PORTSMOUTH CITY POLICE, 1969 MORRIS MINOR VAN, OHO 854G, IN RESTORATION, PRESERVATION AND SERVICE

The Morris Minor van was a hugely popular vehicle for Police use and was utilised for many purposes including local beat car, especially in rural areas, Scenes of Crime unit, motorway back-up vehicle to carry large amounts of emergency equipment to the scene but its favoured role was as a Dog Section van. 

With its 1098 cc ‘A’ Series engine it could muster 48 bhp which gave it a top speed of 77 mph unladen. Dedicated Dog Sections were a relatively new concept in the 1960s and so were some of the vehicles that were used. But the Morris Minor van was certainly one of the more popular and successful vehicles giving good access to the load area where the dog would be housed. 

When a dog is required to attend the scene of an incident it is usually required in a hurry and therefore these vans were usually equipped with a blue light and two-tone horns. Much of the basic concept is still in force today with Dog Sections either using small car derived vans or estate cars. The Morris Minor vans were generally replaced with the MK1 Ford Escort van. 

This particular example is a replica of the Police Dog Section vans used by the Portsmouth City Police until it was amalgamated into the Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary in April 1967.  And yes, the vans really were green! 

In 1998 the model manufacturer Corgi produced a limited edition 1:43 scale diecast model of a Portsmouth City Police Morris Minor van. 

In Portsmouth City Police use it would appear that the Morris Minor dog vans were the first vehicles of any of the emergency services to have the new two-tone horns fitted. Until then all other Police, Fire and Ambulance vehicles were only fitted with a bell. This van also has a bell.  

The vans were personally issued to the dog handler who could adjust the fitting out to their own requirements. Usually the rear of the van would have had rubber matting, as here or woven matting.