LAND AND WATER 
Februan' 6, 1 9 1 5 
A VIEW OF THE HELD KiTCHEN 
BY BARKERS 
a 1=5 h p. Straker-Squire which looked as if it had been 
immersed in a bath of mud. I do not remember ever havmg 
seen a car so mud-coated. From out of its mterior— rt was 
fitted with a Umousine or landaulet body, I forget which 
for the moment— there stepped fortli two officers, one of 
which I recognised as Colonel Seely. After these two officers 
had gone into the hotel I was delayed some tune by various 
little things which had to be done to my own car, and I 
watched with interest the efforts of the driver of the Straker- 
Squire to detach a certain amount of the mud from his car, 
and I questioned him as to the behaviour of the vehicle on 
the French roads, remarking that surely such a heavy body 
must be too much for a 15 h.p. chassis. He waxed rather 
indignant at this, and told me that he had driven the car 
night and day over 12,000 miles of roads and never had an 
involuntary stop except to change tyres ; and one had only 
to look at the condition of the car to see that it had not 
been spared. Here is a very striking testimonial to the 
A FINE FLEtl FUK 1 HE hKoNl 
One day's delivery by the Belgravia Motor Works 
wagons is not a nice job, and is sometimes almost impossible. 
Here is where the small car scores ; also for work at the 
base or bases it is extremely handy. It is also amazing the 
speed one can get out of these small cars and the very good 
average one can keep up on a long journey. I well remember 
one journey on a Standard light car in which, owing to 
traffic blocks and bad roads, we managed to arrive at a 
certain place at least ten minutes in advance of three other 
cars of a very much higher horse-power which had started 
with us. Handiness and ease of manipulation in a case like 
this must tell in the long run. 
There is one very important pomt in regard to the 
design of cars for active service purposes which I should like 
to impress upon manufacturers, and that is— use as little glass 
as possible, and where glass is absolutely necessary— as m 
wind-screens, etc.— it should be of the unsplinterable variety, 
of which there is but one kind that I know of, and that is the 
special glass manufactured by the Triplex Company. Now 
that the authorities have found out that ordinary glass is 
worse than useless for rough work they are, I understand, 
specifying this special preparation very largely. I have seen 
every pane of glass in a convoy of buses shattered by the 
concussion of one exploding shell, to say nothing of the 
inconvenience and delav caused by having to board up or 
place perforated zinc in the window frames. Think of the 
dangerous wounds whicti ma\' be caused by flying 
splinters ! 
THE BROWN. HUGHES & STRACHAN 
FIELD KITCHEN 
rehability of this well-made British car. Since then, as I 
definitely know, this car has reeled off some more thousands 
f)f miles and been home for a well-deserved overhaul. It is 
now— so I understand— once more at the front, going as well 
as ever. 
I have been asked by several people whether the small 
car is doing any good in France, and I can candidly say that 
it certkinlv is. I have seen many of them out there — little 
Standards^ Swifts, and Humbers— and they have proved 
more than once their extreme handiness in being able to 
slip in and out of places where the larger car would have 
inevitably been stuck. Getting past a long string of convov 
THE "COMPLETE" DESPATCH RIDER 
THE BROWN. HUGHES & STRACHAN 
FIELD KITCHEN 
Showing the healing apparatus 
268 
