This Vickers Crossley Armoured Car Chevrolet (Indian Pattern) was on display at Bovington.
In 1915 the British Army started to use armoured cars in India, particularly on the North West Frontier, to relieve troops needed elsewhere. They proved so successful that this soon became standard policy. Shortly after the war the Indian Government purchased 16 Rolls-Royce cars to a new design but these proved so expensive that subsequent orders were placed with Crossley Motors in Manchester who made a tough but cheap 50hp IAG1 chassis. Substantial numbers of these cars were supplied between 1923 and 1925.
The body design, which was very similar to the Rolls-Royce version and built by Vickers at Crayford, had a number of interesting features. These included a dome-shaped turret, with four machine-gun mounts, which was designed to deflect rifle shots from snipers in ambush positions in the high passes. A clamshell cupola surmounted the turret for the commander, while side doors opened opposite ways on either side so that a crew member could dismount safely under fire. The crew area was lined with asbestos to keep the temperature down and the entire body could be electrified to keep large crowds at bay.
By 1939, when the Royal Tank Corps in India had handed most of its equipment over to the Indian Army, the Crossleys were worn out. The bodies were then transferred to imported Canadian Chevrolet chassis, with pneumatic tyres, and in this form served with Indian forces in the Middle East in the early years of the war.
You can imagine in an early Very British Civil War scenario in the early 1920s, the Vickers factory making these armoured cars available to one of the armies for fighting the civil war. You would have to think about some rules for allowing the entire body could be electrified and the impact that this would have in games.
I really enjoyed reading 1919: Britain’s Year of Revolution a book that looks at the (all too real) prospects of a revolution in the United Kingdom post the Great War.
1919; Britain’s Year of Revolution tells the story of an almost unknown passage in British history. On the August Bank Holiday that year, the government in London despatched warships to the northern city of Liverpool in an overwhelming show of force. Thousands of troops, backed by tanks, had been trying without success to suppress disorder on the streets. Earlier that year in London, 1,000 soldiers had marched on Downing Street, before being disarmed by a battalion of the Grenadier Guards loyal to the government. In Luton that summer, the town hall was burned down by rioters, before the army was brought in to restore order, and in Glasgow, artillery and tanks were positioned in the centre of the city to deter what the Secretary of State for Scotland described as a Bolshevik uprising. Industrial unrest and mutiny in the armed forces combined together to produce the fear that Britain was facing the same kind of situation which had led to the Russian Revolution two years earlier. Drawing chiefly upon contemporary sources, this book describes the sequence of events which looked as though they might be the precursor to a revolution along the lines of those sweeping across Europe at that time. To some observers, it seemed only a matter of time before Britain transformed itself from a constitutional monarchy into a Soviet Republic.
I found it a real gripping read and learnt so much about that post war era and the sparks that could have resulted in a full blown revolution and civil war.
Here are some ideas for scenarios.
Soldiers are deployed to remove strikers who are occupying important buildings in the city centre. The army bring in tanks and armoured cars. The strikers build improvised armoured buses, trucks and cars.
AI Generated Image
By the winter of 1919, the quiet horror of the Western Front had migrated to the cobbled thoroughfares of Britain’s industrial heartlands. Where the War Office dispatched Mark V tanks and Peerless armoured cars to break the council building occupations and clear city centres, they encountered an urban vanguard forged in the foundries of the Clyde, Tyne, and Mersey. Red Guards and striking boilermakers had systematically stripped heavy steel plating from dormant shipyards, welding makeshift parapets over double-decker trams, commercial lorries, and motor-coaches. Behind barricades of paving stones and overturned omnibus chassis, these improvised “Red Ironclads”—rattling top-heavy monstrosities studded with riveted boiler-plate and improvised firing slits—clanked into the grand town squares, meeting the state’s war-surplus armour in an unprecedented, suffocating clash of steel on domestic soil.
Peerless Armoured Car in Cork in 1922 – National Library of Ireland on The Commons [No restrictions]Sailors brought in by ship into docks across the UK to remove striking dockers. The dockers retaliate and attack the naval forces.
