American Tractors Abroad: Lend-Lease Act Tractors in Wales
Tractor Tales from Wales
Josephine Roberts
March 2010
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I felt quite dwarfed by the sheer bulk of this handsome 1941 Minneapolis-Moline GTS. Hefin Jones, the tractor's owner, is about a foot taller than I am, so it suits him a little better.
Courtesy Josephine Roberts
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British tractors, like Fergusons and David Browns, are of course the most commonly seen vintage tractors in the U.K.
Yet, at every show there are always a handful of American tractors on display, too.
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John Deere tractors are famous the world over, and in their green and yellow livery they are easily spotted in the lineup at British shows. We sometimes see Allis-Chalmers tractors here, too: mostly the Allis B, which, being a “dainty,” lightweight sort of tractor, is a popular choice for the collector who wants something a bit different from the British stuff, but doesn’t want to haul some great heavyweight around on a trailer. Less commonly seen is the charmingly named Minneapolis-Moline.
American tractors in the U.K. fall into three main categories: tractors originally meant for the U.K. market, those sent to Britain as part of the 1941 Lend-Lease Act and those brought into Britain by (or for) U.K. collectors.
Remnants of Lend-Lease Act
The Lend-Lease Act was America’s way of helping Britain out. Prior to World War I, British agriculture was, for many of the poorer farmers, still a horse-drawn affair. In the period between the First and Second World Wars, a huge amount of food was imported into Britain, which in turn drove British agriculture into decline.
The dangers of shipping during World War II slashed those imports, and Britain was forced to start ploughing every possible acre to produce food for our hungry nation. The problem was that much of our workforce had been sent to war, and whilst of course there were tractors here, there were not enough for our rapidly increasing needs. So, tractors and implements imported from the U.S. were put to use by what farm workers remained (those on “reserved occupation,” those unfit to be soldiers, and the Women’s Land Army).
When we look at these Lend-Lease tractors, most of which are now collectors’ items, it’s sobering to think that these machines actually hark back to a very troubled time in our history. Many of the American tractors that I see in people’s collections today are Lend-Lease tractors.
The Standard Fordson was common here during the 1940s, and many people think of it as being the machine that kept Britain fed through hard times. You can imagine that, for people only accustomed to the sight of a small Fordson tractor, the sight of a bright yellow Minneapolis-Moline would have been quite an eye opener!
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