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Mercedes 2632 Merryweather FoT Zambia
Fire Engine Photos
No: 45956   Contributor: Petros   Year: 1984   Manufacturers: Mercedes-Benz, Merryweather   Country: United Kingdom
Mercedes 2632 Merryweather FoT Zambia

foam tender for Zambia Consolidated Copper Mines, Luanshya. It was Merryweather works order no.66172. Pictured in front of the 6x6 are Gary Bram and Nick Cobb.

Picture taken early 1984 near Merryweather factory, Rassau, Ebbw Vale, S. Wales. There is the very odd story of how the factory closed. Siebe Gorman took over Merryweather and stripped the factory over a weekend and removed key contents to another plant, despite Welsh government having injected loads of grant aid for the move from Greenwich to a deprived area. Workers turned up on Monday and the factory was closed without their knowledge. Much reported in the press.

I am very grateful to contributor Neil Bennett for permission to publish what must be another extremely rare combination of chassis and bodybuilder right at the end of the Merryweather era.
Picture added on 22 October 2025 at 15:38
add commentComments:
Really unusual Merryweather pictures, more please.

Ed: I am not sure my informant has any more!

Added by Bristol Bob on 22 October 2025.
These German-Welsh appliances sold to Africa sound very rare indeed! If anyone had told me about them without your photograph evidence I would have been quite skeptical. It is quite amazing that they surfaced to be included on your site at all…..

Added by Rob Johnson on 23 October 2025.
Yes, this foam tender and the Unimog RIV were one-offs. If the then MD had been able to sell a dozen or so of each on his travels, it would have gone some way towards saving the company, even in spite of its struggles with the XRL30 TL.

Added by Neil on 27 October 2025.
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