Great War truck

I remember you, but didn't make the connection with the London Scottish badge at the time. I wish that i had come and said hello to you. A good clip of film, but i was just out of the shot or standing behind Steve. Nevermind, i have the photos to prove that i was there. I remember that you had a knife in your sock (technical term I cant pronounce or remember - Skein Dhu or something similar). Did the policeman take it from you when they searched the vehicles? Tim (too)

Quite right Andy, well said. I was joking a bit about the "offend" thing. I have a work collegue who is offended by the daily Mail's existence, so i try to wind him up as much as i can. I was also wondering about the copyright issue and whether i might be censored for that. It hasn't happened yet We were not allowed to take photos of the Queen. or in fact have cameras out at all while she was walking about. As we paraded down the mall, the band in front, followed by some FANYS on horseback then 27 vehicles in date order, an American bloke came running up alongside and asked why we were parading. I said we were celebrating 100 years of the FANYS which left him a little confused. Tim (too)

Yes, absolutely. It would have been just my luck if it had been cancelled at the last minute due to terrorists. Similarly, if Blair had resigned a day later it would have scuppered the event as well. It worked out very well, especially with the weather. Steve had taken a week off work to clean and polish it. It is now a different colour from how i remember it. Still managed to get oil all over my jacket though. I have attached a scan from todays Mail. Hope it does not offend anybody. Will remove it if it does. Apparently, i have the Queens ear! http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/Mail1.jpg[/img]

Darn! I didn't think that anyone would guess that quickly. Here are some more pictures. http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4398.jpg[/img] http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4379.jpg[/img] http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4408.jpg[/img] http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4410.jpg[/img] http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4417.jpg[/img] A most entertaining day out. Even the weather was perfect. Unfortunately we attracted the attention of a group of peace protestors who kept shouting "end the war" at us. I was torn between shouting back "get a job" or "it actually ended 89 years ago", but decided on neither and just gave them a wave instead. Thanks for the hint on the Daily Mail, i will see if i can find a copy. Tim (too)

Did an event yesterday and parked the Autocar here. Anybody recognise the location. I will post more clues later on if necessary. Tim (too) http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4396.jpg[/img]

Oh no, that means something entirely different! :pfrt: Tim (too)

Didn't someone say a while back that the h e a r s e had been deliberately destroyed by Banger racing types. :dunno: Tim (too)

Actually i am quite suprised they worked at all. We used to work 7 days a week, starting at 6.00 AM, finishing at 9.00 Monday to Thursday and at 4.00 on Friday to Sunday. We used to go out drinking a lot, get up off someones sofa at 5.40 the next morning and back at the factory to start again at 6.00. Such long hours are probably illegal now under EU regulations. Some guys set up their tents alongside the factory car park and lived there for weeks on end. I spent all my wages and overtime money on a three week holiday in Europe. When i next went to clock in i had no card and they had cleared my stuff and told me to B****r off. Happy days Tim (too)

Having read all that I feel quite depressed now (mind you i wasn't feeling all that happy to start off with). Tim (too)

It is the gun sight. "Thermal observation and gunnery". The design is probably a bit out of date now, but it gave an image based on the heat pattern that everything was giving off (there is probably a better technical description that that). You have probably seen pictures from the war in Iraq of the heat given off by vehicles hidden in the sand making camouflage all a bit pointless. Tim (too)

I used to make TOGS, while working for Avimo in Somerset 20 years ago. Did they ever work? Tim (too)

Very nicely put Jack. My hat goes off to you. I try to recycle as much as i can. Many reasons, but also because my house is next to a recently abandoned quarry and i am concerned that it will become land fill if i do not. Luckily there are some Peregrine falcons nesting on the cliff face and they are not allowed to disturb them. Beautiful birds too. I watched one snatch a pigeon out of the sky a little while back. Not seen that before. I do think that this exporting plastic rubbish back to China is a good idea though. We should do the same thing with nuclear waste, asbestos and di-oxins. They seem to make everything these days, so it is about time they cleaned up the mess. But i expect at some stage in the distant future, some Chinese lawyer will take us to court for harming their nations health. Near my US relations (outside Chicago) they have taken all of the waste from the city and built a range of hills. Capped them and now use them for skiing in an otherwise flat part of the country. Any part of the UK need a new mountain range? Parts of Somerset are quite flat. It wont happen in my lifetime, but i wonder how our descendants will cope with a lack of resources, such as copper, tin, iron, oil, coal etc, etc. Maybe by that time we will be making everything out of soya beans and rape seed oil. I can feel my allergies coming on just thinking about it. With this whole going green thing, burn less fuel, use less electricity, i do think that we are missing the big picture. Global warming is going to happen whatever we do, so perhaps we should be preparing for it. We should be building another (taller) Thames barrier, buying Enigma a small boat, designing garden fences that dont blow down (like weebles), useful things like that. I was convinced (by various lunatics) that the world was going to be destroyed by a nuclear war in the 1980's. That has always left me feeling quite pleased and slightly suprised that it was not. Following that were threats of AIDS, BSE, SARS, Bird flu and some revolting disease who's name i cant remember. Seems that we have mostly survived those as well, so i cant really take the threat from global warming that seriously. Now where did i leave my fiddle? Tim (too)

