ROVER - World War I

Not only the ROVER-Sunbeam - ambulances were not very suitable for use on the battlefields in Flanders and France. The engines were too weak, the chassis too light for this repeatedly "ploughed over" terrain. Injured soldiers were usually taken to the trenches on foot by their comrades, treated there as far as possible and then transported to the field hospitals when the opportunity arose.
As mentioned earlier, the average life of an ambulance was six weeks. It should also be borne in mind that at the beginning of 1914 almost the entire ambulance system had only horse-drawn ambulances.

The following illustrations could be collected and verified as ROVER-Sunbeam:

The Sunbeam Ambulance was also recognised on a Seychelles postage stamp.


The picture above shows a ROVER Sunbeam ambulance. According to the inscription a "Gift from the Children of Nova Scotia (Canada)". The illustration is from an advertisement in The Autocar from January 1915. The image below also shows a ROVER-Sunbeam ambulance car, from an advertisement in The Autocar from October 1915.

	About this vehicle there is an interesting report on its life and restoration. You can find this report ⇒ here.
The image below shows a "real" Sunbeam ambulance for comparison, which, according to the inscription, "Presented to British Expeditionary Forces by South Australian Veterans".

World War I

ROVER produces Sunbeam Ambulance Cars

1914-1918