Land Rover Emergency Vehicles

An historic and nostalgic look at the role of the Land Rover in the emergency services over the last 70 years. Land Rover products have been used by the emergency services almost from the moment the first model left the factory in 1948. The agility and size of these vehicles made them an immediate hit with fire services, where they initially became popular as factory fire tenders. Police forces were also attracted by the cross-country ability and versatility of Land Rovers, especially outside Britain, and, when long-wheelbase models provided extra space, they also became favourites for ambulance conversions.
Some emergency-service conversions required very little adaptation, and were carried out in the workshops of the end-users. Others – such as six-wheel Range Rover fire tenders – required major alterations from the factory-standard vehicle. Meanwhile, specialist companies developed dedicated ambulance and fire tender bodywork, creating a fascinating variety of body types.
The vehicles featured in this book illustrate the versatility and adaptability of Land Rovers and their more modern SUV siblings.
This book will interest Land Rover enthusiasts and emergency-vehicle enthusiasts alike, with evocative photographs that illustrate both historic vehicles and more recent vehicles in action.

After graduating from Oxford and pursuing further academic studies at Reading, James Taylor spent 12 years working in central government. However, the lure of writing about cars – which he was doing in his spare time – proved too great and he decided to turn it into a career.
James has written well over 100 books and spent ten years as the editor of Land Rover Enthusiast magazine. He has written very widely for both magazines and books on motoring subjects, but has specialised in the history of Rover cars and Land Rovers; he continues to write for the motoring press both at home and abroad. He has several automotive books published by Veloce, including: Rover V8 – The Story of the Engine; Land Rovers in British Military Service; Land Rover Emergency Vehicles; Rover Cars - A Pictorial History; and some Essential Buyer’s Guides for the Range Rover and Land Rover Discovery.