M.Rimmer

Thanks for all the suggestions guys,I'll look into it further as soon as I can! Hopefully I'll have the first DVD's sorted in the next couple of weeks. Cheers, Matt.

Tony,PM me your email address and I'll send you some pictures and the Larkspur fitting manual. Matt.

Hi Clive, It was on here that CES turned up,it was me asking about my L/R Mk8. Matt.

My one was sat on the roadside with for sale on it,guy had been using it to tow his boat trailer. Unfortunatly it's had a side filling tank put in,badly and a few others odds. The bulkhead had been cut to allow the fitting of a later heater but I now have those parts thanks to one of the guys on the S2 club forum. Do you know what the markings are? do you intend to fot the radios? Matt.

Hi Tony, Yours is from the same batch as my 94 EL 31. Wish mine was as original as your though! Matt.

Exactly,worth more as scrap than as a restoration project.

I agree Tony,never say never! the problem is unless we know just how rare some of these things are there is I suppose a danger that a really shabby example might be lost due to being considered "too far gone". A good few years ago a guy had written in to CMV enclosing a picture of a chain drive Mack on Anglesey which he reported had been in the garden of a house for several years but which had reciently been scrapped! The point I'm making is if the chap had written the letter several months earlier the truck would probably have been saved. Another example is a story I was told a few years ago of a late 1930's Chevrolet Ambulance in a barn in the midlands which under the flaking post war paint still had it's Polish markings. It had been bought by someone who intended to use it for classic banger racing. I'd be willing to bet there are still rare MV's sat in yards,fields etc in the UK which might be the only surviving example of their type but which will end up as scrap either because no one knows what they are or they are considered too far gone. Matt.

I'm afraid in the UK it's not just museums like the REME collection and the individual Regimental museums which are run on a tight budget,the RAF Museum and Imperial War Museum are too. One answer is for us MV collectors/enthusiasts to support the museums whenever we can. On other forums I have seen folks who should know better tearing into museums such as the RAM and IWM for their conservation,collecting or display policies without thinking for a moment about the sheer scale of running a major museum. A prime example being the Halifax at RAFM Hendon which is conserved and displayed in "as recovered" condition. The RAFM get a lot of flack for not restoring the Halifax to complete static display(or some have even suggested flying) condition,they seem to miss the point that the RAFM are preserving an original aircraft which actually flew on operations,restoring it would turn it into another replica/bitsa. I agree with ABN that it is often left to individual private collectors to preserve our history,but there is only so much a private collector can take on. It's a shame that central Government are un-willing to put more money into the national museums but I don't see that situation changing anytime soon. Matt.

According to TM 9-808 weight of a WC-52 less driver is 5,550lbs. Matt.

Hi CW, Could still be in Aden,I have seen other photos taken in Aden with the HQ Land Forces Persian Gulf marking,I just never knew what it was before!. Anyone want to hazard a guess at what colour the camo on the Landy and second RL is? sand obviously but are the dark areas green or black? my guess is black. Matt.

Hi Ken, Good to have another Dodge owner here!. I'm afraid none of the 3/4 WC's are MOT exempt,I know there are those who have somehow managed it but in the event of any accident or insurence claim I don't know how you would stand. I know it's tempting to go for not having an MOT if possible but if there ever was a serious accident involving an MOT exempt classic MV it could have serious effects on the hobby in general. Matt.

Good idea Abn,I'll have to look into that again and see if I can get both versions done. I also have an unpublished WW2 US unit history of an Engineer Maintenance Company in the ETO,I'm at present working on recording the captions which are on the back of the photos. There are around 300 pictures showing everyday life in the unit but also many of equipment both US and captured German,the detail in these pictures is super. Now the problem is how best to present the photos. Making them into a book would be best but I don't think it would be possible to put them all into one book,putting them on DVD would work but next thing we'll see is them being printed off and sold individually on ebay. My feeling with the films and photos is they should be there for anyone to see rather than being in a private collection,but at the same time I need to cover my costs and time taken in getting them put into a presentable format. Matt.

Thanks guys. I will get together details of what I have,although some I don't really know what exactly is on them,or how well it will transfer. Jack as far as I can tell there are no copywrite issues due to the age of the films but this is something I must check properly before selling them. I also have the complete ww2 history of a US Army QM truck Company on the old bakerlite 78rpm records,I think there are 20 of them all boxed and numbered. As far as I know the unit stayed stateside for the entire war,I have no idea what is on the records as I don't have anything suitable to play them. To get them professionally transferred onto CD will coast about £100 including any restoration needed such as removing background hiss. Matt.

