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108-year-old Coventry built Maudlsay lorry to take part in Remembrance Day Service
04 November 2024
A lorry built in Coventry during World War 1 will take part in Coventry’s Remembrance Sunday Service at the War Memorial Park on November 10.
The vehicle, usually on display at Coventry Transport Museum following a full restoration, will make the journey to the park as part of Coventry City Council’s Remembrance Service which commemorates the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts.
The Maudslay Subsidy Lorry Registration SR 1266 was built in the city back 1916 and used by the Army as a General Purpose Airfield Vehicle at Montrose Airfield in Scotland. This was the first Royal Flying Corps Training Airfield established in Britain.
The lorry would have been used for moving munitions and aircraft components, and, due to the high number of flying accidents which occurred, it’s likely it was also utilised as an ambulance.
Purchased by the Transport Museum in 2000, a dedicated team of workshop staff and volunteers have spent more than two decades researching and working on the vehicle to restore it to its former glory.
Chris, Collections Care Technician at the Museum, said of the job: “It’s been a real labour of love for all of us.
“When it came to us it was just the chassis, so we had to spend countless hours researching the vehicle, finding photos to compare and then carefully finding, buying and sometimes making ourselves, all the different bits needed to restore it.
“It has a wonderfully rich history and I’m really proud of the hard work we’ve put in to get it looking how it does. It’s one of the most important vehicles we have in the whole collection at the museum.”
Built in Coventry in the middle of the First World War, the lorry was produced by the army at Maudslay’s Parkside factory. It was one of 1,476 made but is the only known example left in the world.
It was part of the War Office’s Subsidy Scheme which saw the military pay a subsidy to civilian vehicle owners allowing them to use qualifying vehicles for the war effort. However, as the war was already in full swing at this stage, it went straight into service with the Royal Flying Corp, the air arm of the British Army, which would later become the RAF.
After the war it was used as a static holiday home by a family in Scotland. The Children in the family would regularly play with the starting handle, not realising that turning the engine was preventing it from seizing up. This meant that decades later the Transport Museum’s workshop team would have a much easier job of overhauling and getting the engine running.
Following its use as a makeshift holiday home, it sat derelict in a Scottish field for decades, before the owner decided he wanted it returned to its home city. This is when it was acquired by Coventry Transport Museum in 2000.
Since then it has been given countless hours, thousands upon thousands, of meticulous care and study to bring it back to its original specification.
Museum Curator Martin Roberts said: ““We are very proud to support Coventry’s Remembrance Sunday Service with this historic vehicle.
“The Maudslay Lorry offers a tangible link to the lives and stories of those involved in past conflicts, serving as a powerful reminder of the city’s contributions and sacrifices during both World Wars.
“Seeing it take part in the Service will be a real moment of pride as well as a tribute to all the hard work that went into restoring it.”
The Remembrance Service is set to take place at the Cenotaph in the War Memorial Park and is open and free to the public. It includes a military parade consisting of past, present and future armed forces personnel marching to the Cenotaph.