M.Rimmer

Andy,I'm glad your are getting on well with the trailer!. Abn,the first three photos were taken at my place and the mountain behind the house is rather steep! the walls are on the 1888 maps but many are much earlier. Matt.

Because they are morons. Let's face it many folks understanding of history is what they are fed by TV,and "old things" are only seen as important if they have a monetary value. Rant over!. Good luck Goran and Micha!.

Hi Degsy, Doing some other research I just came across this entry in the Llanbedr ORB,June 7th 1943 "No.1 Dining hall has been repainted and there are hopes of winning Fighter Commands Dining Hall Contest". so my previous comment about the Maes Artro mural being painted in the 1980's may be incorrect,if you do speak to the previous owner I would be interested in any further info. Do you have any pictures of the mural?. I have never looked at the buildings on the Dinas road but I'm going out that way next week so will attempt to find out who owns them and ask permission to have a look. Cheers, Matt.

I know the guy who posted this on the other forum,and funnily replied with basically the same info Adrian posted!. The bridge is actually Waterloo Bridge at Betws y Coed.

Hi Chris, I'm going to Duxford in April to photograph some parts on the IWM's Cletrac,I will send you a PM. Matt.

Looks like a nice buy. I just went through the full auction list,were the cars generally going for the estimate or making more?.

Hi Degsy, The building it was in is still standing,but I was told the mural was painted over soon after the site changed hands. I'm fairly certain it was painted quite recently(1980's?) when Maes Artro became a museum so would probably not have been listed anyway but still a shame it's gone. There is another building I know of near Tywyn which has some very impressive murals which date from WW2,though unfortunately they are in an advanced state of decay and the owner of the building will not grant anyone access to record them. Matt.

The artwork painted by servicemen directly onto the walls of buildings is a subject which has fascinated me since I first saw photos of some of the wall murals painted by members of the USAAF in East Anglia,several of which I have since been lucky enough to see in person. I recently bought the book "War Art,murals and graffiti-military life,power and subversion" by Wayne Cocroft,Danielle Devlin,John Schofield and Roger J C Thomas and published by the Council for British Archaeology,and I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in military history. I didn't realise the extent of the more recent wall art at several of the former USAFE bases in the UK,unfortunately much of which probably won't be preserved. The book not only covers the stunning wall murials but also the more simple forms of art and graffity such as the pillbox on the Yorkshire coast at Auburn near Bridlington which had "Earwig Villa" written in the wet cement during construction!. Does anyone know of examples of military artwork or graffity which might be otherwise un-recorded?. Matt.

The towing vehicle looks like an International K Series.

Nice bit of kit. I seem to remember the very same machine going through an auction about five years ago,might have been a Cheffins auction? it was reported in one of the vintage tractor mags IIRC.

There is a big difference between an aircraft which crashed and one which was dumped. In the UK(and UK Waters) ALL crashed military aircraft irrespective of nationality or date of loss are protected under the Protection of Military Remains Act 1986,under the act it is an offence for anyone to tamper with,damage,move,remove or unearth any part of a crashed military aircraft. The USAF did indeed claim to have abandoned ownership of the remains of aircraft lost prior to 1961,however in the UK this makes no difference due to the 1986 PoMRA. Other Countries may also have similiar local laws which protect remains. The US Navy's position is that if it ever belonged to them it remains Navy property. With dumped aircraft,parts,equipment etc the ownership could rest with the landowner,but again there may be local laws/bylaws protecting the site,depending upon the location.

Met a fellow forum member when he collected a Sankey from me(Thanks Andy,hope you got homr ok!).

Just checked it's not April 1st!. Were Spitfires ever actually delivered in crates?!.

I suspect so! nice to see all the work that goes into them.

Very nice Adrian!

Hi Mike, Yes it was rather tight but we made it ok! I have sold most of my Land Rovers to concentrate on the WWII vehicles. Glad to see the parts you had from me were of use on your project!. Matt.

Thanks Paul,no rush!. I wonder if the same case was used on other SW units? Matt.

Thanks!. No it's not John's,this one has been in a very private collection for the last ten years or so.

Pull my finger out?! you know I move slower than a slow thing Paul!. Glad to hear the canopy frames are coming along,did you get my PM about the footrest from the US?. I'm hoping we maybe able to get the Cletrac started on Saturday and I'll get some detail pics of the side panel catches for you. One question,do you have the part and/or model number for the Stewart Warner speedo unit? I have removed it from mine and the case is sound so hopefully it can be rebuilt but I'd like to see if the same unit was fitted to any other vehicles. Do you want some pics and drawings of the original seat backs? I will be looking to get a set made for mine. Matt.

Hi John, Yes I believe it was,another forum member also saw them and kindly sent me some details. Prior to 1984 I have no history,I have it's early RAF registration 182059 and the later one 45 AN 79 but the RAFM have no records for the earlier numbers and the record card is missing for the later one!. Do you have any further details of the 1984 auction?. Thanks, Matt.

I took delivery of this a couple of weeks ago.. I have known about it for nearly six years but due to a house move and other commitments I was unable to do anything about it until now. Under the pale blue paint it still carries both pre and post 1949 RAF markings,so far I have had limited success in tracing information on the use of Cletrac's by the RAF but it would appear the RAF had them in 1945 and it seems they may have been passed to the RAF following USAAF service. I have been very lucky to buy many of the missing parts such as lights but there are still other parts needed. At present the plan is to get it running and collect the missing parts over time as they turn up.

That looks very nice Iain!

Hi Joe, Good to see you here!. Matt.

Did they expect to find Indiana Jones in there too?!. On the subject of the D-Day LST which is facing the axe,does anyone have any details of it's history? which units it transported on D-Day and which beach it unloaded onto?. Matt.

Thanks for posting this Tim,I have seen many stills of this aircraft and it really is a time capsule. I am glad it appears it will be conserved rather than "restored",it's taken long enough but at least some museums are starting to realise these aircraft and vehicles which are found perfectly preserved are far more important for future generations if they are conserved rather than the "make it work/fly at all costs" attitude which has prevailed in the past. I still feel it's rather a shame what has happened to "Dottie May" the P-47D which was recovered from a lake in Austria in 2005 and is now under restoration to fly,even though those carrying out the work are trying to keep as much of the original parts and finish as possible something will still be lost which,if conserved rather then restored,would have been retained.