Apart from vehicles I collect original 16mm cine films relating to WW2 and military vehicles and I'm thinking of getting some transferred onto DVD and I was wondering if there would be any interest if I looked into selling copies? I know there are many people selling WW2 films on DVD but as far as I am aware no one is offering the films I have. I already have one transferred onto DVD and this is a short film (12 minutes) made in 1943 about the building of the Alaska Highway. It is in colour with comentary and tells gives the full history of how and why the Highway was built,not much MV content beyone showing a Cat clearing trees and a 1 1/2ton Chevy stuck in mud. Has some super shots of USAAF floatplane being used to survey the route. Another film I have which is longer and in black and white is the servicing instructions for US military vehicles,not sure of the exact content until I get it transferred to DVD. Having these films put onto disc is not cheap and I thought if there is enough interest in copies it could cover the costs of getting them transferred. So I guess what I'm asking is would anyone buy such films? obviously t difficult question to answer without knowing exactly what they are but as a rough guide for two DVD's I'd be asking around £12 plus postage. Any thoughts or suggestions welcome!! Cheers, Matt.

Good to know at least one is in safe hands!. It seems the pre/early WW2 US trucks which were basically civilian vehicles do drive and handle better than later military vehicles. My D15 was like that but useless off road being only 2wd,a wet grass verge was enough to get it stuck. Matt.

I've done a fair few recoveries and I would never use KERR,only HD chains. Not connected with vehicles but I once had a steel winch cable snap while tree felling,we had about 6 ton on the winch at the time,cable had been checked beforehand and looked fine. The shackle missed me by about 5 feet. Matt

Thanks Richard. Matt.

Can anyone tell me what the marking is on the left fender of the Land Rover above? Matt.

Hi Neil, I'm pretty certain the PP's did carry the Regimental designation on the dataplates,or at least on the ones I've seen. I thought the SAS Series 1's were converted for the Regiment after delivery,unlike the Pink Panthers which were designed and built specifically for the Regiment. Matt.

Correct me if I'm wrong but did the RAF use blue on their vehicles during WW2? I know most airfield vehicles were green such as tractors,crash tenders,ambulances etc. The RAF mountain rescue vehicles in Snowdonia were green(Jeep,Humber ambulance,Commer truck). As for finding the vehicle number on different parts,this was likely done during rebuild so all major parts went back to the same vehicle. There were bitsa's created during rebuild but usually only if a major component was damaged and replaced. I have seen Rootes plates on American Dodge WC's and it seems these vehicles were the ones destined as aid to European countries. I have yet to see a vehicle sold into civilian ownership just after the war with a Rootes rebuild plate. Matt. Matt.

I'm fairly new to military Landy's and wasn't aware there was a difference between the SLR mounts and those for the SA80. If anyone has spares I'm after some as well! Matt.

Well I can't add much here as both me and my brother were educated at home. I started working at 15 and have done so ever since,although never in the same job for more than four years(I get bored easily). Is school a good thing? I really don't know but I have friends who went through school,college,university and have still ended up in dead end jobs they hate. Matt.

Hi Clive, Thanks for your reply. No other numbers in the CES on the dataplate apart from chassis#,vehicle#(94 EL 31),Contract#(WV/2985),code#(304653-01-990. The Landy dates from late 1964 as far as I know but I have yet to apply to Deepcut for the record card. Cheers, Matt.

I'm trying to get hold of a copy of CES P/33584/4 which covers Truck,GS,FFR. 1/4 ton,4+4,Rover 8. If anyone can help that would be great. Thanks, Matt.

I am trying to find any information on a British soldier killed during the early to mid 1960's,any information at all would gratefully received as we know very little. His name was Peter Carey and he came from Scotland,he was an ophan and had been bought up in a boys home. He was a Junior Leader in the early 1960's and we think he joined a Scottish regiment. He died between 1963 and 1967,we don't know where,perhaps Aden. My family knew Peter and would love to know what happened to him,they received a letter from one of his mates saying he had been killed(letter now unfortunatly lost) but never knew any details. I have no idea where to start searching for details on a post war casualty,I tried CWGC but they do not maintain post WW2 records and I have posted on the Britains Small Wars website. Thanks, Matt.