Hej
My name is Arthur, I am from Cracow, Poland. Just a moment i've bought "Betsy" m20 1944, from England. I am looking for the information about division markings vehicle oof the 22nd Artillery Supply Company of the Polish II Corps. Do You know the history of the: Wojtek the bear?

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=wojtek+the+bear+logo&um=1&hl=pl&biw=1416&bih=702&tbm=isch&tbnid=4zflyjgJx1v4rM:&imgrefurl=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Wojtek_soldier_bear.png&docid=WQ_9wroiu2ykgM&imgurl=http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Wojtek_soldier_bear.png&w=354&h=400&ei=8Er-TpbpM42Rswa3v8DODw&zoom=1&iact=rc&dur=272&sig=106201680359840777626&page=1&tbnh=161&tbnw=155&start=0&ndsp=18&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0&tx=70&ty=60


I want to paint this marking on my bsa. Plis help, thanks and greets from Cracow:)artek.jurek@gmail.com

email (option): artek.jurek@gmail.com

I know that lorries had this painted, but I wanna to know if the motorcycles(especially BSA) had this markings painted ? Thanks, arthur, Cracow

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=wojtek+the+bear&um=1&hl=pl&sa=N&biw=1416&bih=702&tbm=isch&tbnid=56RCAmJpyQIPzM:&imgrefurl=http://www.edinburgh.com.pl/content/view/1567/141/&docid=76Cjq2ifs7GWJM&imgurl=http://www.edinburgh.com.pl/images/stories/wojtek2010/soldier%252520bear%252520wojtek.jpg&w=300&h=394&ei=YEz-TqmANsP08QOOqOyzAQ&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=831&vpy=312&dur=360&hovh=257&hovw=196&tx=110&ty=128&sig=106201680359840777626&page=1&tbnh=147&tbnw=110&start=0&ndsp=22&ved=1t:429,r:12,s:0

email (option): artek.jurek@gmail.com

Hi Arthur,

Here a photo of a Polish soldier on a BSA. I have quite a few photos of Polish soldiers on a BSA but non with your unit sign on it.

This photo is taken in Holland. There is a church in Holland with a woodcarving in the council made from this photo.

Henk

email (option): ahum@quicknet.nl

My focus is the BEF of 1940 and the further things get away from there, the less I know.

Polish forces in Italy are not well documented in the English-speaking world.

Presumably you know this on-line photo archive ? It may have some clues.

http://mg.cultura.marche.it/default_sik.asp?page=1&order=id

I'm not actually sure where an 'Artillery Supply Company' would fit into the scheme of things but if they reported directly to the Polish 2nd Corps then I'd expect that they would simply have displayed that sign (and quite possibly not on motorcycles).

However, the British-supplied allied armies were somewhat less strict in their interpretation of War Office directives than the British so I wouldn't rule anything out but generally, in the scheme of things, a unit at company level would be too small to display its own formation sign on vehicles - the result would be overall confusion.

Thanks for Your help,what is more - very interesting pics. I've seen 250 pages from the site of Sikorski's museum, and I found a lot of photos : ariel 350 w/nh, matchless g3, bsa, but all of them unfortunatelly without markings, only contract numbers so far.
Happy New Year 2012, arthur

PS. what's the BEF of 1940? I am afraid I didn't quite catch that

email (option): artek.jurek@gmail.com

BEF= British Expeditionary Forces. Mostly know by the retreat and evacuation of thousands of troops at Dunkirk. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Thought to mention that some of the Polish troops were in the Wermacht in Italy and I think ended up on the Allied side after capture. Just like my family, they fought on both sides.

email (option): unpob@yahoo.com