10FM68

As I recall, the liner, spider and headband, together referred to simply as "the liner", was a personal issue, being held by each soldier on his AF H1157 (his clothing account) while the helmet itself, with chinstrap attached, was held in sub-unit (company/squadron/battery level) G1098 stores, as was webbing. This meant that, firstly, the bit which touched the head and was, therefore, likely to get sweaty and grubby, wasn't shared, but the soldier had no need to carry a bulky helmet needlessly around with him between postings. On arrival in a new unit a soldier would draw a set of webbing and a helmet (with chinstrap and a scrim net) and attach his own liner. One of the evening jobs on arriving in a new unit would be to make up the webbing, adding all the items required by unit orders so that one could deploy at short notice should one be required to do so. At the same time, one would make up the helmet: adding a piece of hessian as a cover, daubing it with boot polish to break up the colour, then tying strips of frayed hessian to the net which was fitted over the cover and tied in place under the rim. The idea would be to have something which broke up the outline of head and shoulders without getting in one’s eyes, falling apart, or, most importantly, looking too stupid! Some units were issued with the RAC pattern helmets which, I think, were identical in shape and composition to the para helmet, but with an ordinary liner and chinstrap, rather than the special paratroop one. I served in an engineer regiment in the late 70s which had been equipped with RE variants of Centurion and, on reversion to the role of standard field engineer regiment, it had retained the RAC pattern helmets in the squadron G1098 store. I was issued with one of these. It was, of course, much more comfortable and generally “neater”, so I contrived to keep it on posting by handing in a “spare” MkIV in its place. I wore it then until the arrival of the plastic hat in the mid 80’s. Today, it is in a box somewhere in the garage. One of the annoyances of the MkIV was that, if it was put on in a hurry, it was easy to get it on the wrong way round. And then you looked a complete goon! Remember, tin hats weren’t worn on exercise as a matter of course in those days, only in defence and in the event of an NBC attack so they were always put on in a hurry! I stuck a large dayglo arrow inside mine pointing forwards so that I wouldn’t make that mistake in the heat of the moment! 10 68

I agree - no point taking offence - it is just nice to have people recognise what it is you're driving and, as you say, you never know what they'll come up with. A few years ago I was parked up in my MV in a supermarket car park and this old chap came up and told me how he'd driven one just like it when he was doing National Service and how much fun he'd had in his Champ. We had quite a chat... didn't have the heart to tell him I was driving an Uaz! 10 68

Probably the most famous picture showing a captured Axis vehicle has to be the one of the victory parade in Tripoli in '43. The lead vehicle is CinC 8th Army's Humber Snipe, from which the Prime Minister is inspecting troops, and the vehicle immediately following is a Horch. 10 68

But HQ 3 Armd Div in San Sebastian Bks, Soest certainly had a Sherman gate guard in 1982, mounted on a piece of tank bridge. I wonder where that went. 10 68

I had an Uaz 469 as my second car for 10 years. Tried for the Haynes, "Cars of the Soviet Union", cover price £30. Currently available on Amazon at £226.58! I presume someone must pay that sort of money or the dealers wouldn't think they could get it. Won't be me though! I had the book on Land Rovers in the Gulf as well - gave that to a friend! Ho hum! 10 68

Not an official route, but, as I was wondering about the answer to your question, I did a quick "google" and came across a fascinating thread on Cents on www.armortek.co.uk which, although it is for modellers rather than restorers, clearly had one or two chaps on it who really know their stuff. There were some excellent photos, both detail close-ups and combat shots (plenty of Australian stuff from Vietnam as well) and included pictures of a number of useful reference books. There was also an image of a set of modelling decals by Bison Decals giving a limited number of ERMs for tanks of the 8th Hussars in Korea. They included 01, 02, 03 and 10 and both BA and ZR - I have no idea whether this might include your tank, but, clearly they must have got their list of ERMs for 8H Cents from somewhere. Anyway, it is worth a browse and you might find someone there who can help you. RLCarchive.org holds a large number of records for military vehicles, but a quick look (you can check if they have them for free, but have to pay for the results) results in a "no" for yours, I'm afraid they are better on B vehicles). Good luck in your detective work. 01 68

I was browsing some British Pathe News U-Tube videos this afternoon and came across "Malaya jungle fight 1952". You may already have seen it, but, if not, have a look at it - some very good coverage of Morris LRCs. 10 68

Fascinating. There's that stubby-barrelled .50 Browning. I knew there would be someone on the forum who would be able to pin this down. Thanks, Richard. 10 68

Just souvenirs, I'm afraid. These light alloy pin badges are very popular in Russia and other Central European countries and turn up at all the tourist stalls. These are more interesting in that they are a set - "nabor znachkov" "set of little badges", but probably only of real interest to someone who has visited the nine cities. The "commemorative" aspect is to do with their all being "Golden Ring" cities. I'm sure there will be a similar set for the Hero Cities - those which were proclaimed Heroic and awarded the order "Hero of the Soviet Union" after WWII. They would have greater interest for the military collector. (Just had a quick look on Google and, yep! There's a set there). But, as I said, have a look at Wikipedia and you'll be able to read all you'll ever want to know about the Golden Ring Best 10 68

Thinking more about the subject, and re-reading what I wrote, I ought to have added that, of course, it wasn't the gun itself which was significant, but the mounting. The four balls, one at each corner, were designed to clip into four matching sockets on a quite large, heavy ring mount. I have seen a picture but can't remember where, but, I'm pretty sure it was not unlike the MG mount over the rear compartment of a Saracen - and, of course, that mounted a Bren/LMG and dates from the same period. Whether, mountings notwithstanding - as the Saracen's is fixed, they are interchangeable I don't know. Where's an expert when you want one? 10 68 More to the point, I should add that the work you have done on the instrument panel is superb and I wish you well with your restoration.