Quite right! Jack. How do you feel about recycling then (bottles, cans and newspaper - not green machines)? Tim (too)

Ahh! Luxury! I had similar interests 20 years ago. The festival at Trewergy (In Cornwall) was more basic than that. The urnials had the guttering but no screening at all, and due to their location, everyone could see what you were doing whichever angle you faced. As for the sit down facilities, you were just given a shovel, told to dig a hole, do your business, then fill it in again. This created a veritable minefield as the day went on. The camp sight was very interesting though. Lots of old AFS Commer's, Bikini units etc. I guess that they had only been recently released and were snapped up the travelling folk. I wonder what happened to them all. Tim (too)

I saw a couple of Brockways at Southsea back in 94. I think that both had come over from france, one had a crane mounted on it, the other had a weasel where the pontoons should be. I will have to have a look through my old photos for them. I am off into the attic, i will see you in a couple of days. Tim (too)

Thanks guys. A little difference of opinion there, but that might be to me not understanding exactly what road shock is. My line of thinking is that the vibration of going over a bump would be slightly dampened by the little free play that should be in the steering. However, there should not be too much otherwise i will get wandering (wondering?). Similarly, if there is no free play the vibration would be obvious in the steering wheel. As i have had the steering all apart and back together it might be something that i have done (or left undone, or even done too much!) :dunno:. I have had it up on stands tonight and everything seems to be right. To be on the safe side i will take it all to bits and reset it as per the manual. The Jeep manual also suggests bearings might be incorrectly set, which of course i have also had out, so i will take a look at those and let you know what i find out. Thanks Tim (too)

My Jeep has started behaving a little strange. When i drive over a bump in the road the steering wheel suffers quite a severe shaking which goes on for a few seconds and feels quite uncomfortable. While looking at the manual there is reference to "road shock". What exactly is this and what causes it? Many thanks Tim (too)

Amazing to see all that stuff still rotting away. I liked the Drago Wagons and the Brockway - surely (along with the Dragon Wagon) the most imposing WW2 truck. Strange that the DW's were not for sale. I wonder if that was because they are armoured and fall foul of the new French laws as opposed to the owner thinking that they will go up in value - as they rust slowly away. Anybody know for sure? Tim (too)

Wonderful pictures. I must go back again this year. Tim

I am having problems with some of the kids around here. In the end i went to the parents house, rang the door bell, stood back (expecting a broken bottle aimed at my face) and told their Mum. Things have been OK since then, but i was contemplating getting a CCTV and setting it up to video the drive and garden. i was suprised how cheap they were, especially wireless night vision ones. Would CCTV footage be of any use as evidence for the Police? My problem was different from yours. The kids came in to my front garden. Dug up all the plants and planted them in their back garden. Lost about 30 plants in all. Tim (too)

The MVT had 6033 members at the start of 2006 which increased by 478 during the course of the year, an increase of 6.9% (someone check my maths please). Tim (too)

No, we didn't take anything this year. Have not done so for quite a few years now. We always intended to take the FWD when completed, but it does not seem to run very well and we have got stuck into the new project as opposed to sorting it out. Anyway, Steve had a chat with Paul, so they had an opportunity to compare notes. It must have been the same Y Type that you recovered. there cant be many that were pushed off a ravine in Dorset. Here is what it looked like when Tony first went to see it: http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/AECChassis5.jpg[/img] http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/AECChassis3.jpg[/img] Not a lot to see. I guess it finally fell to bits in the drop. Which bits did you recover and how did you get them back up the slope? Sorry, i didn't comment on your WLF. A fine piece of work. What condition is the original engine in now? All the best Tim (too)

Kevin Wheatcrofts donor Panther is in better condition than that. Getting that one out of Russia will be expensive no doubt. Tim (too)

Who is your friend? I expect that Steve might know him. I have not seen the Daimler yet, Tony and Steve made the HCVS run and had a good look at it. I was off shooting a BAR instead. Too many things to do, not enough time. A few years ago we found the remains of an AEC Y type in Dorset and directed a chap who was restoring one to it for the axle and steering box i think it was. i wonder if it is the same chap. All the best Tim (too)

Ah, time for another post to the topic that never runs out of interest. Please find below a picture of a beautifully restored WW1 Daimler lorry complete with painted bucket. I presume that the arrow is to indicate that it is WD property and the end of the bucket which is to be filled. I must admit to never having seen a picture of a WW1 British lorry with bucket, although it would be be quite useful. Beautiful restoration. Well done Richard. Tim (too)