With Britain’s commercial trade paralysed at the water’s edge, the Admiralty took the drastic step of ordering Royal Navy destroyers and light cruisers directly into the nation’s key ports, deploying armed naval landing parties to clear the quays and force the unloading of essential supplies. The bluejackets expected passive non-cooperation, but they disembarked into a brutal gauntlet constructed by thousands of furious dockers, coal-heavers, and unionised merchant mariners. Armed with cargo hooks, heavy iron marlinspikes, and improvised Molotovs, the strikers swarmed the gangways and crane gantries, driving back the sailors with a volley of cobblestones and heavy freight blocks. In dockyards from Liverpool to the Thames, the salt air turned acrid with smoke as naval forces found themselves pinned down behind stacked timber-crates, fighting off ferocious hand-to-hand charges by a maritime workforce determined to hold the port gates at any cost.
Soldiers mutiny and take over buildings in city, but more troops are sent in to stop this.
A British Army Mark V tank rams a sealed premises on Capel Street. Dublin January 18th 1921
What began as a quiet refusal to entrain for anti-Bolshevik deployment in Russia swiftly erupted into outright mutiny when regiments stationed in the provincial garrison towns seized control of local municipal halls, telegraph exchanges, and railway stations. Emboldened by months of demobilisation delays and rising revolutionary fervour, the rebellious soldiers declared these strongholds liberated “Soldiers’ Councils.” In response, the War Cabinet acted with cold, decisive speed, dispatching battle-hardened loyalist brigades direct from the Western Front—troops untainted by industrial unrest and supported by field artillery—to isolate and besiege their former comrades. As cordon lines tightened around city centres, loyalist machine-gun posts took position atop church spires and departmental rooftops, turning former army barracks and grand Victorian civic halls into contested war zones where British veterans faced British veterans across barricaded avenues.
A government armoured train is used for rear area security. Opposition forces plan to ambush the train with improvised armoured vehicles.
AI Generated Image
As military control unravelled across the rail corridors connecting London to the industrial North, the Ministry of Munitions pressed heavy armoured trains into service to maintain rear-area security, protect vital supply lines, and guarantee the passage of government troops. Yet these rolling fortresses, formidable on open track, found themselves hopelessly vulnerable to the partisan warfare brewing in the railway cuttings. Laying in wait near a coal-dusted junction, insurgent forces assembled a mobile strike force of improvised armoured lorries and plating-reinforced traction engines. Packed with high explosives and shielded behind layers of riveted boiler-plate, the rebel vehicles charged down parallel railway access roads, blowing the rails behind the train to cut off its retreat before using heavy improvised rams and makeshift sticky charges to breach the iron flank of the state’s juggernaut.
There are lots of miniatures out there that can be used for this kind of gaming across different scales.
I have written a number of blog posts on the different kinds of armoured vehicles developed in the inter-war period.
You can also see from the book how the seeds were potentially sowed for an armed conflict along the lines of the Very British Civil War background.
VBCW or Very British Civil War is an alternative history created by messers Jones, Mortimore and Douglas and published by Solway Crafts and Miniatures. In their scenario Edward VIII refuses to abdicate triggering a constitutional crisis which divides the nation and results in Civil war. As a result instead of going to war in Europe, the nation is facing a very British crisis.
The Lanchester armoured car was a British armoured car built on the chassis of the Lanchester “Sporting Forty”, it saw wide service with the Royal Naval Air Service and British Army during the First World War. The Lanchester was the second most numerous World War I armoured car in British service after the Rolls-Royce armoured car.
Six-wheeled armoured cars were seen as having a better cross-country performance than four-wheelers. In pursuit of quality the War Office ignored offers from various commercial vehicle firms and, since Rolls-Royce was not interested, turned its attention to Lanchester, a famous rival. The Lanchester Company had supplied four-wheeled armoured cars to the Admiralty in 1915 but this six-wheeled chassis was a major departure for them. It was equipped with the standard Lanchester six-cylinder engine and used the War Department patent rear axle system.
