Stew!

Could've been worse mate.
Could've been Mutton Jock !

I do love being woken up to the sound of a Bugler!

As the song goes : 'Oh I'm going to shoot the Bugler, Oh I'm going shoot him dead ... and then I'll shoot he other pup, the one that wakes the Bugler up and spend the rest of the war in bed'


Len (Ciphers)

Shelldrake wrote:

I do love being woken up to the sound of a Bugler!

When I was in Boys, Hereford, it was customary to have the Duty Trumpeter march to various points around the camp and play Reveille.
We used to upbraid said trumpeter most roundly with cries like
"I say old chap, must you ?
"Is that noise really necessary ?
or
"Good gracious me, what an AWFUL din !"

Bugler and Piper wakening the troops up daily including weekends with the Jocks regiments.If you were unfortunate enough to bump into the RSM doing his rounds he would stop you and asked what the various tunes the bugler and piper were playing at the various times of the day.

Jock very Enervating...We had the company of one of your A&SH Cpls from Borneo to Singapore on our Class I mil trg in 1966...He passed.

brum wrote:

Hardrations wrote:

I remember the Belgians driving those old Fargo 1/2 tracks in the 60's Rattle, flap and bang. Ya heard them long before seeing them. Lord, just the memory of them gets me grinning. Still, the buggers would pass our convoys like a bunch of kids out for a days fun. All grins and not a care in the world.

I remember we were in a concentration area once, in the 60s, during one of those interminable div exercises they used to hold , (when the MOD had money).
All heads turned to watch as a Belgian unit came through, in those days their equipment came from any NATO country that was having a throw-out.
Leading the column was this Patton-like figure, standing in some sort of Yank
1 tonner with the canopy removed. Bolted to the canopy rail was a .50 Browning.
The gun was so heavy that the canopy rail had collapsed, the Belgique looked quite hurt that we were laughing at him.

Of course the Roaring Lion on the back of their vehicles made up for all their shortages. Mind, in the late 60's they started to have spanking brand new German vehicles, but I think that had some thing to do with WW 2 pay back.

Only saw the one half track.

It was 1973 and it was disappearing down the bottom road out to the ranges on the Bergen to Hohne lager road. No idea if it was UK , cloggie, or kraut.