DIFFLOCKEDTHE REGISTRY

Bates of Evesham

Worcestershire bodybuilder that built the L4P forward-control fire appliance for the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade in the mid-1970s: with Land Rover's own Forward Control out of production, Bates re-engineered the 1-ton 109 chassis with the six-cylinder engine into a cab-over pump with a four-seat crew cab, and 52 were built, 44 of them for Northern Ireland.

History

Little has been published about the firm itself beyond its name and town. Its Land Rover work is better recorded: when the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade wanted a light forward-control appliance for rural stations and industrial sites after Land Rover had stopped building the Series IIB Forward Control, the brigade commissioned a design and Bates of Evesham built it on a modified 1-ton 109-inch chassis with the six-cylinder engine, the chassis altered much as the factory had done for the IIA and IIB Forward Controls. The result, known as the L4P, carried a four-seat crew cab, roller-shutter lockers, roof ladders, 100 gallons of water and 750 feet of hose; the original 100-gallon tank is reported to have caused stability problems and to have been replaced by a 50-gallon one. Production ran from about 1973 to 1978 and totalled 52, with 44 going to the Northern Ireland Fire Brigade. One, built in 1976, was withdrawn after 19 years and 9,065 miles and given to the Ulster Folk and Transport Museum.

Vehicles in this registry (1)

Sources & citations

Maker record updated 2026-09-11T08:59:45.737Z · status: draft