I never had any of these as a child. This was only produced from 1961 to 1963, the last of the long range of Bedford CA vans. It seems very old style, with its tin base and no interior when you look at what else would also have been new in the shop at that time.
These old Bedford CA vans are, however, charming in their own way and there are plenty to collect. This was the last one to appear, being the 412 St John's Ambulance now in MkII form and with a khaki paint job instead. There is also a rare 412 MKII as well in cream, just to complicate matters.
This would have had smooth wheels when issued with a change to the later shaped style at some point. From what I can see, both seem equally available. This example is in really very nice condition. These are all getting hard to find in this sort of condition.