History
1966 - 2021
In 1948, the first ever Land Rover came off the factory line, it would be another 8 years before Lady T too rolled out of the factory. Born in March 1966, Lady T was built to enter straight into Military service as an RAF Blue, Short Wheel Base, Land Rover Series 2a.
Specked for the home market, she’s a right hand drive 88 inch (this refers to the total length of her chassis) and fondly nicknamed Lady Thatcher (shortened to Lady T), due to her blue colour and stubborn nature.
Lady T
A 1966 Series 2a Ex-RAF 88’’ Land Rover
Working Life
In April 1966, she was dispatched Ashchurch Central Vehicle Depot (CVD) near Tewkesbury in Gloucestershire. Ashchurch CVD was the UK MOD's primary vehicle storage and distribution site for all types of armoured and soft skinned vehicles, together with Royal Engineer bridges, boats and construction plant. Here she was officially recorded as joining the Royal Air Force (RAF) and given her Equipment Registration Mark (ERM) - 89AA93.
According to her RAF B Card Record (the military’s version of a CV), in January 1967 she was shipped and arrived with Air Forces Middle East (A. F. M. E.) and 8 months later in September 1967 arrived to Air Forces Gulf (A. F. Gulf). What she was doing in the 8 months before and after A.F.M.E., we are still to discover. Once she arrived with A. F. Gulf she may have been deployed to RAF Muharraq (was RAF Bahrain) or RAF Khormaksar and perhaps involved in the Persian Gulf British withdrawal from ‘67-‘71 or Aden in ‘67. Currently, there are 4 years unaccounted for on her RAF B Card.
Perhaps around July 1970, she was transferred and re-issued with an Army ERM - 28BT27, but only in June 1971 was she Struck Off Charge (S.O.C.) from A. F. Gulf. (i.e. no longer in RAF Service). She then spent 16 months unaccounted for before being sold in civilian life at Ruddington Auction, Lot 595 in September 1972.
Between entering civilian service in October 1972 and the current owner buying her in March 2011, she has had 11 owners. With her new registration LBL 823L, her first civilian owner bought her in November 1972 from Vale Garage, Stanford-in-the-Vale, Berkshire. She then relocated to Wiltshire. Some 20 years later, in 1992 she was sold again by Aston Cross Garage in Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire. She stayed taxed in the area until 1999. Where and what she did between 1999 and 2011, is unknown. But since her latest purchase in 2011 in Gloucestershire, she has been undergoing a complete nut and bolt restoration, which was completed in May 2022.
Historical examples used to aid in the restoration of 89 AA 93 (Lady T).
