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Picture of  Ex Cornwall Austin Gypsy LWB
Fire Engine Photos
No: 5404   Contributor: Alan Dunderdale   Year: 2008   Manufacturer: Austin   Country: United Kingdom
Picture of Ex Cornwall Austin Gypsy LWB

This is a picture if my Ex Cornwall Austin Gypsy LWB (Long Wheel Base) . It was built in 1963 and retired in 1982.

I bought it in 2007, and continued its restoration, My research shows it used to tow a trailer pump, similar to the Godiva Pump on one of the other photo's.
Picture added on 02 January 2008
add commentComments:
see photo 12159, this is the same unit but now complete with trailer pump.

Added by Alan Dunderdale on 15 November 2008.
It seems strange to me that the Land Rover would have a front mounted pump and tow a trailer pump as well. Am I just daft?

Added by Andy on 15 November 2008.
Its NOT a Land Rover!

Added by Bob on 15 November 2008.
Yeh well you know what i mean, it's like saying a Jaguar isn't a TATA

Added by Andy on 16 November 2008.
Alan, it is a beautiful restoration, for a great-looking machine.

And a rural front-mount pumper, too...

Regards, from Canada,
Pat_R-B

Added by Pat Rivers-Bowerman on 17 November 2008.
It's an Austin Gipsy - a competetor to Landrover at the time, The area it was used in, they needed to have a back up pump for "Moors fires" to pump over the long distances.

Alan

Added by Alan Dunderdale on 17 November 2008.
Sorry about that, thought it was one of those dals where more than one company shared common parts.... Alan thanks for educating me on the trailer pump!

Added by Andy on 19 November 2008.
Cornwall had a lot of these, but although it was an excellent design the vast majority of other public brigades bought Land Rover for LP4 and similar duties. LR had the advantage of being introduced several years earlier - and of course it already had a military pedigree which the Gypsy did not...

Gypsies did however also see quite a lot of success with factory and private brigades.

The compact design offered a 500 gpm pump, a 50 or 70 gallon tank with a hosereel, crew space for four, basic ladder equipment and a decent hose load. As such, it was a useful and economical first response solution for many commercial fire brigades, to get the situation under control before the public fire services were able to show up.

Added by Rob Johnson on 14 December 2018.
There is a simple reason why it towed a trailer pump as well, in its work area there was a group of houses there were only accessible by a small bridge and the only way to fight fires was via a featherweight pump hence it towed a pump - they could relay from the Gipsys pump

Added by Alan Dunderdale on 12 September 2022.
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