Well, having eagerly devoured this thread since it's inception, I can now make a very small contribution.
Petrol-paraffin marine-engine...Morris VEDETTE. start and warm on petrol and then switch the fuel over. At Leigh on sea, there used to be an old boy working a large open clinker pleasure-boat. I got to know "Snappy" Noakes quite well , The boat, Silver Spray was Vedette powered and every year, a Board Of Trade inspector would check the internal condition of said engine befoer the local engineers were allowed to reassemble it......the sister boat worked off Chalkwell beach but it retained it's large traditional Gaff rig.
Rooting through my late partner's hoards, i have discovered a tiny diary written , I think, by one of her uncles who was in RAF motor transport during the war. the diary only starts Dec 1 1944.
Of interest to the thread:-
Feb. 1st.(1945) based in DURBUY, Ardenne.
"billet now in castle here in forest and mountains. Gun fire going on all day. Germans not long gone.
Feb.2. Site full of mines and dead gerries and yanks,nobody seems to care about them. Bodies perfect in snow.
Feb.3 Have to wear khaky. Yanks shooting at us at night thinking we are jerrys,
Feb.4. getting khaky greatcoats as well as blue. Still at Durbuy.
............................................
Feb 14. had a nice walk thro woods-plenty of mines Hundreds of planes going over tonight...................................
Feb, 22 Went to Verviers near aachen via Bayeux Bomal Liege Vielsalm Saw good show Had on our blue and civvies and yanks could not make us out...........
March7 Halifax crashed in mine field at site. 1 killed outright. 2 died on way to hospital. Went to verviers.................
March 22 Mosquito and Halifax collided in air 8 dead. Only rear gunner escaped. all buried here............
Sorry, that's all the Aviation content there is.
I think he was a Mr. Greenwood who would have been her (my partner's) mother's brother, as her father(and her) were Thomas.
Hope this is of some interest.