Tudor Grange Grammar School

Solihull

School Vehicle

The School Vehicle - Before and After drawings by G.R. from Chronicle 1964

Following article also from Chronicle

AXC 684B - or - I Was an Austin Ambulance

It was Wednesday 16th October (1963?), and C.J.C (Mr Colston) and M.N.B (Mr Boulton) were absent from School. Various rumours were circulating around the School.

The truth was that they had left early for the Ministry of Supply Storage Depot at Ruddington hoping to return with a three-ton Army personnel carrier or Bedford truck. The acquisition of a School vehicle had been contemplated for some time and it was eventually decided that an ex-Army vehicle should be acquired for an experimental period of two years.

One look at a three-ton personnel carrier was enough! Unless one was contemplating taking half the School out each trip this would be no use! Examination of the Bedford trucks showed that a considerable amount of money would be required to carry out the conversion satisfactorily, and eventually our hopes were placed on one of several two-ton Austin ambulances.

The auction of some seven hundred and fifty vehicles took place in a huge aircraft hangar adjacent to the vehicle park. Approximately five hundred people, mainly dealers from all parts of the country, were present and we sat quietly in the background for a time carefully watching the bidding. After spending an hour or so noting the prices vehicles were fetching, we began bidding. Some time passed before we finally registered Tudor Grange Grammar School as the purchaser of Lot Number 741 - a two-ton Austin ambulance.

The following week, assisted by a mechanic kindly loaned for the day by Mr Bernard Archer, we left with Land Rover, tow-rope, batteries and an assortment of tools which we hoped would prove unnecessary. The vehicle park was closely guarded by policemen and barbed wire and we waited our turn for the ambulance to be towed to the main gate. After that it became our problem! In fact a ten-yard tow proved sufficient and the engine burst into life. With the Land Rover as escort the ambulance made an uneventful run back to Solihull.

Its arrival was unspectacular, since most boys were at lunch. Nevertheless a rumour about the square box with the huge red crosses and an exhaust pipe on the roof, spread rapidly.

Work on the major problem of conversion started almost immediately. The initial task was to remove the great red crosses from the side and the roof, and replace the existing canvass with sheet steel. Modifications were made to the framework to allow the fitting of eight pairs of Spitfire windows (fully bullet-proof). Additions in the form of seats from a Midland Red bus (purchased!), doors from a G.P.O. van and various parts from an Austin taxi, kindly donated by Mr Eager, have been made and the van is now complete and ready to use.

An enthusiastic army of volunteers has given up incalculable spare time to this project. The school is most grateful to Nicholls, Playdon, Fozard and Pimm who have completed the structural modifications; to a group of Second Year boys led by "trial and error" Stiley who have improved and modified the electrical system; to the Scouts under the leadership of Mr Newton who have carried out valuable work at roof level, and to many others who have lent a hand. Sincere thanks are also due to Mr Evans for providing the paint and spraying assistance, to Mr Cowton and Mr Stiley for various electrical fittings, to Mr Brunton (Metro-Cammel Ltd) for a gift of aluminium beading, to Mr Moss for the loan of his spray gun, and to the Headmaster for making the funds available for the purchase and the necessary alterations.

Now completed, the vehicle will benefit many organisations within the School. The canoeists, mountaineers, biologists, geographers and Scouts, to name but a few, will doubtless find it of immense value. The vehicle should be able to carry a Rugby team comfortably (?), tow the canoe trailer, carry two tons of Scout equipment, and even assist in Staff removals!

M.N.B.

My own strongest memory of the vehicle is from a trip to the Austin factory in Longbridge. We emerged from our tour of the site to find it surrounded by old guys who had built the ambulances years before, all reminiscing about its construction and admiring (we hoped!) its conversion. Does anyone know when it was removed from service? It certainly survived the "two year experimental period" mentioned above.