| BOOK REVIEW - CALLING ALL ARMS by Earnest Fairfax 159 pages. Published by Hutchinson and Co. |
| Published around 1946 , 'Calling All Arms ' describes in detail , the story of the Nuffield Group, specifically, it's history during WW2 . The book details the various branches of the organisation and their involvement in the manufacturing and repair of countless items of military hardware . Although the book gives an interesting insight into the history of the group during WW2, unfortunately, there are some glaring gaps in the text. For example, the book seems to concentrate on the large combat type items such as aircraft and tanks , the author has ignored the more mundane items e.g., soft skin vehicles . The first half of the book describes the three NUFFIELD administered branches involved in repairing RAF aircraft , salvaging downed RAF aircraft and salvaging downed German aircraft, for the alloy metal. The book then goes into the development of the Cruiser tank by NUFFIELD Mechanisatons LTD, its evolution into the Crusader and eventually the Cromwell tank . Eventually we get to the chapter dealing with MCC at Birmingham . The author briefly talks about MCC supplying military trucks . He seems to only makes reference to specific vehicles if they are carrying a weapon of some sort . He describes how the WD refused the Bofors 4X4 MCC vehicle until a certain General insisted it be considered . I cannot find a paragraph in the book where the famous MCC Quad gun tractor is mentioned , or the 15 cwt infantry truck that MCC pioneered in the early 1930's , this I believe is the major downfall of the book. The author goes on to describe the various Nuffield branches and their contribution to the war effort e.g., Wolesley making bren gun carriers and Horsa glider sections . MG reconditioning Matilda tanks and building Albemarle aircraft nose sections . The Cowley factory making sea mines, sinkers and Tiger Moth trainers. The Coventry Engines plant being bombed during the blitz. All these are covered in some detail but the MCC section only mentions them supplying 6 wheelers to the Indian army in the 1930's and developing the experimental Neptune amphib craft . The book goes into great detail in parts such as describing the SU carburetter works in Birmingham and the RAF's total dependancy on this single factory for all of its fighter aircraft . How a shadow factory was set up at Riley to keep production going in case of a attack . Official German Luftwaffe reconasiance photos of the Cowley works are shown . Overall the book gives a good insight into the wide range of military equipment NUFFIELD were involved in manufacturing but the gaps do make it somewhat dissapointing for contemporary military vehicle collectors of today . Mike Kelly |
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