I'm not sure they were designed for a GPMG as they pre-date the introduction of the GPMG into service, appearing in the 1950s and, in fact disappearing in the following decade when the GPMG was entering service. Certainly they were fitted to early Bedford RLs but omitted from later ones. I have no evidence and I may be wrong, but, I recall being told many years ago that they were intended to be a standard fit for all (or most) B vehicles being designed immediately after the war and built in the early 1950s for, as you say, local air defence at a time when there was a policy of standardisation across the fleet (as evidenced by shared engines, dashboards and many other details from Champs to Millies). But, I was told they were designed to fit a .5in Browning. The Brownings were procured, but remained in storage and appeared, out of the blue, having been taken out of store, exceptionally, for the Falklands campaign. They were used during that campaign and there are several pictures of them in use - but on ground mounts - they are identifiable by their rather short barrels. Certainly, their appearance then was a surprise - I had been serving since the middle 70's and had not come across them, nor heard anything of their presence in the British military inventory. But, as I say, this is hearsay and old hearsay at that. This may spark a memory for someone who can offer something more substantial than this 10 68

They are commemorative badges of the Russian "Golden Ring" - Золото́е кольцо́ - the wording in Cyrillic which is common to them all around the lower half. The Golden Ring is well described on Wikipedia as a number of cities to the Northeast of Moscow comprising the former region of Zalesye. Have a look there and you'll get all you need. They are simply souvenirs of a kind very popular in Russia, with no military connection, I'm afraid. The cities are, top left to right: Vladimir, Suzdal, Moscow, Pereslavl-Zalesski, Rostov. Bottom L - R: Yaroslavl, Ivanovo, Kostroma, Sergiev-Posad. 10 68

Ah! Yes, that sounds a lot more like it. I spent a night in 26 District Wksp in 1980 helping to swap an engine over from an 88" CL. Well, actually, as I remember it, I was No1 on the tea pot! I sometimes wonder where our hobby would be were it not for the collective memory and wisdom of former REME people. A poorer place, that is for certain! Regards 10 68

Hmm! Some interesting things there. Mine's 23 14 and I know 23 81 exists as well and, probably, the most photographed of that batch will be 23 82 as that was one of the HAC 25pdr tractors in London. At some point, it sees yours found its way to Stirling for a new gearbox - that's where 26 Command (District) Workshop was before it became part of the ABRO organisation. And, it seems it also found its way to Germany for Ex LIONHEART in '84, perhaps that's when it got its union flag on the rear - in those days, they tended only to be stuck on vehicles based abroad. But you are very fortunate to have one which has spent so little time in the hands of fiddlers - the 7-leaf springs, while not the most comfortable, are better than my parabolics which spoil the originality. They may get replaced in the fullness of time, if I can justify the money. It is interesting to see just how few miles in service Land Rovers seemed to do before getting new engines or gearboxes. Odd, really, because there was plenty of supervision of their proper maintenance and most didn't lead that hard a life - certainly not in comparison to, say, an upland sheep farmer! Clutches, perhaps, - they often towed laden trailers, but why main assemblies, I don't know. Mine has a replacement engine, which, fortunately, is sweet - as is the steering - best I've encountered in any Land Rover, I shall be sorry to have to strip it down to transfer it to the new chassis - I bet I don't get it as good when I've finished as it is now! My gearbox is dodgy in top though, for some reason. I have it on blocks so can run it though all the gears - all fine except 4th which is graunching a bit. So, that will require a bit of looking at before I put it in the new chassis. This is a shocking forum to post on - everything I write gets eaten at least once - I'm learning though, I save a copy before pressing "send" so I can paste it back in again on the next go! Regards 10 68

No, sadly, I doubt if 10 68 still exists - she was mine for a while in 77/78 - as you say, an FFR with a C42 and a B47 and it had a VPK for a while during that period. My current 1/2 ton is from the large 1979 batch of 300 12V RHD GSs. It is being rebuilt onto a galvanised chassis, but slowly, as it has been so wet and cold for so long, it's difficult to get a lot done. Your ownership of a lightweight must be something of a record - you have certainly owned one longer than the Queen ever owned any of hers! It seems to me that the average Series Land Rover lasted in service for about 9 years, though there will be many exceptions. Modern ones are having to last a lot longer, of course. Mine lasted 19 years, but it served with just two TA regiments, both London-based. So it had a relatively peaceful start to its life. Since then, unfortunately, I fear a PO used it for deep-sea diving as there is a lot of rust and corrosion underneath! It is interesting looking at the detail as it comes apart - the bonnet is probably original - same tac sign as on the tub and both on the original factory semi-matt NATO green. (10 68 was DBG, of course). But the tailgate is almost certainly not, though that is not surprising as tailgates always got a hammering in service. But, everything is there which should be there and generally the panels are straight, if in need of some welding, so I have good bones. Hopefully, it will be ready for the road again by next autumn or spring '17. Regards 10 68

Thank you, Jack, for the warm welcome. I have followed the site for quite a while, but haven't got round to signing on before now. My main interest is British soft-skinned vehicles, I am rebuilding a 1979 Series III 12V GS airportable at the moment (slowly as it is cold and damp in the garage), but I find a great deal more on the site than that. In fact, the forum is a shocking time-waster - I dip in to read "today's posts" and two hours later I have expanded my knowledge on an unusual helmet liner worn by the Spanish Foreign Legion for a three-week period in the summer of 1927! But, the forum is a treasure trove of knowledge - and great reading. Thanks 10 68