A retired veteran CMP "Blitz"

A couple of days before the 1st of May and the temptation to roll on any field of poppies and chamomile was too strong. 
While strolling in the countryside around cousin Elias house, getting intoxicated by all the fresh greenery, I spotted an old truck, behind a chicken coop.

I have to admit I m not a car person. I would have passed it by without a second look, but it was sooooooooo ugly I couldn't take my eyes off of it's "face". It looked like an abandoned puppy.Honest, it did!!

"This is very old", cousin Elias informed me when I asked. It's been here since the war...and you know what? It is still used to carry the chicken poop to the dump site!"

It felt like the truck was posing for a photo session, so we took some pictures-a nasty job under the blinding midday sun. What the hell is this strange looking rusty thing? was the thought on my mind on the way back to Athens.

The only clue were the words "Ford Canada" under the lights.

It took some searching in the Net and the priceless comments of the http://www.jalopyjournal.com/ forums to pinpoint the model and learn some interesting facts about this WWII Canadian veteran.
It had been manufactured by "Ford Canada", a company established in 1904 in Canada,making cars and trucks. This specific model, the CMP -Canadian Military Pattern- also known as a "Blitz" was produced during WWII by the thousands and shipped all over the British Empire.
It explains the right steering wheel.

One member of the forum described it as a "WW II Brit troops and-whatever-you-got-carrier". It was a really tough and versatile truck. Depending on the engine it carried, it could be an F with a Ford engine or a C with a Chevrolet one. This is an F15 with a 85hp 239 cubic inch  "Mercury car and Ford truck" V8 engine...plus a rusty tuna meal can eaten long ago by a Greek farmer!

"The hood of the truck is a Cab 13" another forum member informed me, which means the front glass was designed slanted so that it wouldn't reflect the sunlight and alert enemy airplanes.

So, mystery solved my dear Watson! An old veteran left by any of the British Empire troops stationed then in Greece. New Zealanders, Australians and British had to flee the Nazi forces early in 1941. They evacuated with all kinds of vessels to Crete and then Egypt, so it figures some equipment had to be left behind.

On the other hand, it might be a little bit younger. British troops had returned in 1945, to take part in the Civil war which followed...not a nice part of Greek history or English-Greek relations.

Don't know why, but after learning a bit about the Blitz, the sight of  it, retired among the olive trees and the wild flowers seemed fitting and heart warming.

This truck started its life in Canada, traveled to the other side of the world,took part in a war and ended in a peaceful field in Attica. Well, if you don't mind the hens' constant cackling, which I'm sure this old fellow doesn't :)