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Press, 28 May 1981, Page 19

Bedford’s first bus, the 14seat WHB (above) was introduced in 1931. Since then Bedford have sold nearly 3.2 million vehicles, almost half of them to overseas markets.

• Fifty years ago — in April, 1931 — the first Bedford commercial vehicle was produced by Vauxhall Motors in England and a few months later at General Motors’ Petone plant in New Zealand.

Bedford’s main influence on world transport began in 1931, though the ground was prepared from 1929 when the birth of Beford was foreshadowed by the assembly in Britain of General Motors’ Chevrolet commercial vehicles.

But, for unnumbered future transport managers, mechanics, and drivers — who cut their teeth on the quarter-million Bedford trucks supplied to the allied

forces — .World War II marks the point when Bedford really moved into the limelight as a big name in the field of general transport.

The pattern was set in 1939-1945 from the famous 15 cwt MW maid-of-all-work to the QL, forerunner of the succession of four-wheel-drive Bedfords that still today serve the Forces (and many rough-country civilian needs too), not to speak of the 5640 Churchill tanks that Bedford know-how fathered in the same period.

Beford trucks were assembled in New Zealand in 1931, although it was not until after W’orld W'ar II that Bedfords bepame available in any volume.

General Motors have also been very successful with its sales of Bedford Vans, from the carlv PC series which

were a more modified version of the Vauxhall saloons, to the genuine CA Bedford

Vans from 1952-1969 and the popular CF Bedfords thereafter.