"Nigel Watson is the author and publisher of Universal Carriers Volume 1, the first of a three-volume work on the British Universal Carrier series of small tracked vehicles. The book was launched at the War and Peace Show at Beltring last July.
The author owns a Universal Carrier MkI*, built in 1941, and thus writes with some authority, and has aimed his book, three years in the making, at not only other carrier owners, but modellers, veterans and military vehicle enthusiaists in general. In fact, the book has a section (Chapter 14) about scale model Universal Carriers.
The author's MkI* Carrier is finished in sand and terracotta in memory of his father who served as a carrier officer with the 8th Punjab Regiment in the Indian Army during the Second World War. Volume 1 has 304 pages and covers the early tracked Dragons, Machine Gun, Cavalry, AOP, Bren, Loyd and the Universal Mark 1 carriers. Ambulance, Anti-aircraft and Bridging variants are also included. The book has over 400 photographs and 100 drawings, and relies heavily on prime source official publications for carriers and associated equipment. A lot of the material in the book will be new to many, and a large bulk of it has not been published, in book form, between two covers. Most of what has been written on carriers, with one notable exception, has appeared in part works or magazine articles and this is the first present day attempt at presenting it as a dedicated series. The author is to be commended for self-publishing his work and making what many would consider to be a gamble.
The carrier's history and its development 1917-1950 is related and opens the book, and closely followed by Chapter 1 that considers the Light Dragons, which are an interesting study themselves, this chapter having a scale drawing, lots of photographs and technical specifications, plus manufacturing and contact details - with WD and registration numbers, and quantities built, plus information on vehicle colours and markings.
Subsequent chapters describe Armoured Machine Gun Carriers, Cavalry Carriers, Scout Carriers, Observation Post Carriers, Bren Gun Carriers, ('Bren' seems to be a generic term for all carriers amongst the uninitiated!) Universal Carriers MkI and MkI* and the Loyd Carriers. Chapters on the variants and special equipment highlight the differences and some special purpose uses of the vehicle. The tracks and wheels, engines, armament and communication equipment all have their own chapters and are covered in more than adequate detail. The latter chapters are very detailed with lots of drawings of parts that modellers will find invaluable.
A survey of carrier models and kits goes back to the Dinky Light Dragon Gun Tractor and mentions the models used by the army during the Second World War for 'sand table exercises'. More recent kits of carriers and accessories in different scales from Airfix, Accurate Armour, Tamiya and the extensive 1:76 scale Milicast range are highlighted.
The book includes a full list of Carrier WD numbers for completeness. Volume 2 will also deal with the different types of carrier, whereas Volume 3 will feature technical drawings and illustrations, veteran's accounts and restored carriers, all contributing to a comprehensive study of the genre.
This is a first rate effort by the author-publisher and this well presented hardback book should be in all serious military vehicle modellers and enthusiasts' libraries.
Finally, in this highly recommended book, have a look at the photo on page 106 that shows how the commander os a carrier should 'vault' from his mount! This should provide inspiration to more adventurous figure modellers.
K.Jones, England Military Modelling Magazine 5th October 2007
