1954 Sankey Trailer Joins The Convoy
Since buying The Series in 2011 and discovering her military history, the ambition has always been to restore her to her former glory.
This has involved more than restoring the vehicle herself. Over the years, we have also been “accumulating” the equipment that she might have used, carried or encountered during her time on RAF bases.
Naturally, that list included a Sankey trailer!
Sankey trailers were once a familiar sight throughout the British Armed Forces. In their simplest form, they transported equipment, supplies and personnel, while more specialised examples were adapted to carry ammunition or serve as mobile field kitchens.
Their engineering is remarkably clever. A substantial NATO towing eye connects to a NATO hitch, creating an articulated coupling capable of coping with the demanding terrain encountered by military vehicles.
The rotating arrangement allows the trailer and towing vehicle to move independently through considerable angles. This reduces the risk of one overturning vehicle pulling the other with it and helps to protect both chassis from twisting forces. Compared with the couplings found on many modern cars and trailers, it is quite something to see — and feel — in action.
Our search for the right trailer continued until January 2023, when a rather special example appeared for sale in one of the military vehicle groups we follow.
Sankey trailers regularly come onto the market, but finding one that has received a complete nut-and-bolt restoration is much more unusual. Finding one with photographs, receipts and the correct RAF military specification is rarer still.
This was the Sankey trailer equivalent of a unicorn!
There was, however, one slight complication: I was working overseas and would not be returning until June or July. The listing made it clear that the seller needed the trailer collected, so the chances of him holding it for several months seemed fairly slim.
Still, you never know unless you ask…
A telephone call was made across several time zones to Jeremy, the seller, who lived near Ross-on-Wye in Herefordshire. Jeremy and his wife shared an enthusiasm for Austin Champs, vintage military motorcycles and their modern counterparts. Unfortunately, all those hobbies were beginning to demand rather a lot of garage space!
After speaking, Jeremy kindly agreed to keep the trailer safe until I returned to the UK, trusting my word that I would buy it.
True to his word, he did exactly that.
In a world where sellers frequently encounter tyre-kickers, time-wasters and people who simply disappear, it was wonderfully refreshing to discover that a gentleman’s verbal agreement could still mean something.
Several months later, it was finally time to bring the Sankey home.
Ten hours, several pit stops and almost 400 miles later, the trailer completed its journey from Ross-on-Wye to Norwich. Our rather scenic route took us through Tetbury in Gloucestershire, Walton-on-Thames and Newmarket in Cambridgeshire before finally arriving back in Norfolk.
She towed beautifully throughout the journey, although progress was limited to a steady 50mph. Without much weight inside her, the trailer had a definite tendency to bounce — an enthusiastic reminder that military trailers were designed to work for a living!
After a very long search and an equally long journey home, our beautifully restored 1954 Sankey trailer had finally joined the convoy.
We think she looks rather splendid alongside The Series — and, most importantly, another little piece of her RAF story has been brought back to life.
