In Denis Grant King’s (DGK) journal, he recounts the time (on Wednesday 7 June, 1939) that he, Alexander Keiller, Norman Cook and William Young set off to Overton Hill to meet members of the Cumberland and Westmorland Antiquarian Society. The Society were one of many groups to visit the Avebury excavations over the seasons. What caught my attention is that the Avebury archaeologists travelled there in something called “The Caterpillar”.
The Avebury archive holds two sets of DGK’s journals – a first draft across 3 notebooks (with accession numbers 1732623), and a second, ‘best’ version across 4 notebooks (with accession numbers 1732624).
In the first version of the journal, DGK gives no further explanation as to what “The Caterpillar” actually is, which left me somewhat curious and eager to learn more. Thankfully, in the second version of this journal, he includes a detailed sketch of the vehicle. Now I had something to work with!
As you can see, “The Caterpillar” is a car with its rear wheels replaced by tracks similar to those on a tank. Its proper name is a “Half-track Car” and they used to come in many variations – most of them seem to be for military purposes – and built by different manufacturers. Some were heavily armoured, others seemingly built more for comfort, similar to an officer’s staff car.
Some online research produced two possible contenders for what type of half-track car is depicted in DGK’s journal. The first (below) was produced by Manchester-based British motor manufacture Crossley.
The second contender was built by French company Citroën. Incidentally, the photo below shows Queen Mary and Mary, the Princess Royal being chauffeured by some officers. The model in the photo with Queen Mary has been identified by user Patje 70 on the Great War Forum as a Citroën Chenelle, which was built in the 1920s.
At first glance, both the Crossley and the Citroën look identical. But when you begin to look closely at the details, there are some obvious differences. Take for instance the mud guards: the Crossley has a very noticeable kink at the front of the rear track mud guard, while the Citroën’s mud guard is a smooth bull-nose.
The second difference is less easy to spot but is clearly shown in DGK’s drawing: notice the driver’s doors.
The Crossley has external door handles on both the front and rear doors, whereas the Citroën seems to have none.
The smooth design of the rear mud guard and the lack of any external door handles on the half-track drawn by DGK strongly suggested to me that Alexander Keiller owned a model by Citroën.
And so we bring to a close this little bit of detective work. I hope you have found it interesting and informative.
Post Script from Fran, Postdoctoral Researcher for the Avebury Papers:
Michael has been part of the team diligently transcribing Denis Grant King’s diaries. One difficulty of a relatively big transcription project is that volunteers do not get to see across archive materials. However, I have the benefit (and memory challenge!) of keeping an eye across the whole archive. Michael’s detective work sheds light on materials elsewhere in the archive: solving a puzzle within Alexander Keiller’s excavation diaries.
Keiller makes one mention of a “Caterpillar” in his diary of West Kennet Avenue 1934 excavations (Accession No. 78510467). On the 2 May, he notes “caterpillar out of action temporarily” without any further context. Throughout this same diary, we also read about the team travelling in a “CK”, which in one instance Keiller clarifies is a “Citroën Kegresse”. Michael’s findings align with this! If we read across Keiller and King’s diaries, it would seem that “the caterpillar” and the “CK” are one and the same.
But there’s more. In Keiller’s same 1934 diary there is another unusual name: the “Oobit”. Keiller uses this as a noun (“SP, BL and BS to Downs in Oobit”, page 83b), and he also coins a verb, “AK and DC Oobiting for photography” (page 139b). It’s not clear whether the Oobit and CK are the same machine: they are never mentioned together.
In Keiller’s 1935 excavation diary (Accession No. 78510473), any reference to the CK disappears. However, there are abbreviation lists which introduce further layers of Keillerisms: here we explicitly find that “Caterpillar Tractor” is another name for “Oobit”, also known as the “Morven Oobit”, or “MO” (page 98b and page 101a). We also have the “Companion”, a “Trailer for the Caterpillar Tractor”. It seems that “Oobit”/ “Caterpillar” became preferred names for the Citroën Kegresse over “CK”. So, rather than dealing with two or three different cars, these names all refer to the same machine!
Other excellent car nicknames in the abbreviations lists include: “Pushmi-Pullyu” for a Mercedes-Benz Coupe; the “Hippy”, a 175 horsepower Hispano-Suiza; and the “Hivver”, a Ford belonging to a staff member, Phil Withil. Please enjoy more Keillerisms for various bits of kit below!
Transcription for image above: 78510473, page 101a.
Colloquial Terms employed in this Log
Oobit – Caterpillar Tractor
Morven Oobit – See Oobit
Oobit Barrow – Allen Caterpillar Wheelbarrow
Companion – Trailor for Caterpillar Tractor
Oobit’s Companion – See Companion
Pushmi-Pullyu – Merecedes-Benz Coupe
PP – See Abbreviations General [here Merecedes-Benz Coupe is again listed]
Elephant – Small Collapsible shed
Mastodon – Medium Collapsible shed
Mammoth – Large Collapsible shed
Marjorie – Lavatory Tent
Contraption – Sportapool Diving Apparatus
Nest – Collection of three Windmill boxes
Rich Gift – Case of Lieca paraphernalia
Tier – Tier of four tin and wire trays
Hippy – 175 horsepower Hispano-Suiza [car]
Hivver – PW’s Ford [Phil Withil, one of Keiller’s staff]
The Tub – Water carrying apparatus
**Update! 30 August 2024**
While completing cataloguing, volunteers have come across the below great photograph of Keiller and another individual, captioned “The ‘caterpillar’ on the Wiltshire downs”. Enjoy!
