Dad's Standing Vesta

During a recent clearout of stuff from my garage, I found this strange looking clip.

 

It had belonged to my dad and clearly dated back to World War 2.

But what is it?

ID Card for Mechanical Transport Drivers

How did my dad get a driving license?

 

Did he ever take a proper driving test?

These questions came up again recently when a ww2talk forum member posted some information about a relative, who had served in the RASC company of 11th Armoured Division. He stated that;

All tradesmen no matter what their trade needed to be able to drive due to Dunkirk (2 months prior) – some of the soldiers couldn’t drive then so the vehicles had become stuck on the beach...

This set me thinking about my dad. He had once told me that all he had to do was ride a motor cycle around a field without falling off, and he was then given a license!

On 12th October 1942, dad was issued with an Identification Card for Mechanical Transport Drivers.

I don't know if this was the first or last drivers card he was issued with. The significance of October 1942 was that the Regiment was, by then, preparing for an overseas posting (...which of course turned out to be North Africa).

I suspect he continued to be allowed to drive for all the time that he was in Italy and Africa.

So the next question is; could he have used this qualification to apply for a full driving licence when back in civvy street, without the need to take a formal driving test?

Regular Driving tests were suspended on 2nd September 1939 for the duration of World War 2. Testing didn’t resume for over a year after the end of the war.. During this time, I understand that wartime provisional licences were converted to full licences without testing.

So, although I haven't been able to validate this, it seems likely that dad could have converted his wartime drivers card into a full driving licence.

The Accidental Death of BSM Herbie Wells

As mentioned on the history page: The 59th Regiment poor Herbie lost his life in a silly training exercise.

 

I asked about BSM Herbie Wells on a forum and very quickly uncovered some information.

WW2 Royal Artillery website

Wouldn't it be great to be able to lookup an RA Battery number and find which Regiment it was attached to?

 

Or maybe you need to find all the Batteries associated with a Regiment.

Regimental War Diaries

Regimental War Diaries can provide more detail on the regiments strength, movements and activities during WW2.

They were written at the time, so provide a first hand account, and make fascinating reading.

Royal Artillery Museum: DRAMA Reports

The Royal Artillery DRAMA Reports can provide useful information for anyone researching RA Regiments activity during WW2.

While not providing as much detail as a Regimental War Diary, this report may give a good overview of locations and engagements.

WKR N.L.Barker QMAAC

Who was N.L.Barker?

And why have I got her WW1 medals?

Searching for Syd Pullen / The Power of the Internet

It probably goes without saying that there is a lot of useful information on the internet, if you just know where to look for it.

Fortunately, there are also a lot of helpful people out there.