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Larry

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  • Birthday 01/01/1

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  1. A few final points. Perhaps the 1939-40 RAF scheme was the scheme that Tony described for 1941? Re-reading Tony's list it seems that the RAF vehicle colours follow those of the British Army in NW Europe, which would be quite logical and therefore the colour codes are easy enough to find.
  2. Rlangham, Thanks for raising this subject on this forum - as it was me that recently raised it on the MLU Forum without much success! And thanks to Tony for the info. Do you have details of the colour of RAF vehicles in the UK from 1939-40? If you believe all the war films they were RAF blue and this is certainly a popular choice for many preserved RAF vehicles. But how accurate is it? Looking at photos of the Battle of Britain era the vehicles shown are camouflaged. Did the RAF use RAF blue before the war and did it disappear during the Munich Crisis of 1938 or did it say in use to 1941? If anyone can put paint codes to the colours that would be a great help to members restoring.
  3. I may fit electronic ignition to my Lightweight Land Rover, so thanks for the info and company contact details. Which reminds me with regard to Richards remark "Any problems with it, the original sytem can quickly be reverted to" In the 1970's I fitted electonic ignition to my first car and it had a small switch under the bonnet with three positions; electonic ignition on or off and another position in the middle which acted as a ignition immobiliser and useful if I left my car in the street while on holiday. The switch was so small only a trained eye would have found it within a few minutes. I wonder if the new systems have anything like this, as it would be added security for our MVs?
  4. But what happens if you are travelling through Europe and come across a wreck in a scrap yard or famers field - like the hulk of a Flakpanzer 38(T) that I once saw in a magazine!. So you pay the famer cash for it and get a receipt but thats about it - no idea when it was built and its not on the road in its present condition. Could you import it as scrap or as 'parts' all be it a big part? Obviously the same could apply if you recover the remains of an existing truck to complete the one you have in the UK.
  5. John, Thanks for your input. I must admit that the fire in Scotland which destroyed alot of good MVs did cross my mind. But then I said to myself - that could happen to any important collection and if that was used that as an objection then there wouldn't be any museums. I think the circumstances of the fire in Scotland have been hard to determine but as a precaution it would be important for a future MV museum to separate the workshops from the area where other vehicles are dry stored and on display. I am sure that the health & safety people would insist that the exhibits would have dry fuel tanks until such time as they are to be used. As for the other fire precautions that would be left to the experts but the more I think about this idea the less I like the idea of using an aircraft hangar!
  6. Interesting that Dougiebarder should suggest co-operating with Supermarkets as another idea I have, to throw in the to the discussion, is for the MV musuem to be co-located with other museums not necessarily contected in subject, so that there would be something for 'er in doors' to look at and get away from all those green lorries. Almost like a retail park for museums but not of course in a city, but in easy reach and still with a show ground. Flambards Experience near Helson in Cornwall has Aviation, Wartime and Victorian era museums grouped together, and although it is a theme park it gives an idea of the potential. Gloucester Docks used to be another place that had the Gloucester Regt Musuem located near to Mr Opie's world famous museum of household products and advertising throughout the ages, a museum relating to the docks and shops etc. However Gloucester Council decided that the old warehouses were better used for yuppie flats so the museums had to go! Only the Regt Museum remains! So there must be other collections, including Mr Opie's, that need a home that would not mind having an influx of visitors from MV events held throughout the year. As for where you site such a museum, its likely that the south or east coast towns would have the most co-operative councils and yet for members it realy needs to be located somewhere in the midlands like Gaydon!!!!
  7. Larry

    MV Transportation.

