Lomas 109 Ambulance
A Herbert Lomas coachbuilt ambulance on the Series IIA 109: the Handforth firm's rounded, fully integrated body in place of the Land Rover's own, here the 1965 factory demonstrator in Limestone that Lomas kept until 1967 and which later wore North Riding badges for the television series The Royal.
History
Herbert Lomas had been a wheelwright since 1901, and Herbert Lomas Ambulances Ltd was registered in Manchester in 1913; from its works at Handforth, near Wilmslow in Cheshire, the firm built ambulance bodies on Austin, Bedford, Morris and Land Rover chassis until 1981. Its Land Rover ambulances ran from the Series II — a 1958 Series II 109, SUN 281, is recorded — through the Series IIA years of 1961 to 1971, and Land Rover granted the conversion Approved status in 1965. The body is the point: a rounded, fully integrated coachbuilt cab and rear in place of the Land Rover's own panels, offered with a glass-reinforced plastic roof raised to take four stretchers, with full air conditioning for hot climates, and in completely-knocked-down form for assembly overseas. A 1968 Commercial Motor article had the firm exporting ambulances to eighty countries over the previous twenty years, and the Navy and the Royal Marines were among its British users.
The vehicle behind this record was built in 1965 and kept by Lomas as a demonstrator until it was sold in 1967. Finished in Limestone, it later gained North Riding Ambulance Service badges for appearances in the ITV period drama The Royal, and those markings are what it carries — a dressing for television, not evidence of North Riding service. It came back to Britain as one of thirty-one Land Rovers recovered from a Norwegian collection by John Craddock, featured in Land Rover Owner in August 2004, and has since been rebuilt on a galvanised chassis with an unleaded cylinder head; its odometer read 97,300 miles when the dealer sold it. Inside are three strip lights, a privacy screen, twin white reversing lamps and the original seating.
Lomas published no production totals for its Land Rover bodies, and none has been established since.
Imagery
Registry record
- Manufacturer
- Land Rover
- Manufactured
- Built 1965 as the Lomas demonstrator; sold 1967. Lomas Land Rover ambulances 1958–1971
- Modifier / coachbuilder
- Herbert Lomas Ltd, Handforth, Wilmslow (ambulance coachwork)
- Engine type
- 2.25 L petrol inline-four (Series IIA 109)
- Production run
- Unknown — no Lomas production totals published; one vehicle documented
- Country of origin
- United Kingdom
- Operated in
- United Kingdom
- Status
- preserved
Catalogue data
- Record kind
- Named model
- Model line
- Series IIA
- Wheels
- 4
- Nominal wheelbase
- 109″
Catalogue fields describe the vehicle's structure and body as this registry records it. They are not certified factory measurements, and no performance figures are published here.
Sources & citations
Researched sources
- Land Rover Series 2a Lomas Ambulance (built 1965, kept by Lomas as a demonstrator until sold in 1967; Limestone; North Riding badges from appearances in The Royal; rebuilt on a galvanised chassis with unleaded head; 97,300 miles; one of 31 Land Rovers recovered from the Norwegian collection by John Craddock; Land Rover Owner August 2004) ↗ — John Brown 4x4 (accessed 2026-09-11)
- 1967 Series 2a Landrover Ambulance (built by Herbert Lomas Ltd of Handforth, Wilmslow; petrol; four-wheel drive; all original stretchers and equipment present; 46,467 miles; £25,000 ono) ↗ — Milweb (accessed 2026-09-11)
- Land Rover ambulances (Lomas ambulances 1961–1971 per a 1996 collector's card; SUN 281, a Series II 109 of 1958; Approved Conversion status granted 1965 per James Taylor; GRP body of increased height for four stretchers; full air conditioning for hot climates; CKD supply; Navy and Marines users; 1968 Commercial Motor: exported to 80 countries over twenty years) ↗ — Land Rover Katy (accessed 2026-09-11)
- Coachbuilder Lomas, Handforth (Herbert Lomas Ambulances Ltd registered in Manchester in 1913; Herbert Lomas a wheelwright from 1901; ambulance bodies on many chassis until 1981; Land-Rover Series IIA ambulance) ↗ — Simon Cars (accessed 2026-09-11)
- Land Rover series (Series IIA 1961–1971, 2.25 L petrol and diesel fours; 109-inch station wagon) ↗ — Wikipedia (accessed 2026-09-11)
Catalogue references
- https://www.johnbrown4x4.com/product/land-rover-series-2a-lomas-ambulance-rare/ https://www.johnbrown4x4.com/product/land-rover-series-2a-lomas-ambulance-rare/ ↗
Registry record updated 2026-09-11T03:15:39.299Z · status: researched