Taking advantage of the long chassis, the armoured hull and turret were enormous and contained three machine-guns. Yet the Lanchesters were much too big for reconnaissance duties, being almost impossible to turn around in narrow roads. For this reason a rear steering position was provided and the cars had detachable tracks which fitted over the rear wheels to assist them over rough country. They were also extremely expensive and the War Office was soon looking for something cheaper.
Thirty-nine armoured Lanchesters were built, starting in 1928, and they were issued to the newly mechanised cavalry regiments. They spent most of their time in Britain although in 1935 the 12th Lancers took some cars out to the Saarland and a few were tested in the Middle East. The cars were used for training in the early years of the war and one was converted into a secure VIP transport for use in London.
This got me thinking about possible uses for the Lanchester armoured car in A Very British Civil War scenarios, but also in an Operation Sealion scenario where German paratroopers attempt to kidnap Winston Churchill who is being moved in a convoy including the Lanchester armoured car which was converted into a secure VIP transport for use in London.
Though not initially earmarked for the Coats Mission, you can imagine that such armoured cars would be an useful addition to the plans for the mission.
The Coats Mission was a special British army unit established in England in 1940 for the purpose of evacuating King George VI, Queen Elizabeth, and their immediate family, in the event of a German invasion of Britain during the Second World War. The Coats Mission was equipped with two Daimler armoured cars and four Guy armoured cars. In addition, the four Rolls-Royce armoured cars based at the Royal Mews would be attached to the troop in the event of an evacuation.
A few were still operating in Malaya in 1941 with the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders; these ultimately fell into Japanese hands.
Photographs of the Lanchester Armoured Car from previous visits in 2016 and 2023.
Alongside their work for the British armed forces Vickers-Armstrongs produced military equipment for export to foreign armies. Their earliest commercial tank designs failed to sell but in 1928 they produced a masterpiece. Known as the ‘six-tonner’ it was a remarkable design, with a rear-mounted, air-cooled engine driving to a gearbox and track sprockets at the front of the tank. There were two main variants; some tanks were supplied with two machine-gun turrets (Type A) while others carried a larger single turret (Type B).
Following trials the British Army turned it down but the tank was a major export success. It sold all around the world, from South America to Japan and was even studied by the United States Army. It was licensed by the Soviets as the T-26. It was also the direct predecessor of the Polish 7TP tank and influenced tank design in many other countries.
The Bovington Tank Museum exhibit, a (Type B), is displayed in the fancy camouflage style adopted by Vickers for their commercial offerings; it is seen at a mythical army equipment exhibition some time in the thirties.
You can imagine in A Very British Civil War scenario, the Vickers factory ramping up production and making these tanks available to one of the armies for fighting the civil war. They could be used as the core of an armoured thrust in a major battle, or they might be used to provide security in cities.
This is the Vickers Medium Mark II* at the Bovington Tank Museum.
It was the main British tank from 1923 until 1935.
Introduced in 1923 the Vickers Mediums were the first British tanks to see service fitted with a sprung suspension and a rotating turret. Designed to fight on the move, their high speed of 30 mph restored mobility to the battlefield. The hull was riveted. The engine, an air cooled Armstrong Siddeley, was mounted in the front of the tank, alongside the driver. Originally described as a light tank, the advent of even smaller tanks weighing about five tons, resulted in the Vickers’ design being reclassified as a medium tank.
The Medium Mark II was completely obsolete by the beginning of World War II. The survivors were used for training during the first few years of the War. Some were issued to combat forces to make up their strength after the loss of most British first line tanks during the retreat from France in 1940. Others were sent to Egypt as training vehicles and were pressed into service with the Western Desert Force. They were buried as fixed defences at Mersa Matruh and Tobruk.
