On my journeys around Namibia, I sometimes spot an old Bedford truck abandoned in the countryside. I always think that they seem forlorn and must be the some of the saddest looking vehicles ever built, but perhaps they are just having a much-deserved rest after years of hard labour.
Manufactured in Britain from 1931 to 1987 by Vauxhall Motors, Bedford was an international lorry brand and subsidiary of General Motors. The name was taken from the town Bedfordshire, where the factory was located. The initial Bedfords were robust commercial vehicles used as ambulances, buses, vans and trucks. At the outbreak of World War Two in 1939 many Bedford trucks were requisitioned for military use, while several models were built specifically for the war effort to be used as general-purpose trucks, personnel carriers, petrol tankers and wireless trucks. After the war some of the military vehicles were purchased for everyday use and new models of Bedfords were manufactured to be used as ice-cream vans, fire-engines, horse-boxes, flat-bed trucks, utility vehicles and camper vans. Bedford vehicles have even been converted into mobile libraries and cinemas.
In the 1950s Bedfords found their way to India, Pakistan, Australia, New Zealand and Africa, where many were purchased by the local military. There came a time when, after years of hard work, they were sold at auctions and ended up in civilian life, some to be used as farm vehicles. Many changed hands several times, eventually becoming camper vans (sometimes painted with bright, colourful flowers) and overland trucks, ready to take travellers on exciting adventures around the globe. Some were broken up and sold for scrap, while others wore out or broke down for the last time and ended up abandoned in fields, becoming wonderful places for children’s games, for the chickens to roost or for the family cat to curl up in on a cold winter’s day.
Do you have any photos of the old Bedfords? If so, please share them with us, we’d love to see them.
(Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bedford_Vehicles)