Military movements - 1947

[Jack P]

Hey guys,

 

I know that in the build up to the D-Day landings there was a huge movement of all sorts of military appliances and personnel,  what about after the war? I'm sure initially there would've been lots of movement as people and things came back, but what about in 1947? Would you still see military trains at all, or would everything have pretty much reverted back to the norm by now?

 

Thanks in advance!

[Fat Controller]

Hey guys,

 

I know that in the build up to the D-Day landings there was a huge movement of all sorts of military appliances and personnel,  what about after the war? I'm sure initially there would've been lots of movement as people and things came back, but what about in 1947? Would you still see military trains at all, or would everything have pretty much reverted back to the norm by now?

 

Thanks in advance!

There was a much bigger presence on these shores than there is today, which persisted into the mid/late 1960s. I was brought up in South-West Wales, and remember seeing convoys of 'soft-skinned' army vehicles travelling to and from the various Training Areas, such as Castlemartin and Sennibridge. It was less common to see AFVs or artillery being moved, presumably because they used so much fuel. You might not see complete military trains, but small cuts of Warwells and Warflats were not uncommon, carrying vehicles between the various Central Vehicle Depots and installations around the UK. Less obvious were rakes of vans, opens, and container-carrying vehicles with stores, both lethal and non-lethal, either heading to or from MoD sites, or simply to factories and goods yards. Wagons would turn up at locations like Llandovery, to be met by a Land-Rover, and a couple of GS trucks (Bedford QLs in your period, then RLs) who would load or unload them.

[bécasse]

Don't forget that National Service (2 years) was obligatory until the end of the 1950s. This meant that the Army (in particular) was hugely larger than it is today - and that there was a massive training requirement as the idea of NS was to ensure that the majority of young civilians had already received basic training if they needed to be called up for yet another war.

[jonny777]

I have seen military trains until relatively recently. I remember one long train of armoured vehicles passing through Cardiff in the 1990s. I presume that with far more military bases scattered around in the 1940s and 1950s, the distances needed to travel between them was far shorter and therefore trains were not seen over long distances. 

 

Of course, a lot of military equipment/supplies is conveyed in covered vehicles these days, and would not be any different to any other freight service to the un-initiated. 

 

I do not encounter the long convoys of Army lorries on motorways as there used to be a few decades ago. There are occasional groups of a few covered lorries with fore and aft Land Rovers; but in the past there could be whole lines of vehicles including tanks on transporters; and they could span a mile or two in length on the inside lane travelling at about 45mph. 

[Wickham Green]

There was a much bigger presence on these shores than there is today, which persisted into the mid/late 1960s. I was brought up in South-West Wales, and remember seeing convoys of 'soft-skinned' army vehicles travelling to and from the various Training Areas, such as Castlemartin and Sennibridge. It was less common to see AFVs or artillery being moved, presumably because they used so much fuel. You might not see complete military trains, but small cuts of Warwells and Warflats were not uncommon, carrying vehicles between the various Central Vehicle Depots and installations around the UK. Less obvious were rakes of vans, opens, and container-carrying vehicles with stores, both lethal and non-lethal, either heading to or from MoD sites, or simply to factories and goods yards. Wagons would turn up at locations like Llandovery, to be met by a Land-Rover, and a couple of GS trucks (Bedford QLs in your period, then RLs) who would load or unload them.

Just look for the blank area on 1950's / 60's Ordnance Survey maps ........... Dinton, Bramley, Lydd to name but a few on the Southern .........

[Jack P]

Thanks guys,

 

I can safely conclude that while there wasn't the huge movements that there would've been during the war, they still would've been common sights!