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I've been spending again! My '43 GPW


Jessie The Jeep

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  • 3 months later...

I forgot to update this page in July.

Bowes Railway/Springwell Village 1940's weekend - July 2nd

The Bowes Railway event saw a surprise trip out for all three of my vehicles. With only me available to drive, it was quite an achievement! I took the Dodge along on day one, but because a number of people had dropped out of the event, I offered to bring my whole collection, if someone could run me home for the next - after all, the event was only two and a half miles from home! So with a bit of shuttling to and from home, all three vehicles got to the show and home again, for probably little more than a couple of gallons of fuel!!

This was only the fourth time getting all three vehicles together on display. My collection made up about 50% of the vehicle content on Sunday!! Two other Jeeps and a civilian breakdown truck also turned up on Sunday. The day ran as the day before, with firing demonstrations and a battle, just with the timings a little earlier.

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'Hope' hasn't been out since the Bowes event, but today, was a joint trip for 'Hope' and 'Jessie'.

Blackfell Primary School WW2 Visit - Sept 20th

My World War 2 visit to my daughter's school has become an annual trip now. This was the third year I've done it. The Year 6 class are just starting to learn about WW2, and what better way than some hands on learning. We had talks about rationing and the Blitz, the 8th Air Force and a British Airborne soldier's equipment.

My two Jeeps were joined by another Jeep and a Dodge Command Car.

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Mr Barrass, Deputy Headteacher, was taking the year 6 class today, so I felt he should get in on the action, and suitably dressed him up in flying kit, and later gave him some 'off roading' experience in the Jeep around the school field!

We had two classroom lectures before morning break, then a third about Birtish Airborne troops, out on the school field with the vehicles.

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When I got home, the Jeeps were given a wash down to get the grass off from the school field, and the mud off 'Jessie' from the BBQ last weekend.

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Afterwards, I stripped the roof and sides off 'Jessie' ready to be parked up on Hope's side of the garage for winter maintenance. There's been a few starting issues I want to look into ( fuel pump and batteries ), and a number of areas of rust that need dealing with. A couple of these will require welding close to the tank, so the fuel tank will have to be removed. So Hope is still accessible for the rest of the year on the right of the garage, while 'Jessie' is now off the road.

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NELSAM Jeeps & Jets - September 23/24th

After a few years absence due to building works and other priorities at the museum, the Jeeps & Jets event returned in 2017. I took 'Hope' to this event having packed up 'Jessie' for winter maintenance. The first few pictures are single frames from a video made during the trip, with the camera mounted on a magnetic clamp on the hood. There were a number of vehicles in attendance, 'though a bit lacking on public on Saturday. It was surprisingly warm for late September.

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  • 5 weeks later...

NELSAM Remembrance & 607 Squadron Reunion - Nov 11th

This was probably my last official trip out for the year. There's no more events now, so the only driving will be short winter runs when there's no salt on the roads to keep the vehicles in running order. The drive there was very cold, despite being a bright sunny day; and slightly longer than normal, having to follow diversion signs due to a closed road. I parked up in my usual spot next to the memorial. 

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This was to be the last official 607 Squadron Reunion, with their chairman laying the wreath and giving a short speech.

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The Bloodhound Missile has recently moved to the main gate. The Vulcan looked good in the low morning sun. The Dove will be leaving the museum shortly, with the wings out of the hangar ready for loading.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

GPW Out in the Snow - December 29th

Snow was forecast for the 29th, but I didn't think it would be particularly heavy. It didn't start until around 08:30hrs, but fell in large flakes and lay on the ground and stayed. It was due to warm up later in the day, so despite being full of cold, I took the decision to wrap up and get the Jeep out for a spin! We all jumped into 'Hope' and went for a ride around the lanes around Washington, to have some fun and get some photos. It's almost two years since 'Hope' was last out in the snow. This will most likely be the last trip out of the year for any of my vehicles.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The first trip out for the year in an MV was again in "Hope", one week into the year. On January 8th, the kids all went back at school. Lynne was off to work in the big car, the Nissan was still in the garage since before Christmas with injector failure and I had a scalpel wound to my foot preventing me from walking very far ( don't ask ), so how was child getting to school?

In style of course!!!

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  • 4 months later...

Things have been quiet for the Ford since January, though I've been to several events in my other Jeep and one in the Dodge ( YMVT Crank Up, Breighton Radial Fly-In, Yorkshire Air Museum "Against the Odds" and "Lanc, Tank and Military Machines" at East Kirkby - Photos all here - My MV Photo Gallery  ).

However, for the Croft Nostalgia show, we are creating an 'RAF 100' display to celebrate 100 years of the Royal Air Force. "Jessie" is going to be part of that display in the markings made at the end of last year. "Hope" is now also going to be in that display, and so another set of RAF markings needed to be made.

For "Hope", the hood roundel is a bit more tricky, as the original 100th Bomb Group Station Photo Jeep had the star set so far back on the hood and body. For a painted star, this wasn't a problem, but it meant that the magnetic plastic roundel would be in three pieces, around the hinge and over the most uneven part of the 75 year old hood. The first picture below shows the plastic blanks ready for painting.

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To try and speed up the masking and painting, I used magnetic plastic masks for the 6 inch and rear bumperette roundels. A hole was cut to spray the red, while scrap paper covered the rest of the roundel. Gentle spraying pressure in light coats prevented bleed under the mask. 

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A similar technique was used for the blue on the small roundels, but using a disc of magnetic plastic to cover the red and white areas of the roundel. The large roundel was just masked with tape and paper.

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The number 1 group marking is now painted on the bumperette. The two small rectangles are to cover the USA on the hood, and need RAF painted on once the olive drab has fully cured. The front bumper strip is also painted olive drab, ready for its markings. This is where things were left yesterday.

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The Ford was given a wash down on Saturday morning to remove to building work dust ( despite being under a cover ), and both Jeeps were parked bumper to bumper for a first picture both in RAF colours. The afternoon was spent cutting stencils and painting the RAF and bumper markings.

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Edited by Jessie The Jeep
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