Great War truck

Hey, thats my parents garden! What are you doing having tea in it? Tim

Oh yes, that would be something very nice to have. Here is another picture of an Albion http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/a.jpg[/img] Compare that to the 1st picture. Whats the consensus of opinion. Is it an Albion or Leyalnd Retreiver. Tim (too)

She flew off today without a hitch (but with lots of dust). I do hope that we will see it there again one day. Tim (too) http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN5131a.jpg[/img] http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN5140a.jpg[/img]

Yes, it looks very similar to that Albion, but having gone through Barts books :rtfm: i think it looks more like this Leyland Retreiver: http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/l.jpg[/img] Other pictures of Retreivers i have looked at have no cabs and are missing the gas detection plate in front of the passenger. However, as you can see both of these have both. The one thing that does look different to the Albion is the front Hubs. Baz's Albion picture has a capstan type hub for self extraction, but other Albion pictures that i have looked at are quite different from the Leyland. Again, this is my opinion and i am happy to hear a different one. I am looking forwards to the day when i can say "well i have just popped down to the shed and compared the Albion to the Leyland and in my opinion it is a ......." Tim (too) :box:

It looks very much like an Albion BY5, but i actually think it is a Leyland Retreiver WLW. They are very similar, but the front wheels and the mudguards look like Leyland to me. Come on now. Someone disagree with me! Tim (too)

I made it, even if i only for one hour. Here are a couple of photos: http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4583.jpg[/img] http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4585.jpg[/img] I spent most of my time talking to Jack and lots of other people that i knew from before. Jack was a very nice and personable guy. Quite normal really, despite what everyone else says about him. The £10 entrance fee to get in does seem to be rather high for what was there, but i prefer to think of it as a donation to help save the runway. I told Jack that i had learned to drive on the runway about 25 years ago, and even then it was virtually covered in burned out cars and car tyres. Nice to see it looking so good. Although there was not a lot to see I must say that i really did enjoy the atmosphere there and could have stayed for a lot longer. However, that is probably because i knew so many people. If i did not know anybody i would have been quickly bored. There we go, thats my opinion. Tim (too)

Marc Just out of curiosity, as several people have mentioned things being stolen this year at W & P (and similar things seem to have happened in previous years) what do W & P intend to do to improve security at the event. I am contemplating hauling up one of our WW1 trucks for 2008, but am very reluctant to do so if i we will have to put a 24 hour guard on it during our stay. Tim

Yes, you are the second one to mention that. I agreed with the other one that it is actually a cushion and that he is pretending that they are bagpipes. The "mouthpiece" is too short, and he is missing the three pipes that should go over his shoulder and the one pipe that hangs down which he plays. Also I think that the shape of the "cushion" is incorrect for bagpipes. The other guys in the larger photo are all playing up and acting the fool, so a pretend set of bagpipes seems quite in context. We need a bagpipe expert for the definitive opinion - calling Canadian Scottish! Tim (too)

Yes, it could be IDF, i had not thought of that. The dozer blade and mechanism does look very much like the WW2 US one though. I will have to look for my pics of the Normandy one now to compare. Tim (too)

It is interesting to note the various topics concerning Jacks pink cushion. Of course Jack was not the first. Many other army drivers have had similar cushions to ease the discomfort of driving long distances. Here is a photo of a WW1 ASC lorry driver with his cushion. http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/Cushion.jpg[/img] It appears to be a tartan rather than pink, but a cushion it is. Perhaps the driver originates from a Scottish territorial ASC unit? Does anybody else have pictures of any other military issue or impressed cushions? Tim (too)

Sorry Jack, what i meant was that i had only seen one other which is located at a museum in Normandy. It was pulled off the seabed some years ago and has been sprayed with an anti rust preservative but is otherwise as it was in 1944. This one i would think has either come from the States or from France. Several bits of armour have come over from France due to their draconian new anti armour laws. The Sherman bulldozer is incredibly rare and must have cost two arms and two legs. Tim

I see that Mr Wheatcroft has acquired a Sherman bulldozer. Take a look at http://www.wheatcroftcollection.com/bulldozer.html I wonder where it came from. I can only think of one other example and that was pulled out of the sea off the Normandy coast and is a tad rusty. He has also acquired a pile of other interesting stuff, including yet another Panther. Goodness knows how he finds it all. Good luck to him. I would hope that if i had the money that i would do the same sort of thing (wouldnt we all?) Tim (too)

So Jack, what exactly did you mean by that? Were you looking to buy it, or restore theirs? Tim (too)