Vickers sold 15 Medium Tanks to the Soviet Union in 1930, they were used for training. Rather surprisingly, the Finns captured half a dozen of these relics from the Russians in the autumn of 1941. At least one other went to Australia, while a single example of a developed version, the Mark C, was sold to Japan. This vehicle formed the basis of the Japanese Type 89 tank design. A single example of the final version, the Medium Mark D, was sold to Eire where it remained in service until 1940.
These would be the mainstay tanks of any A Very British Civil War scenarios. Difficult to get hold of relevant models though, but you can find 3D printed versions online.
The Lanchester armoured car was a British armoured car built on the chassis of the Lanchester “Sporting Forty”, it saw wide service with the Royal Naval Air Service and British Army during the First World War. The Lanchester was the second most numerous World War I armoured car in British service after the Rolls-Royce armoured car.
Thirty-nine armoured Lanchesters were built, starting in 1928, and they were issued to the newly mechanised cavalry regiments. They spent most of their time in Britain although in 1935 the 12th Lancers took some cars out to the Saarland and a few were tested in the Middle East. The cars were used for training in the early years of the war and one was converted into a secure VIP transport for use in London. A few were still operating in Malaya in 1941 with the Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders; these ultimately fell into Japanese hands.
This got me thinking about possible uses for the Lanchester armoured car in A Very British Civil War scenarios, but also in an Operation Sealion scenario where German paratroopers attempt to kidnap Winston Churchill who is being moved in a convoy including the Lanchester armoured car which was converted into a secure VIP transport for use in London.
This Vickers Crossley Armoured Car Chevrolet (Indian Pattern) was on display at Bovington.
In 1915 the British Army started to use armoured cars in India, particularly on the North West Frontier, to relieve troops needed elsewhere. They proved so successful that this soon became standard policy. Shortly after the war the Indian Government purchased 16 Rolls-Royce cars to a new design but these proved so expensive that subsequent orders were placed with Crossley Motors in Manchester who made a tough but cheap 50hp IAG1 chassis. Substantial numbers of these cars were supplied between 1923 and 1925.
The body design, which was very similar to the Rolls-Royce version and built by Vickers at Crayford, had a number of interesting features. These included a dome-shaped turret, with four machine-gun mounts, which was designed to deflect rifle shots from snipers in ambush positions in the high passes. A clamshell cupola surmounted the turret for the commander, while side doors opened opposite ways on either side so that a crew member could dismount safely under fire. The crew area was lined with asbestos to keep the temperature down and the entire body could be electrified to keep large crowds at bay.
By 1939, when the Royal Tank Corps in India had handed most of its equipment over to the Indian Army, the Crossleys were worn out. The bodies were then transferred to imported Canadian Chevrolet chassis, with pneumatic tyres, and in this form served with Indian forces in the Middle East in the early years of the war.
You can imagine in an early Very British Civil War scenario in the early 1920s, the Vickers factory making these armoured cars available to one of the armies for fighting the civil war. You would have to think about some rules for allowing the entire body could be electrified and the impact that this would have in games.
The Vickers Crossley Armoured Car was also exported to Japan who made use of them in China.
Mainichi Shimbun [Public domain]Company B make a 1/56th scale metal and resin version which is available.
The A9 Cruiser Tank was a British cruiser tank of the interwar period. It was the first cruiser tank, a fast tank designed to bypass the main enemy lines and engage the enemy’s lines of communication, as well as enemy tanks. It was developed by Vickers-Armstrongs and was first produced in 1937.
This Cruiser Tank, Mk I (A9) was on display at the Tank Museum at Bovington.
The A9 was armed with a 2-pounder (40 mm) main gun and three .303-inch (7.7 mm) machine guns. It had a top speed of 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) on road and 15 miles per hour (24 km/h) off. Its armor was relatively thin, at only 14 mm (0.55 in) thick on the front and 10 mm (0.39 in) thick on the sides.
The A9 was used by the British Army in the early years of World War II. It saw action in the Battle of France in 1940 and in the North African Campaign in 1941. It was soon replaced by more modern tanks, such as the Cruiser Mk IV.
