The Hallams in Iceland, I believe.





How did they manage to misunderstand the simple instruction relating to the positioning of the window in the blackout mask ?

Nice. I can give you the exact co-ordinate of where that was taken.
65°43'58.36"N 18°18'3.38"W
I am pretty sure its A Company, based at Krossastadier Camp.
I have a series of photos taken by the Coy. WO2. There are a few bikes in my pics (I have put them up before) and the reg plate on the one is PME 607 (it has the 'C' number on the left hand side of the tank, in a black box, with the '57' unit number on the right hand side.
Rich

email (option): RICHARDPURKISS@HOTMAIL.COM

Rik, I think there were special instructions to the Alabaster Force related to Vehicles, which
might be different to other regulations. I have a WWII photo showing the paper in correct way,
and many which show no use of blacked out headlamps.

One thing of interest is that they had orders to paint the unit sign on both sides
of the fuel tank.



Reg
Hinrik

email (option): hsteinsson28(spam)@hotmail.com

That's interesting to read Hinrik, now people will be respraying their petrol tanks to get it right :thinking_face:

email (option): horrorhouse@blueyonder.co.uk

If I can remember my historical facts. This was the 49th division (West Riding of Yorkshire) who change their original sign of the White Rose of Yorkshire to the polar bear after seeing them in the Arctic circle. The passive head down bear was later changed to the roaring bear we know from their later campaigns. Hinrik will correct me if I'm wrong. Ron

email (option): ronpier@talk21.com

Horror, not to worry, this order is for Alabaster force, so only for bikes in Iceland, as I understand it.

Ron, an old retired Detective friend of mine, and life long collector of WWII items, told me that the
49th Div. likely copied the head down Polar bear sign from "Fox candy" a sugar candy treat. Yes, they
thought that the head down Polar bear looked submissive, and changed it to head up style after leaving Iceland.
But I normally refer to that style as the "Laughing bear" as it sure looks as one laughing :)

I think I have the worlds largest collection of Polar bear signs. This is not all of it.



Reg
Hinrik

email (option): hsteinsson28(spam)@hotmail.com

The Hallams were dropped off on the North of Iceland on 28th June 1940 so it was about 6 weeks till that order for marking vehicles came out (18th Aug).
The photos I have must have been taken between these time as the the bike in them have various ways of marking, mixtures of civi plates and census numbers. The unit number is only put on one side and the C number on the other.

email (option): RICHARDPURKISS@HOTMAIL.COM

Richard, WD Serial number on the near-side only was standard pre-war practice. The BEF used the empty off-side mostly for formation signs (if at all) and only very rarely for the arm of service serial.

The 'county council' number plates basically indicate a pre-war machine...by mid 1940, the vacant plates were being used for WD numbers but this didn't continue long either. Rather than a transitional phase in Iceland, it reflects how they were delivered from RAOC Chilwell.
The headlamp mask aperture is occasionally wrong on BEF motorcycles and is sometimes seen in the act of rotating but I've never seen three wrong in a row before !