Bedford Trucks at War | British Army Trucks 1939 - 2007 

Great video mate, the Bedford magnum opus at last!!

My dad was in charge of the Outward Bound out of Eastney Barracks in the 1960s bringing the Junior Marines and young Matelots to Northern Ireland to a week camp on Lough Erne. The purpose was to kayak the waters across the Upper and Lower loughs, and he brought as transport a SWB Land Rover and a Bedford 4-tonner in navy blue with ‘Royal Marines’ down the side. One day we went to Beleek where the Lough drains out into the Republic of Ireland in a channel which proved impossible to launch the kayaks. The only suitable location was across the road bridge. As we off-loaded the equipment, cars were slowing down and drivers were saying, “Do you know where you are?” “Yes,” replied my dad, “we won’t be long.” The bridge is on the border between the Republic and the North of Ireland.

My Grandfather had a reserved occupation in WW II. He was a setter in the transmission shop in the Bedford factory. When all his lads went off to war, he trained gals to operate the machines, he was also in the home guard (dad's army) later he was moved to Ellesmere Port for the start up of that factory.

My late father was a vehicle body builder at Marshalls in Cambridge and worked on military trucks for the British army . I remember seeing a rolling chassis with no body on it and the driver sat on a seat in the open air all the way from Bedford to Cambridge.

I used to work on Bedford TKs in the 80s and, if you look in the right-hand side of the engine you will see the original cast in the block for the distributor. So, the diesel engine used the same block casting as the RL and S type. As a side note, I did an engine swap with a diesel engine pulled from an ex-RN TK tractor with original Scammell 5th wheel coupler with virtually no miles on it.

I would have liked to hear more about the MK and TM series. They were after all the longest and most widely used in the British Army during the Cold War. Lets not forget the TK as well, i did my HGV test in one of those.

South African Defence force R L was locally built by General Motors in Port Elizabeth, learnt to drive them at 17 doing national service, they were indistructable and unstoppable and could clock 100 kmh. Always skinned your knuckles changing gear.

For anyone wondering what CWT means, CWT is a measurement of a Hundred weight, But just to confuse matters a Hundred weight is equal to 112 lbs

I fondly remember the Beddicopters. There wasn't much room up front for us pilots, and the controls were stiff as hell, but they could fly !

I loved the M type Bedford truck

The South African Defence Force also used the RL. I drove one on numerous occasions during the Driving and Maintenance part of my Infantry basic training in 1970.

As a British squaddie in the 1980's I remember the Bedford TM coming to my unit in BAOR.... It felt like shxt off a shovel compared to the MK and for the first time I could race and beat US trucks on the autobahn.... It felt like the 'dog's' at the time.... Huzzah!!

This is a really interesting video. Thanks for taking the time to produce and upload it.

Good that I loved the old bedford army trucks we went to weekend camps in the army cadets when I was kid in them loved it the sound of the engines was brilliant plus being in the back everyone wanted the tail gate I wanted the front 👍

Hi, very good video, I'm currently restoring a 1955 RL ex-bomb squad truck. I've upgraded to power steering and air brakes, and this makes it much more driveable on today's roads.

My father served with the Royal Engineers attached to the 50th Northumberland Division and was in the BEF in France and had to leave his 15Cwt MW at Dunkirk he said he loved that truck it had served him well. I was lucky enough to own and restore one during late 80s and finished off as a tribute to him with the correct markings etc. I had to part with it and it is one of my greatest regrets I know 119RNM is still out there somewhere and i would love to see it again if i could get a ride in her again it would be brilliant.

The content you didn't know you wanted, but that you certainly needed!

Great video, also fellow Hatter, my Dad worked at Dunstable all his adult life, only realised why our garage was British Army green much later....

It seems the MK and MJ never existed

I learned to drive in a Bedford RL 3 tonner. The RAF used them to store packs of oxygen bottles for the V-Force.

There's a Bedford QL parked near me and it's just dumped !! Yeah just dumped in an old factory !! It's got a CMP back end !