What this one? http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN0581.jpg[/img] I think it is a Chevrolet too. The hood side panels have less flutes than the GMC ones which go all the way along. Also the GMC's have their name on the front of the hood. Tim (too)

I might be there too. I will be between down there and up here that weekend so hope to stop by, even if just for 10 minutes. Tim

Sorry to hear that. All very sad. Tim

Out of print, but you can get it off Abe books from between £30 and £60. This link should work. http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?tn=the+gmc+a+universal+truck&sts=t&y=12&x=81 Brilliant book, everything that you could want to know. Form an orderly que! Tim (too)

Heck. I didn't see half of those. maybe my Beltring in aday thing was not that successful after all. Tim (too)

There is no flooding in Devon at the moment. It is all up-country. That is today of course. By tomorrow that will all change. Upottery airfield is right on top of a big hill. If it is underwater, the we are all in a lot of trouble (deep water!) :-D Tim

Things are quite bad in Oxfordshire. I had difficulty getting out of town. As i was driving along the road in front of me just dissapeared and we could see just the roof of three cars poking out of the water. As i turned around and went a different way i came across this. Not too dramatic, i know, but the river is usually 20 feet below the top of the bridge. http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4538.jpg[/img] The Astra driver was very optimistic and was lucky to escape with his life. Several houses near the river had been flooded. One guy has lost three cars. I saw two of them in the river. The third is in his garage which is totally underwater. The bridge was guarded during the war by the Home Guard. Some of them carved their names into the capping stones on the bridge. Now the side of the bridge has gone altogether. A shame. Everyone in town came out to take a look. It is the highest the river has ever been. Although one side of the bridge has gone, the other is still there, but water is coming over the top of it and blasting through lots of cracks in the cement. Quite odd to watch. I am taking the Jeep to an air show today. Not actually sure if i will be able to get there, or if in fact the public will come. It will be a great shame as there has been a lot of work involved and my favourite charity (Oxford Childrens hospital) was looking to benefit. Tim (too)

Well done. A very good cause too. Tim (too)

Just heard from a friend who is camping down there. Lots of rain this morning but seems to have dried out a bit now. There is a bit of mud around and the river and ditches are running quite high. Should be alright for tomorrow unless there is a massive storm there this evening. I have recovered from my day trip. However we have had the worst rain here today that i have ever seen and on a short journey the road was constantly flooded and i saw several abandoned cars. One had obviously misjudged the depth of a puddle and the water was up to the base of the windscreen. Actually i am glad that that car had got there first as i would have made the same mistake i am sure. On the drive home my VW was only firing on three cylinders but with a bit of luck it will dry out by tomorrow. Tim (too)

It was a good day, although my legs are beginning to feel it a bit now. Here are a few more photos of the weird and wonderful: Right. Off to bed now so you will have to identify them all yourself. I have to be up tomorrow at 6 again (and maybe 4 and 5 as well) Tim

It can be done! I got up this morning at 4.00 AM. Not because i had to, but because my daughter was sleep walking and crashing around in the kitchen. Went back to bed and got up again at 5.00 for the same reason as previously. Went back to bed until my alalrm went off at the usual time 6.10. After a mad drive down the M40 and M25 and some other roads, i got there at 9.30 to find the car park almost full. Did all the stalls by lunch time and then ran around the Americas field and then the other one. Ran into Mark and had a brief chat. Took lots of photos but thought that the following ones would be of most interest: http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4496.jpg[/img] (both together at last ahhh!) http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4499.jpg[/img] (the things some people put on their half tracks to make them look harder) http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4501.jpg[/img] (this belongs to Rax Cadman - i did not know that he had one) http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4514.jpg[/img] (what date is this Bussing from? War time or later?) http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4531.jpg[/img] (loveley Morris) Had seen everything by 3.30 which is when the heavens opened. Grabbed my purchases and ran back to the car, getting home in time to see the kids school play, eat my dinner and put them to bed. Best purchase of the day - a strap for a US Army Signal Corps tool bag. I said to the seller "Parlez Anglais" he replied "a little". So i explained that i had bought one of these bags and it did not have the strap, so could i buy one. He gave me one for free off of another bag which i thought very decent of him. As i walked away i realised that maybe he thought that i had bought the bag from him and not off E Bay. Whoops! Tim (too)

And the winner of this years "Bucket Pride" event goes to: Rather interestingly, after i took their photo they asked for £1. Instead of doing the correct thing and deleting the photograph, i ran away. Tim (Too)