[BCMA] CMA Clipping Service: Dec 17 - Canadian General Crerar's 1944-45 Caravan & truck

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv.]

Ah, one of my areas of expertise! ;-)

This is a story of national honour, national disgrace and now a potential
redemption.

CMA CLipping -
*"One man's truck is another museum's treasure
Record Gazette Share/Partager
Historian Will Lash recognized the significance of a truck when its former
owner was driving it around using it for personal business. "I don't think
he had any idea what it was he had," Lash recalls, and offered to buy
it for an undisclosed price. The rare 1940 Diamond T, missing its original
wrecker body, would have been used during World War ..."*

The lorry is a Diamond T, made in the United States. In World War II Canada
bought lorries that were larger than 3-ton as we did not make the larger
sizes at that time, nor the larger engines for them. Instead Canada
concentrated on building almost a million military vehicles and supplied
most of the vehicles to the Commonwealth Allies fighting in North Africa,
and reequipping the British Army after its disastrous losses in the 1940
Battle of France etc. That is another story of Canadian history that is
almost unknown in Canada.

General Crerar was the General Officer Commanding the First Canadian Army
in 1944-1945 and this army was responsible for capturing Juno Beach on
D-Day, then liberating much of the coast of France, Belgium, most of the
Netherlands and capturing part of Germany. It was perhaps the largest
single army among the Allies, because the Canadians could get along with so
many countries. The Free Dutch, Polish, Czech, some British formations and
some American formations (including the  US 82nd All-American and 101st
Screaming Eagles Airborne Divisions (including the now famous"Band of
Brothers") were placed under First Canadian Army alongside the five
Canadian Divisions etc. The caravan was the General's sleeping quarters and
it was mounted on the back of a Diamond T lorry. Crerar also had an office
trailer and a captured German trailer that he called the Viper's Den. He
entertained such guests as as King George VI and Winston Churchill.

After the war, General Crerar had shipped his command vehicle and trailer
to Canada from Europe. Knowing his importance as the top Canadian General
and the Canadian who commanded the largest Canadian fighting force, he
naturally assumed the country would want to preserve it. His counterparts:
Field Marshall Montgomery shipped his tree caravans back to the UK, kept
them on his farm and later donated them to the Imperial War Museum which
displays them now at Duxford. General Eisenhower's caravan was returned to
the U.S.A.

Sending these back to North America was against government orders as big US
built trucks were to be left overseas to avoid flooding the market and
putting the truck manufacturers like White and Diamond T etc. out of
business.

The Canadian War Museum, run by Lee Murray at the time, and ex-Royal
Canadian Navy chap, was in a very small building in Ottawa (this was before
they moved into the old Mint) and *DECLINED* to accept the Crerar Caravan
on its truck and its office trailer. Crerar, family and friends lobbied
hard and CWM relented. They went to London Ontario to the Crown Assets
yard to collect it, only to find that it had been sold off surplus! The
trailer was still there, and the CWM obtained that and has it on display,
albeit with incorrect markings.

My friend, Canadian military vehicle historian, author and collector, the
late Dr. William (Bill) Gregg in Ontario, found that a tobacco farmer in
Ontario had bought the caravan (but not the lorry) for $75 surplus to use
as a cabin for itinerant tobacco workers. Glory is fleeting to be sure!
Luckily it was never used but simply sat in the farmer's field rotting
until Bill found it. He purchased it for $1,000 as I recall him saying.
While hauling it home, part of the rotted roof collapsed. It was a time
warp except for the decay. Bill brought in Crerar's Batman who had packed
up the trailer to ship it home. The shower curtain was still where he had
packed it. The rope covered steps, the desk inside, the picture frames on
the walls and even the sink and special mirror. The mirror has a clear
round spot in the middle and there is a light bulb inside the medicine
cabinet. The light shines out onto his face and he can see himself in the
rest of the mirror!  The rotted mattress that General Crerar had slept on
was still on the bed! Bill was planning to dispose of it, so with Bill's
permission, I took a small sample of the mattress stuffing, which was due
to be discarded anyways and I have a photo of me sitting at Crerar's desk.

Due to a break-in wherein a civilian car in Bill's collection, painted up
as a staff car, was stolen and crashed, Bill Gregg had offered the Gregg
Canadian Collection to the Canadian War Museum but they* DECLINED*, asking
him to store it for 5-years. As he could not protect the collection, Bill
wanted it to go to a museum right away. The Royal Canadian Artillery Museum
ar CFB Shilo in Manitoba accepted the donation. I was one of the appraisers.

The RCA Museum later stripped the complete original wrecking gear off a
very rare restored Canadian Army version 4-ton "Wrecker" (i.e. tow-truck)
from the Gregg Collection. I was told they they put the Crerar caravan on
it, but it was the wrong model (open cab, not closed cab) and dumped the
rare tow-truck gear in their yard.

Years ago I visited with Finlay Morrison, who had been General Crerar's
Aide de Camp. He showed me his scrap book with messages from the General,
allowed me to copy his photos (including photos of the caravan and its
lorry) and he gave me General Crerar's personal jeep flag as GOC First
Canadian Army and a vehicle decal of the same symbol. The office trailer in
the CWM was Finlay's. Every morning Finlay had to brief the General in this
trailer. Finlay gave me a box containing two full sets of maps from D-Day
beaches to Holland, a set that Finlay obtained while at the General's
advanced headquarters. I offered them to the Canadian War Museum as they
had the original trailer office, but they* DECLINED* saying that although I
obtained them from Crerar's ADC who use maps at advanced HQ to brief
General Crerar in this trailer and who obtained them in c. 8 May 1945 at
Cerear's advanced headquarters, I could not prove that Crerar had actually
used them! In my opinion, next to getting them from General Crerar himself,
it does not get much better than this! The RCA Museum did accept the maps.

I do give credit now to the Royal Canadian Artillery Museum for chasing
after a correct model Diamond T lorry to properly mount  the Crerar caravan
on and I wish them well in their endeavour. I am sure that it does not hurt
that Crerar was an artilleryman!

We need to pay proper respect to this very significant Canadian General. He
is our equivalent of Monty, Eisenhower, Patton, Bradley, Rommel, Che
Guevara and Mao Tse-Tung.

If you want to see the lasting results of Crerar's time as General, visit
Holland and wear a Canadian flag. The Dutch people remember.

Colin MacGregor Stevens, CD
Richmond, BC

Museum Manager & Curator (Retired)
The 2012 recipient of the British Columbia Museums Association Annual
*"Distinguished
Service Award"*

Served as a Captain in the Canadian Army
Researcher, collector & author
Writing a biographical book on Smokey Smith, V.C.

Collector specializing in WWII Canadian special units such as:
1 Canadian Parachute Battalion; 1st Special Service Force ("Devil's
Brigade"); British Security Co-ordination; Canadian SAS Company; and
Canadians on special service in S.O.,E. (including Force 136); SRU; MI-9;
Commandos; airborne units such as the Parachute Regiment etc.
 604-341-1917      seaforth72 at gmail.com      http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net

* Author of "The Ferret Scout Car in Canadian Service" by Service
Publications (Dec. 2009)
* eBay identity: seaforth_highlander

* Member (Associate),  # 472, Bornewest CAFA Branch #8
* Member, British Columbia Museums Association
* Member, Canadian Museums Association
* Member, Military Vehicle Preservation Association, Member # 954 (since
1977)
* Member, Western Command Military Vehicle Historical Society
* Member, Historical Arms Collectors of B.C.
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