The A9 was a relatively successful tank for its time. It was fast and maneuverable, and its main gun was effective against early German tanks. However, its thin armor made it vulnerable to enemy fire, and it was soon replaced by more heavily armored tanks.
Though entering service in 1938, development had started earlier with the pilot model of the medium tank design being finished in 1936. This makes it an ideal tank for use during the Very British Civil War background.
The Hawker Hart is a British two-seater biplane light bomber aircraft that saw service with the Royal Air Force (RAF). It was designed during the 1920s by Sydney Camm and manufactured by Hawker Aircraft. The Hart was a prominent British aircraft in the inter-war period, but was obsolete and already side-lined for newer monoplane aircraft designs by the start of the Second World War, playing only minor roles in the conflict before being retired.
You could imagine though in the timeline of the A Very British Civil War that the Hawker Hart could have been used in that conflict.
Several major variants of the Hart were developed, including a navalised version for the Royal Navy’s aircraft carriers.
This Peerless Armoured Car was on display at the Tank Museum at Bovington.
The (original) Peerless Armoured Car was an armoured car that was used by the British Army during the First World War. Sixteen American Peerless trucks were modified by the British to serve as armoured cars. These were relatively primitive designs with open backs, armed with a Pom-pom gun and a machine gun, and were delivered to the British Army in 1915.
In 1919 a new design was built. it was based on the chassis of the Peerless three-tonne lorry, with an armoured body built by the Austin Motor Company.
The Peerless lorry was a relatively slow and heavy vehicle but was reckoned to be tough, with solid rubber tyres and rear-wheel chain drive. The armour for the vehicle produced by the Austin company was based on an earlier design created for the Russian Army.
The most common variant was a twin-turret design fitted with two machine guns. However, a number of other variants were developed, including a vehicle armed with a 3-inch (76 mm) gun and an anti-aircraft variant armed with a 13-pound 6cwt AA gun.
The car had a crew of four .The Peerless Armoured Car was used in a variety of roles, including reconnaissance, escort duty, and direct fire support. It was used by the British Army in the Russian Civil War.
The Peerless Armoured Car was a relatively successful design for its time. It was well-protected and reliable, and it was able to carry a significant amount of firepower. However, it was also slow and heavy, which limited its usefulness in some roles. The Peerless Armoured Car was eventually replaced by more modern designs in the 1920s.
Poor off-road performance hampered the vehicle but it still saw considerable service, notably in Ireland. A few were still in service with the British at the start of the Second World War. Seven were in service with the Irish National Army during the Irish Civil War and used by the Irish Defence Forces up until 1932.
This photo appeared in the Sunday Independent on 13 August 1922, with the caption: “A Dangerous Corner – This photograph was taken in one of the towns captured during the past week by the National Army. It shows an amoured car “manoeuvring for position” at the end of a street facing the post office. Irregulars occupy the further end of the street, and are being quickly dislodged by infantry supported by the armoured car.”
Peerless Armoured Car in Cork in 1922 – National Library of Ireland on The Commons [No restrictions]These armoured cars would have been used in the world of A Very British Civil War. They would also make ideal vehicles for the concept of the 1919 British Revolution I talked about in this blog post.
If there had been a British Revolution in 1919, the Peerless Armoured Cars would have likely been used to suppress the uprising. The cars were well-protected and armed with machine guns, making them ideal for use against rioters and rebels. They would have been deployed to key locations around the country, such as government buildings, military bases, and communication hubs. The cars would have also been used to patrol the streets and to provide support to police forces.
The use of Peerless Armoured Cars would have likely been controversial. Some people would have argued that the cars were necessary to protect the country from chaos and anarchy. Others would have argued that the cars were a symbol of government oppression. The use of the cars would have likely exacerbated tensions between the government and the people, and it could have led to further violence.
Ultimately, the outcome of a British Revolution in 1919 is impossible to say. However, the use of Peerless Armoured Cars would have likely played a significant role in the conflict.
