Great War truck

I will let Jack tell you about that himself. He certainly had a good time, although was a little bemused that when we went through every town the people waved and cheered at us, and just waved empty jerrycans at Jack. Its a Wiltshire thing i suppose. Went back to the campsite late last night and had a drink with the HMVF guys. Great to put faces to names. We then went down into Ramsbury town and watched the search light Living History group in action. Very impressive. Now it is Monday and it has been pouring with rain all night. Seems to be brightening up a bit at the moment, so hopefully the field wont become too boggy for vehicle movement. We will see. Tim (too)

The Jeep was just beginning to overheat. It was sluggish and making odd "pinking" noises. After we broke away from the convoy and headed back to Ramsbury the problem quickly resolved itself and it was running as well as ever. After a quick drink and saying goodbye, it then went the 35 miles home without any problem. Luckily, i always carry a starting handle and have done from the get go. I therefore know that i can always start it if in trouble and of course if i am ever caught in the Sahara desert i can wind it backwards up a sand dune that would be otherwise uncrossable. Tim (too)

Yes you are right. I have gone through my photos and i dont have one decent Dodge photo. Not intentional i am sure. I really didnt take that many photos. The best ones would have been while we were in convoy, but taking photos and driving at the same time is not the easiest of things. Anyway, here are some more photos, you might be able to make out the odd Dodge in the background:

Hang on. Isnt that him there behind that manly truck? You can just make out his luxuriant hair.

Ah yes. Some people will do anything to get a tow from a Diamond T (so i am told).

After a quick talk on the history of the site, we drove off to Savernake Forest. At this point one particularly unintelligent person decided to try and over take all 50 vehicles in the convoy in one manouver. Luckily nothing was coming as that would surely have ruined his day and delayed ours. He then got stuck in the middle of the convoy until we went into the forest and he escaped. The forest used to be a massive ammunition dump and we received another short talk on the history of the area. All very interesting. Following that we drove through the centre of Marlborough, where i managed to stall the Jeep (which was beginning to overheat) in probably the most awkward location possible. With half the convoy dissapearing in front of me, and the other half stuck across the roundabout behind me i tried to restart it. Now with a flat battery i got the crank out and after 10 swings on it it burst into life. At this stage i received a massive cheer and round of applause from the population of Marlborough who happened to be in the high street at that time. As the Jeep was over heating, i skipped the last bit of the road run and headed back to camp at Ramsbury. When i got there i saw that more MV's had arrived, including two Shermans and two Stuarts. As i had other duties to perform that evening i then headed for home, being a fairly quick and easy journey. Overall, a superb event, incredibly well organised and managed. Met lots of people that i know as well. Thanks everybody. I do hope that they do it again next year. Tim (too)

Going back outside again we had a bite to eat and something to drink. The organisers had laid on a fabulous barbecue. By the time we had finished eating more vehicles had joined the convoy so we had over 50 vehicles. We then drove off to Ramsbury airfield. Being part of such a long and well organised convoy was really something. Looking forwards you could see vehicles dissapearing off in to the distance, then looking backwards there seemed to be an endless line of them behind me.

After having looked around the airfield we drove off to Littlecote House (the 506PIR HQ building) where after forming up, we had a grand tour. This was the Officers Mess. This was Col Sinks Office The tour was excellent and most enjoyable. We finished off by looking at the small military museum established downstairs and then had a look at the surving E Co barrack (old stables) that had been reloacted from Aldebourne.

I have just got back from what was one of the best MV events that i have ever done. Truly spectacular and my thanks go out to the organisers and DR boys who did such a great job. For the people who couldnt make it, i thought that i should add some photos for you. I will add only a couple of pics then upload as my PC has a habit of crashing. I arrived at about 8.30 and only just made it in time for the convoy to form up. The field entrance was quite bad so us latecomers formed up in the road. We then drove off in conoy to Membury airfield. The Jeeps are alongside the runway, and the heavies are a few hundred yards behind them. Hang on, someone is missing: The runway was built with the wrong alignment so the new runway runs diagonally across it.