    So Matt how did you get on with the transportation of the GMC?
  8. Neil, Thanks this is a very complete answer. Perhaps Jack, it should become a sticky thread!
  9. If I buy a UK registered vehicle it's easy enough with the owner having the DVLA V5 document. But what happens if I buy and import for example a WW2 truck from France or anywhere else in Europe. What does the DVLA want from me? Do they want to see the French V5 equivalent or the receipt from the ex-owner? I know that the MVT & other clubs have a verification officer so that a period registration may be issued and the vehicle possibly exempted MOT & tax - but the rest of the process is unclear. Also with regard to importing what comes first - asking if its OK before you buy or explaining your 'new purchase' to HM Customs on the dockside at Dover!
  10. Going back to what 79X100 mentioned about declaring his balls on entry into France - surely this is the answer - every small item that a French MV owner or militaria collector buys or sells should be declared to the authorities. I have visions of a queue of people forming from the front desk out the door of the Police station and down the front steps! That's the tactic I would use if they ever dared to introduce such useless legislation in the UK. But don't worry it will never happen here - we make our own laws and any EU directive can only become law in the UK once it's debated in the House of Commons and the House of Lords - and then passed as an Act of Parliament - well I think that's what John Major promised and what Tony Blair delivered, following the Maastricht Treaty! Sadly if you believe that you must be barking (For Maastricht Treaty read Mass Trickery!) On second thoughts be afraid - very afraid and think of emigrating now to a land where people's freedom is taken seriously! I'm off to Kansas
  11. I know it will not be easy but where there is a will there is a way. When ever I take the family on holiday around the UK I try to visit any military museums there are in the area to give them my support and it does make me wonder how some of the aviation museums survive, when they are hidden away in the countryside! Perhaps they are getting support from the Tourist Board / County Council? While some aviation museums make depressing viewing, with rotting exhibits left out doors, this is not what I propose for what could become a national collection with a representative type from each class of vehicle (though not necessarily tracked armour which the Tank Museum does do best). So further questions:- What grants are available? Which local / county councils more museum friendly? (Where I live in the London Boro of Hillingdon there isn't a single museum of any kind!) With regard to Neil's mention of what the morons may have in store to drive us off the road the less said the better but be on your guard! However if someone owned a working historic MV that could no longer be used on the road, an MV museum would be a good place for it and it could still be run up at shows. But would this be prevented under the Road Traffic Acts which I am told apply to areas where the public have access, including MV shows? If so it would be a shame if some rare truck was prevented from entering the arena. Though come to think of it how do the heavy armour / non-road legal types 'get away with it'? Lastly it has been suggested that with its high roof, an aircraft hangar is not the best place to preserve vehicles - so how did the government keep all those Green Goddesses then?
  12. I agree with you Neil - Duxford would be a good place for such a museum but whether the IWM would want it I don't know. I can seen that it would conflict with the Land Warfare Hall but then again there is more than one hangar with aircraft in it at Duxford, so the more attractions they have on offer to the public the better for them. The down side is that entry fees to the museum would go to the IWM and the MV events would be at a date of their choice, so as not to interupt with their flying days. Perhaps Gaydon would be a better alternative though if the MV museum was a lodger on their site, the same problems would occur over entry fees and event dates. The more I think about it the more I come to the conclusion that we should have our own site so that we could set our own agenda and become a well known attraction in our own right. Also I think that any proposed MV museum would need the support of the MVT or other MV club, so that it could serve as a place for social events, AGMs and MV related lectures, and provide an archive for technical manuals & information. If it provided a few nissen huts to allow people to stay over night, it would allow travel from further afield for MV owners. Now does anyone know how much an old airfield would cost to buy or at least to buy the the technical site with hangars and a bit of ground large enough to stage an MV event the size of Beltring?
  13. For many MV owners the problems of storing their pride and joy could be a thing of the past if everyone got together to acquire a site which could be made into a MV museum - to provide a place for storage and yet be open to the public especially in the autumn and winter months. Owners would be free to take their vehicles to events but with a large enough 'stock' there would always be something to see for the public including a museum shop. The MV owners would have shared workshop facilities and a pool of experts most weekends. If the site was something like an ex-farm or hangars on an old airfield there would also be the opportunity to hold MV rallies etc on site, so this would provide funds for its up keep. If the facilities are good enough there would be no reason why other vehicle clubs couldn't use the site for rallies either - a ploy already used by Railway Preservation Museums and other historic sites to attract business their way. I appreciate this is not an easy task but when I think of the vehicles I have had to pass over for lack of storage it makes me weep! Of couse there will be owners saying the site may be miles from home. But on the plus side there are many old WW2 vehicles out there that are hardly ever taken out, either through high fuel costs or lack of spares. Many are in need of proper storage so they could be in the museum and contribute to its appeal instead of being hidden in people's leaking garages. I have been going to MV rallies for the best part of 30 years and have seen the number of 'old timers' slowly disappear and give way to newer types that were not even in service when I started attending MV events! When I went to the MVT National rallies held at Thruxton 25 years ago I saw Morris CS8, Morris Quads, Canadian CMP 15 cwt & 3 tonners, Universal Carriers, Austins Katties & Austin 3 ton, Bedfords MW, OY & QL, Ford WOT-1 etc and some real rarities too and yet many have simply disappeared. I doubt they have all been scrapped but fear for their long term safety, so perhaps an MV museum would be the solution and even help get them working again. I wonder how many interesting MVs there are out there - owned by people who are unable to keep them in good order and yet unable to part with their pride and joy? I know many MV owners are not exactly flush with funds but 500 people putting up £1000 would be a start and with a Lottery Fund Grant, the idea could be a reality. After all they built the American Air Museum hangar at Duxford with Lotto funds. Why not build a MV museum the same way? Your thoughts please!
  14. The CMP in the photo has a number 12 Cab as it has a split in the radiator grill, where the hood comes up. The earlier model 11 Cab had only hatches for access which limited access, hence the improvement. The Light Aid Detachment (LAD) Austin K6 carries the serial 87 which could be 'HQ 2nd Infantry Bde' in a British Infantry Div in Italy. As an LAD vehicle I would have thought it would have had a Breakdown Gantry fitted and yet there is no framework for the pig iron weights around the radiator, used to balance out the load being lifted at the rear. So I guess it's a GS body which looks to be steel and not wood. The Morris Commercial is a CS8 15 cwt truck and is very interesting as it is a very early model of this common type and dates from c.1936. Look at the style of the bonnet and the flat sided front mud guards compared to a bog standard CS8 of 1940s! It would originally have had two aero screens so its understandable that for Italian winters it got a much modified windscreen, taken from something else. Quite a few prewar trucks were used by the British Army in Italy, such as the Morris Commercial CDF 6x4. Sadly for the men in Italy they were always second best for kit compared to the Divisions in NW Europe. This CS8 may have started out in Egypt prewar so it has seen some use!
  15. LeeEnfield The Jimmy was used quite a lot in Tunisia & Italy in the British Army for towing artillery, especially the heavier types such as the 17pdr AT gun. The 17pdr gun was too heavy for a typical 15cwt truck to tow and too long to tow behind a Quad and its limber. So if you find a suitable GMC paint it sand with dark grey / black camo, then cover with dust and load it with very sun tanned soldiers dressed half in Battledress - ie top half un-buttoned BD blouse, borrowed Canadian Army shirt and lower half khaki shorts down to the knees - and you will have the right look. That should stir things up at a few MV shows. The only problem is were to get the 17 pdr! NB The attached photo taken in Italy is believed to be a towed AT Regt of the 7th Armd Div in 1943. Relatively speaking these soldiers look quite smart! The IWM have more photos of GMCs like this, some of which are painted in disruptive camo as described.
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