Not me, but my late brother (lost him September 2012 
) was with the REME in Famagusta in 1956/7. Picture attached of him with some Hippos he used to maintain for a service regt, but he actually passed his test in a Bedford OY during his training.
Bernard
Sorry to hear about your bro,s passing,didn’t come across. Many r.e.m.e. Guys did go to Famagusta quite a few times (happy days) did he or his next of kin send for his medal he was entitled to it. Ecka
A bit before the 50s. 
And pumping the brakes and hoping
Hi Jackdaw
Don’t remember these motors but a guy called guesty he used to second mate on em , ad to shovel coal on the fire to keep steam up . Do you reckon he was aving me on. Ecka
urban1:
Remember taking my class 2 in one of these brute’s, crash gear box and both hands to turn the wheel
Drove one of these done up as a wrecker for a Ford truck dealership when I came out of the army in '68.
It had 3 tons of concrete on the front bumper and was almost impossible to steer unless there was some weight on a suspended tow.
ecka1935:
Hi Jackdaw
Don’t remember these motors but a guy called guesty he used to second mate on em , ad to shovel coal on the fire to keep steam up . Do you reckon he was aving me on. Ecka
Hiya ecka1935, youd better believe it mate what that guy hasnt done would fit on a pin.
I can still see the Griddle motors on the dock road with Guesty44 in his element. And has for his exploits in the M/E the day isnt long enough to tell. Who were you on for?
Jakdaw:
ecka1935:
Hi Jackdaw
Don’t remember these motors but a guy called guesty he used to second mate on em , ad to shovel coal on the fire to keep steam up . Do you reckon he was aving me on. EckaHiya ecka1935, you
d better believe it mate what that guy hasnt done would fit on a pin.
I can still see the Griddle motors on the dock road with Guesty44 in his element. And has for his exploits in the M/E the day isnt long enough to tell. Who were you on for?
Hi Jackdaw, Pure army driver never had a driving job, building trade mostly ,then mine host ,m black cab , and then back to the building , just looking for ex army from 54-59.
my father was in the Royal Artillery from 58 to 61.
he drove mostly bedford o types,bedford RL’s,aec matadors.
he was posted to gibraltar and hong kong.i have some pics somewhere,i’ll dig them out
Jakdaw:
A bit before the 50s.Hi e/1935 that motor was petrol, driven by my old man somewhere in Europe with the Royal Artillery.
All army motors in those days were petrol no diesel to save on ■■■■- ups wi logistics. Ecka
ecka1935:
All army motors in those days were petrol no diesel to save on ■■■■- ups wi logistics. Ecka
the AEC’s were diesel
j
Didn’t know that live and leant ta
Hi. Back after a week of computer hassle!
andrew.s:
ecka1935:
All army motors in those days were petrol no diesel to save on ■■■■- ups wi logistics. Eckathe AEC’s were diesel
So were the wartime Hippos and the Diamond T, both still in use by the military in the '50s. My brother (referred to in my earlier reply) had the dubious distinction of driving the first new Militant to arrive in Egypt, where he was stationed before Cyprus, away from the ship. The AECs were intended to replace the wartime Hippos, but my brother preferred the Hippos despite their advancing years. Mind you, the Militant was an out and out 6wd off-roader, whereas the Leylands were 6 x 4 more or less civvy spec, so no doubt a bit more civilised. When my brother was serving, the army had a huge range of different types of vehicles, many of them dating from WW2, he worked on and drove to my knowledge, Austin K2, K3, K5, K6, K9, Bedford OY, OX, MW, QL, RL, Commer Q4, Fordsons, Albions, Leyland Hippo and Retriever, Scammell Pioneer and Explorer, Morris-Commercial, Foden, Diamond T, Humber, Landrovers, Jeeps, Champs, and a variety of staff cars, that’s just the ones I can remember, he used to have photos of most of them, unfortunately we’ve only managed to find a few of them since his passing. Do I deduce your age correctly from your username ecka, if so he was the same age as you. Did you train at Ellesmere?
Bernard
Hi again Andrew
I was in the R.E.s your bro was in the R.e.m.e (the clever regt) so I would never of come across him also I was N.S. But all the trucks mentioned were I thought petrol I remember driving a scammel in B.A.O.R that was a pig of a motor with 12 forward gears and 5 or 6 reverse and as well as double de-clutching (have I got that right) also had a large fly wheel in the cab and if you didn’t time the change correctly you could be left going downhill out of gear and hoping for the best champs had an engine supplied by Rolls Royce lovely to drive but unreliable the only one I had knowledge of was the Bedford QL in Germany and the Bedford 4+2 in cyprus my army no began 230 if your bros was similar we would have been on the island at the same time (I wish I could have swapped tales with him ) were he was stationed (famagusta) was a dangerous place we used to try and avoid it he may have mentioned the Larnaca triangle to you were quite a lot of terrorist activity took place and one or two squad dies disappeared ( hence the nick-name) sorry I’m not knowledgeable enough about the trucks but I did say I am not a trucker so I feel out of place. Regards Ecka
I was in the REME basic training at Blandford, mechanical. & recovery. Training at Norton Manor campus Taunton. Then 31 Arm wksp BAOR a large amount of vechicles I worked on was diesel. 1955/56 winter was cold,some bright craftsman put three jam jars full of neat anti freeze, diesel, and petrol the first was frozen solid,the next was thick wax, the last smell of petrol but the texture was not the same,these was left on the window ledge of the garage in the workshop.
ecka1935:
Hi again Andrew
I was in the R.E.s your bro was in the R.e.m.e (the clever regt) so I would never of come across him also I was N.S. But all the trucks mentioned were I thought petrol I remember driving a scammel in B.A.O.R that was a pig of a motor with 12 forward gears and 5 or 6 reverse and as well as double de-clutching (have I got that right) also had a large fly wheel in the cab and if you didn’t time the change correctly you could be left going downhill out of gear and hoping for the best champs had an engine supplied by Rolls Royce lovely to drive but unreliable the only one I had knowledge of was the Bedford QL in Germany and the Bedford 4+2 in cyprus my army no began 230 if your bros was similar we would have been on the island at the same time (I wish I could have swapped tales with him ) were he was stationed (famagusta) was a dangerous place we used to try and avoid it he may have mentioned the Larnaca triangle to you were quite a lot of terrorist activity took place and one or two squad dies disappeared ( hence the nick-name) sorry I’m not knowledgeable enough about the trucks but I did say I am not a trucker so I feel out of place. Regards Ecka
I know Famagusta was dangerous, one of the photos I’ve seen before but can’t find now showed a Bedford OY my bruv recovered with a cab full of bullet holes and claret running out of the door, and a military bus he fetched in that had been blown up by a grenade. Some of the bigger motors were petrol powered, in particular the Scammells, and he told me that he worked on some Albion six-leggers that had the 8 cylinder version of the Rolls engine used in the Champ.
Bernard