Model of 30 h.p. workshop lorry, built by the Daimler Company for the War Office. (Scale 1:8).

In the First World War the British armed forces used large numbers of lorries, cars, tanks and aircraft. The ability to maintain and repair this equipment where it was being used, rather than in a remote central depot, was important. Hence, a fleet of mobile workshops were made to War Office specification. These consisted of three-ton lorries carrying the machinery necessary for making all but major repairs, including a lathe, a drilling machine, a grinder and a portable forge. During use the lorry was parked and its sides folded down to extend the workshop floor. The machine tools were then driven from the lorry engine by belts and shafting.

This model is one of a series that Daimler provided for the Science Museum in 1921 to illustrate their role in providing mechanical transport and equipment during the First World War. Other models in the series included a Daimler motor ambulance, a tank with Daimler engine, and a large Daimler motor car for senior officers.