I'm a veteran. We had the 4 ton trucks. Done many miles in them (mostly in the back)

I remember as a Young Boy a local quarry owner from near Corby ran a fleet of Bedford RL lime spreaders always immaculately turned out in light blue and a cream colour.

My dad had an OY when he was a scrap merchant in the 60s, used to take me to the pub in it, ended up being three parts to the wind on my 8th birthday, 3 halves of cider 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣

A man after my own heart i'v been researching WW2 since age 14 mostly to do with the soft skins and the Bedford OYD is my favourite war time truck like you i'v been making videos about war time trucks as the RASC ( WW2 British supply line ) used them extensively as mentioned in your video they are the real heroes in my eyes keep up these great videos hope you do more on trucks.

Mwv wasnt a wireless truck. MWV was a Van, with a longer bed and a tilt that wasnt detachable. Mwc wasnt always a watercart, it was mw Chassis, delivered as a cab and chassis. You had mwr (wirelesstruck), mwd (gs truck), mwc (chassis cab usually tanker), mwv (van), mwt, mwg…

At 0:13 , 15 cwt was an abbreviation for 15 hundredweight. The were 20 hundredweight in a ton so the metric equivalent would be around 750 kg. There were 112 pounds in a hundredweight so a ton weighed 2240 pounds, fairly close to a metric tonne at around 2204 pounds.

Loved driving the bedford TK

you get a special mention for stating the British 'Operation Granby' and not the US version 'Desert Storm' well done!

Finally the beddy vid we always wanted after all the FOF mentions!!

Those fire engines were also used in the New Forest for some forest fires.

Brilliant, cheers mate👍

cheers for the video. but I never heard any thing about the Bedford MJ and the MK. I was using the MJ and MK in the Falklands 2006/2007 and in Kenya 2012

Great video some awesome trucks 👍

Please lose the background music - it adds nothing and is too distracting from what you are trying to explain.

Green goddesses we're also used in the 1987 Welsh firemen's strike

Haven’t had a Bedford on FOF for a while

Drove the bedford RL in early 80s brilliant little truck then came along the MK give me the RL anyday.

The Bedfords was finest British lorries were the best light- middle weights lorries, I drove many different ones up to the TMs after that I drove coaches with the with the TM engine I think they were the 500seriesbut I could be wrong the ones I did like was the OB models.

I did my driver training in a RL in Germany in '73 whilst with the R.E.M.E. ( 32 Eng. LAD ). BUT.......our tels truck was a Humber of 1952 vintage. What was it ? errrrr very slow but great fun.

One the MW is not a 2 ton truck. The clue is 15cwt. 15 hundredweight capacity, as there are 20 hundredwieght to the ton, that makes it a three quarter ton truck.

We used MK’s in Kuwait / Iraq in 2003 as the carried Ptarmigan telecoms kit. And continued in service till 2006.

I have never driven a 4tonner with softer suspension than the QL. The RL and MK were hard by comparison. QL box bodies were often used a tels workshops post war.

I remember RL s were a bstard for blowbacks through the carb which as it was situated under the cab would result in the loss of eybrows as you were usually lyimg over it to work on it !!

Hardly a mention for the venerable 4 tonner (MK, TK etc) Bedicopter. They deserve their own video surely

cwt is pronounced hundredweight. 15cwt means 3/4 ton.

hi there, we had Bedford RLs in the 60s lovely trucks and looked the part,and i even bought my own in 1988 and use to take it on the london to brighton run, blame Maggie Thatcher for loss of contract with the army, leyland/dafs were cheaper,[ and useless]

i love miltary tracks!

15 hundred weight not cwt, cwt is short form of hundred weight

What about the MK & TK we used in the late 70s?

Come on you hatters!

What about the Bedford MK/MJ Range???????

What about the MJ and MK??

You have forgotten the Bedford TK,s.

No MK's, sadly

I was waiting for the Bedford MK, disappointed....

frist

Football is a crap sport

nooooooo. terrible, it has been a wikipedia derived child freilndy exercise. avoid