Cheers for Volunteers (update: by Kellner?)

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George King, of North Franklin, Connecticut, was a man with a mission. A Model T Ford specialist who rebuilds engines for the fellow enthusiasts, he set out years ago to create a faithful replica of the Model T ambulances used in World War I. Built on standard T chassis, many were bodied in France and sent to the front and driven by volunteers, even before the United States entered the war. Among those drivers were such luminaries as Ernest Hemingway, John Dos Passos and Louis Bromfield. Walt Disney served with the American Red Cross after hostilities had ended.

King spent three years researching those ambulances, and selected a 1916 model as his subject. The bodies were constructed of mahogany by coachbuilder Kellner Frères of Paris, and George tracked down the proper African wood in the Ivory Coast, and worked from original drawings. The fruits of his labors were recognized by inclusion in the 2013 inaugural parade in Washington, DC, as the only ambulance among 63 vehicles in the line of march and the only representative of  his state.

Inspired in part by First Lady Michelle Obama's commencement speeches about volunteerism, the ambulance also salutes American volunteer ambulance drivers around the world. If those children in the cockpit look familiar, it's because we've seen them before. Perhaps they will end  up volunteering for emergency services, as well as collecting old cars, when they grow up?

(Text and photos by Kit Foster)

Update by editor: Hugo Modderman researched the photo archives of Kellner extensively and found no photos of a Model T based ambulance. Yet he did find another ambulance for american used based on a french chassis. If you know of any other proof or photos of the Kellner bodied Model T ambulances, please let us know.
     

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