I dont think they are related. Certainly no family resemblance between the two. Remember, the Stromberg carb is quite primitive, so Steve did not have to do a precision job on the carb float. I think that he has kept it in the tool box. We have never needed it since. Tim (too)

I just bought a set of dice on E Bay. All i have to do now is get a board and then when it is the kids pocket money day i will get it all back again. Tim (too)

I saw an inflatable pillow (marked "ASC") for sale on E Bay recently. Wasnt too sure how real it might be, so now i wish that i had bought it. So was it three dice on crown and anchor and i presume that they were special dice not normal ones. Tim (too)

One of the strangest signs i saw a photo of was "Cannabis Street" in PAsscehdale. I was quite suprised. Tim (too)

I turst you are using the word "sanity" in the losest possible context? Tim (too)

What are the rules for Crown and Anchor. I remember from reading about it in "Charleys War". Wasnt the game frowned upon by the military? Tim (too)

Well done. You win a cookie. See me after work. Tim (too)

I am glad that i asked otherwise i would have missed it. HAdnt planned on getting there until about 10.30, but will head off early as i can and should be there for the kick off. Tim (too)

We were out in the Autocar in the village of Colyton and the engine stopped. Steve (being smart) identified that the float in the carb had sprunk a leak and had sunk. Not being able to fix it, he whittled a new one from a block of wood. It allowed us to finish the journey to the pub and then back home again. Steve always carrys a spare block of wood or two and his whittling knife in the toolkit. Now if only he could whittle a new gearbox. Tim (too)

9.00 seems hellish early. I am really going to have to make an early start of it.

Or more importantly what time do i have to get up? Tim (too)

"To the last man" by Lyn Macdonald was very good. I have Beneath Flanders Field in my reading pile. On the subject of the Porche man (and i suppose Pat as well), if they have already produced a few books and have a relationship with a publisher then i presume that it is easier for them to get a contract for a new book as opposed to the complete unknown writer. That would not give them much motivation to do a really good book. The publisher thinks they sold X thousand books last year, lets give them a new contract and see how many more units they can shift. The worrying thing is the number of mistakes they make as bit by bit history becomes diluted by inaccuracies. Tim (t00)

Flip and crikey heck. What a fun looking toy. Very very tempting. Tim (too)

So anyway, just so as not to leave Pat left out, i would say that (recently published) book purchases that i have enjoyed are the After the Battle "Rucksmarsch", which i thought brilliant. Also bought Passcehdale by Peter Barton which have of course been reviewed on this forum. One i have in the pile to read is the latest Histoire and Collections "Dying for St Lo". H & C books really are fabulous, and i always make a point of looking out their latest releases to buy. Curious to my mind is that the majority of the best WW2 books published have French authors or publishers. On the other hand "Dynamics of Destruction" by Alan Kramer really is appalling. Not too sure who is target audience was, but stay clear of anybody holding that book. So going back to the initial question, i would agree that their are more military books published and much much more dross, but there are still the gems in the dung heap. You only have to sift through it to find them. As we become more experienced we are all less tolerant of bland and incorrect books. I still have my first military book "Great Battles of WW2" which is inscribed in the cover "To Timothy on his 8th Birthday love Mummy and Daddy". For a long time this was the best military book i owned (certainly the largest). Inaccurate and bland I loved it and took it everywhere. Well read it has a special place on the bookshelf. Tim (too)

I guess as to how good we think a book is depends on how much we know on the subject already. For example Jack (by his own admission a "Virgin Soldier") has probably not read many books on Red ball, while others of us already have several to compare it to and will spot mistakes quickly (the whole "Cherbourg" thread for example). I know nothing about Antar trucks and would not be able to spot a fault in Pats book. We are all a lot less tolerant to mistakes in books. I bought "Operation Cobra" in paperback a couple of years ago and it was so full of faults you wonder if the author was just making things up. Makes you very distrustful of what else he has written. Anyway, that book has gone to make room for others on the book shelf now. It is a bit unfortunate that the only three books we have mentioned by name have the same author. Tim (too)