Thread: BFG number plates

Back in the 80s, Forces personnel serving in BAOR had BFG number plates on their private vehicles until the IRA started targetting so-called 'soft targets'. One of the ways that it was decided to make servicemen and women less vulnerable was to do away with these number plates (it was mooted in Parliament that all squaddies should be issued with Browning pistols when they went on leave). But some guys who served in Germany that I spoke to were disappointed to see them go because they were allegedly very useful in bullshitting the cops out of handing out speeding tickets when they were in the UK. The story would go:

PC: Excuse me sir, did you realise you were driving down the motorway at Warp Factor 10? And what are those funny plates on your car?

Victim: Well officer, those are British Forces plates and I've just been called out on a mission so I need to get to Princes Gate in double-quick time. So if you don't mind....

PC (Stands to attention and salutes): Sah!! And will you be requiring an escort, sah?

So, do any of you have any similar tales of when the BFG plates saved you a few points on your licence or is this just another one of those beloved myths that are nourished and cherished by us all?

One leave I tore off in my silver XR2 (AGH 44B) dragging a mate who was there to keep me awake and help with the costs and hitting the first 'Stau' in Germany, our progress came to a rapid and very boring halt.

While parked somewhere on an autobahn just west of the Ruhr area, I noticed the exhaust seemed a bit noisy. As we finally got going, it got louder and then we couldn't hear the radio/cassette anymore as the exhaust had snapped clean just before the front box. We got stopped by the German police just before the border and producing an ID card and grunting and pointing, we bluffed our way through that.

It also worked with the Dutch police who were kind enough to give us a coke tin so after lying on the ground in the pishing wet at least while the exhaust roared it didn't leave a shower of sparks like it had done previously. The coke tin fell off well before Belgium which is why we again got pulled as soon as we were in Belgium and grunted and pointed in a Flemish way, whatever that is but were allowed on our way.

So onwards to Zeebrugge and roaring through sleepy Belgian vilages at 100mph as we were extremely late got us noticed so we were pulled yet again just before Zebrugge. We made it onto a ferry thanks to yet another coke tin. Apparently continental cops drink alot of it or they just collect the cans.

So I dumped my mate off near Dover and headed through London minus any coke tins and wasn't pulled once though it probably did help with the pigeon problem. I arrived 'home' or at least my parents home and woke the entire estate but at least everybody knew I was home.

I found a local exhaust centre and another victim, sorry customer noticed my BFG plates and asked what they were. He was ex-army and had been stationed at Detmold. He also asked me who was at Detmold these days and I replied 'queers on horseback' to which he replied with a rather crinkly face that he had been in the Queens Own Hussars.

I don't belive I would have got out of Germany let alone back to the UK with normal UK plates and I was once even pulled by a copper in the UK as he hadn't recognized the plates and wanted to know what nationality I was. I told him and he was suitably educated.

I also bought a BMW 520i off a mate and it had the BFG reg no BMW 64B.

Now did that get up the nose of a few as me then a REME corporal jumped into his BMW with apparently personalized plates.

Strange how we can still remember the numbers. My Dad's VW Variant from 70-73(ET 202B), Volvo 140 from 73-76(JY 950B) and Volvo 245 from 76-79(NM 956B) whereas I can't remember any of the registrations of cars we have had since.

The only other motor was a bright yellow Vauxhall Victor Estate (in a state) TH 388B and I bought it off an RAEC Captain.

I was going to say he saw me coming but he wasn't like that and neither was (am) I.

Yeah my dad had a cherry red peugout 309 (CQD 70B), strange the things that stick in your mind!

They did away with the BFG plates just after I got to Bruggen as the IRA shot 2 Aussies dead in Roermond.We then got 'fake' brit plates for the R/Hand drivers & 'fake' Kraut plates for the lefties.I got stopped a few times while on leave here in NI by the RUC/Army & got some funny looks when they checked the plates.AND a big bonus when I left Germany,a RAF occifer wanted to do me for expired Tax but could'nt as I had 30 days to re-reg the car back here in Norn Iron!He was a w***er anyway.

Worked in the UK as well. Stopped by The Bill for allegedly speeding whilst heading back to BAOR from a course in UK. The Bill gave me a stern lecture on the dangers etc, I wasn't on an Autobahn now etc and then admitted that the paperwork would be a nightmare and to be careful!

The good old BFG plates worked great in the days before car towing by the local council became an epidemic. We used to park our car somewhere in Glasgow on leave, come back to lots of parking tickets which ended up in the bin, and no fine to pay as the Wardens couldn't trace us. Great stuff!! our plates were BQV 96 B on a red XR 3i :D

Originally Posted by spoiltb

Strange how we can still remember the numbers. My Dad's VW Variant from 70-73(ET 202B), Volvo 140 from 73-76(JY 950B) and Volvo 245 from 76-79(NM 956B) whereas I can't remember any of the registrations of cars we have had since.

mine was AHL 13 B on a red Talbot samba many many moons ago,

I was at a mates house near Glasgow when a copper knocked on the door and asked if we knew who the car outside belonged to, as it didn't have a current tax disc. I explained about the BFG thing, but he still wanted to do me for having no tax! I think he eventually radio'd his control and was told to wind his neck in.

Originally Posted by out@last

I was at a mates house near Glasgow when a copper knocked on the door and asked if we knew who the car outside belonged to, as it didn't have a current tax disc. I explained about the BFG thing, but he still wanted to do me for having no tax! I think he eventually radio'd his control and was told to wind his neck in.

A similar thing happened to me in Ipswich, a cop on the beat stopped me and warned me about not having a tax disc on the left on the left hand corner of the windscreen. Never said a word after I pointed to the right hand corner of the windscreen.
Not far from there I was cooling out one day with a lady friend, when I noticed a cop car pulled up behind me, after about five minutes the cop came forward and asked me if I knew the registration number of my car. Down in London , cooling out again about 2.30 am Monday morning,when I was approached by the cops asking for a leave pass from my unit in Germany. GW253B attracted too much attention for my liking.

Didn't work for me. Once on leave in the UK I tried getting away without buying a parking ticket. The parking Nazis still got the fine through to me in BFG

I can remember having German plates for my old shed of an MG Maestro. MI:PE677.

I also remember being stopped by a snowdrop for ID at Bruggen when I was stationed there. I didnt have a taxdisc on display (I hadn't got one) and the snowdrop asked me for a proof of posting as I blagged that I had sent off my docs to the BFG office. Thankfully I had a proof of posting for a parcel that I had sent earlier that week. The writing was barely legible so I showed it to him, he accepted it and I got away with it.

Remember hammering down the outside lane of the A1 wondering why all these cars were on the inside lane and why FFS didn't they get a move on... didn't they have a ferry to catch etc etc..

Arrived at the front of the queue only to find a jam butty poodling along at 59 mph... cue rapid deceleration from Mach 1, (Ok 85 ish but this was in the early eighties and were talking a fiesta here) hoping that the incumbents of the said jam butty hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary.

Then whilst wondering whether I'd done enough to get away with it and trying to pretend that I was a conscientious driver, I pulled into the inside lane and promptly cut up said jam butty.

Can still see those incredulous faces shaking their collective heads in the rear view mirror. :D :D

Oh yes almost forgot CET 61B - Ford Fiesta Ghia.