IT'S OFFICIAL... it's not English, it's not American, it's not French... it's Scottish!
Thanks to Will Ward on missing-lynx (and thanks to Paul for suggesting I tried there), I now know (drum roll)... it's an ARGYLL!
"A what?" I hear you all cry... "... never 'erd of 'em...".
Well neither had I but it seems that I hadn't read my source material well enough as they're mentioned in an article I'd already found 
Anyway, to cut to the chase: The long defunct
Argyll Motor Co* existed between 1899-1932, made some of the earliest and most
innovative cars (and vans/lorries) in the UK and had a
grandiose factory nestled on the banks of Loch Lomond.
Some links:
Argyll and ambulances:
It seems that over its life (in various revivals after several bankruptcies) the Co produced a range of passenger vehicles
... and in
c1910 a civilian ambulance (thanks to Will for the link to the quaintly titled 'The Horseless World' car-mag of 1910). The write-up (no Clarkson or Stig style road test) includes a photo of the interior and some basic technical data.
Now, I'm not suggesting that this is Grandad's or the Mauldslie version (more of a truck bed with canvas tilt and no signs of windows etc)... but it confirms that Argyll were in the ambulance business.
That they did so during WW1 is confirmed by this about the
Salvation Army Ambulance Brigade: (where I didn't attach much importance to the name):
The same article has that photo from my earlier postings:
Note that they were 'specially built' so probably not the 1910 civilian version.
Will tells me that there's another photo of it from the other side in M Young's
"Postcards of the Army Service Corps 1902-1918"... (if any PF member has this, a photo/scan of this would be invaluable). There it is ascribed to the Scottish Red Cross- this article discusses the Red Cross (and others' involvement), eg:
So, what is Grandad's ambulance: for my money it could well be based on the
Argyll 'Flying-Fifteen'... Argyll's best seller, launched in 2010 and, as the
last pic shows (perhaps) used by the military (seems to be a rolling chassis):
(BTW: note all have spoked rather than wire wheels)
.... but I'll do more research on this before I go nap on it.
... any help/info welcome!!!!!
Regarding "Mauldslie": whether coincidence, convenience or conspiracy (take yer pick)... as previously mentioned, Maudslie is the name of a now demolished
Lanarkshire estate and I surmised that the ambulance could have been donated by its owners, the
Hozier family... hang on... we've heard that name before... wasn't it the Hozier Engineering Co who first set up Argyll Motors?
Is there a link... ?
- the Hoziers were rather too posh (Barons Newlands no less) to be involved 'in trade' and there's no mention of any connection
- instead, the Co is said to have been set up by an Alexander Govan
- ... in Hozier Street, Glasgow
- by 1908 he had gone bankrupt and the Co was re-launched in 1909
- ... then went bust again in 1914
- the plush Alexandria factory was sold to the Navy to make torpedoes
- and the car side revived by J D Brimlow
- ... and eventually stopped car manufacturing in c1928... then closing for good in 1932
Based on this any direct Argyll:Hozier:Mauldslie link sound doubtful as by WW1 any link between Hozier and Argyll (real or imagined) had disappeared and it's perhaps more likely that the donor to the Red Cross just had a link with Maudslie (could well have been the Hoziers- or a local subscription).
Pity really as a direct link would have been nice.
Anyway: thanks to all who've helped (I'm sure that more will drift in).. I very much doubt that I'll find a 1/35th model of an Argyll ambulance but will look at scratching (anybody know where I can get suitable wire wheels?)
Ah well... enough for now
