Q. How do I find the British Army records for my jeep?
A. Follow the directions on 'Research your own jeep' under the more info column.
Q. Where can I find the unit history of my jeep?
A. The simple answer is that you can't. The army only recorded where a vehicle was serving presently and did not log it's history. This was written in pencil on the vehicle keycards and rubbed out when changed or sold off. Some of these pencil marking are just about visible, but almost never enough to retrieve any information. The chances of finding unit history for your jeep is very slim, but there are a few potential routes, and we are able to identify regimental history for more and more jeeps every week. The first thing you should do is look for markings under the paintwork of your vehicle. This will require stripping paint. Look for markings on the number, the bumperettes, the windscreen and the rear quarters of the body tub. The next best source is the photo gallery. Most images have regimental information. You are far more likely to find your jeep in post-war images than wartime ones. We are building up ever larger databases of information that we can search on. We also now know that YH/YJ vehicles were issued to locations, and can identify where many vehicles were around 1949/1950, as well as predict a likely Regiment which they served in. Come and join the facebook group and we'll be happy to help you find all the info that we can.
Q. Why do British Jeeps have an American star on the bonnet/hood?
A. In early 1944, all allied forces adopted the allied star, or invasion star (star inside a circle), for the sake of standardisation. Before this the British used the RAF roundel as their aircraft recognition symbol.
Q. Were there ever right hand drive jeeps made?
A. No! Some have been converted long after they were manufactured to meet legal requirements in some countries, but they were never right hand drive during military service with the British forces. A very small number were converted to right hand drive in other armed forces use (such as Cyprus).
Q. Why are we so interested in postwar jeeps?
A. Like almost all jeep owners, our interest started with the Jeep's history in WW2. However, upon research, you soon start to realise that the postwar years is where British jeeps saw most of their service. It is also he key to finding out their wartime identities. To find your keycard with the RLC, you need your postwar army registration. Also, there is a far greater chance of find owners vehicles in postwar images than wartime ones. This is due to the smaller number of vehicles still in service, the quality and number of photos taken in service, and the location of the army registrations on the vehicles. We don't look at one part of the jeeps history, we look at all of it.
A. Follow the directions on 'Research your own jeep' under the more info column.
Q. Where can I find the unit history of my jeep?
A. The simple answer is that you can't. The army only recorded where a vehicle was serving presently and did not log it's history. This was written in pencil on the vehicle keycards and rubbed out when changed or sold off. Some of these pencil marking are just about visible, but almost never enough to retrieve any information. The chances of finding unit history for your jeep is very slim, but there are a few potential routes, and we are able to identify regimental history for more and more jeeps every week. The first thing you should do is look for markings under the paintwork of your vehicle. This will require stripping paint. Look for markings on the number, the bumperettes, the windscreen and the rear quarters of the body tub. The next best source is the photo gallery. Most images have regimental information. You are far more likely to find your jeep in post-war images than wartime ones. We are building up ever larger databases of information that we can search on. We also now know that YH/YJ vehicles were issued to locations, and can identify where many vehicles were around 1949/1950, as well as predict a likely Regiment which they served in. Come and join the facebook group and we'll be happy to help you find all the info that we can.
Q. Why do British Jeeps have an American star on the bonnet/hood?
A. In early 1944, all allied forces adopted the allied star, or invasion star (star inside a circle), for the sake of standardisation. Before this the British used the RAF roundel as their aircraft recognition symbol.
Q. Were there ever right hand drive jeeps made?
A. No! Some have been converted long after they were manufactured to meet legal requirements in some countries, but they were never right hand drive during military service with the British forces. A very small number were converted to right hand drive in other armed forces use (such as Cyprus).
Q. Why are we so interested in postwar jeeps?
A. Like almost all jeep owners, our interest started with the Jeep's history in WW2. However, upon research, you soon start to realise that the postwar years is where British jeeps saw most of their service. It is also he key to finding out their wartime identities. To find your keycard with the RLC, you need your postwar army registration. Also, there is a far greater chance of find owners vehicles in postwar images than wartime ones. This is due to the smaller number of vehicles still in service, the quality and number of photos taken in service, and the location of the army registrations on the vehicles. We don't look at one part of the jeeps history, we look at all of it.