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I managed to get the Victorian Society to take n interest in Nocton Hall and was informed last week that it has gone into there 2009 top ten endangered Buildings in the UK. The local news will be doing a quick piece on the hall this evening at the six pm slot. You should see me putting having a chat with the reporter.

I know this has nothing to do with WW2 Armour, but hey we all have varied interests! I only discovered Nocton in January while searching for a derelict house to restore; you know how it is when you start investigating. Nocton was built in 1841 on the site of the previous house which burned down in 1834. To understand the wartime link see the time line below: 1917 - US Army use Hall for as a convalescent centre 1917 - 1940 Hall unoccupied, but kept in good order. 1940 - RAF takeover Nocton Hall to use as a hospital. 1943 - US Army once again take up residence developing the adjacent hospital complex. 1945 - 1984 - RAF takeover again and further develop Nocton Hall Hospital in the grounds. 1984 - 1995 - US Army take residence for the final time, Gulf war personnel spend time on site. 1995-8 – Following brief use as a residential home the Hall is sold to property developer - vacated and left to decay. 2004 - Nocton Hall gutted by fire, only the annex remains 2010 - :stop: I have approached the local council who did not respond on the issue of a listed building being left to decay. HOWEVER 'the Victorian society' where very accommodating and I am hoping to get the ball rolling to preserve this historic house. If you look on Google maps 'Nocton' you can see the hall and grounds to the south (great to walk the dogs!), to the East is the post war Hospital complex which I would say was the developers main development opportunity. With a cynical eye I would suggest that the developers (leda properties) are hoping that the hall will get into such a poor condition that they can demolish it and develop the entire sit into housing. The locals don't think that kids set the hall on fire in 2004 anyway..... I wonder who could have a motive to see the Listed Hall destroyed.... hmm:idea: Could anyone help me with ideas for kicking off a preservation effort? I have never done anything like this before so it should be damn interesting. Apparently one method is to put forward a development proposal with conservation in mind and the LA can then have an easy option to compulsory purchase the building to save it from a neglecting owner. Photos from This afternoon:

Any update? Even a charcoal sketch of the hulk....

I never knew about these, interesting stuff. Reminds me of a photo in 'tracklink' many years ago, of a number of IS3s dug in in eastern USSR during the cold war once they had become obscelete. Bearing in mind these, the MKIVs in Bulgaria and the Golan and those Comets / Cromwells* in Finland to name but a few it seems that digging in old Armour was rather popular! *Brain has gone, can't remember calibre (105 or 120mm) or the da*n name of those retrofited Cromwells, c'mon Adrian you've got one :-)

Well, there you go..... Mr McMurray you look but you do not observe!

I was just thinking that too.... looking at the boggies, I have not seen a preserved example with those early track skids... before they finally settled on the version that protrudes forward of the boggie frame. Oh, PS. I am a dad now :-D .... as of Saturday - a world of sleepless nights, nappies and crying:shake:

Guys, I had to mention it in the chatter section as you don't all nose around in the tank and German sections.... There are new photos appearing of Tiger 1 recovered from the Eastern front, not the early version like Bovvy, the 'economy' version produced before production switched to Kingtiger. Keep your eye on it. http://www.hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?t=14253

If it is substantially intacked I'd imagine it is worth a fortune! Touching a million pounds once fully restored I'd imagine. Judging by the severe corrosion I'd say it was found in normal earth. Is it still in territory or has it already arrived at the new owners restoration shop? Which European country is it from, if tht won't hurt anyone that is.... would be interesting to work out what time it was lost and in which area.

So.... 'restoration' may be the wrong word.... remanufactured using original parts may be more correct. I saw some photos of a Tiger hull found in Russia, looked like it had been blown up with demolition charges. Destroyed just didn't cover it! I'd say this turret was blown up, it has fractured on all the weld lines. Great find though. Can't wait to see more photos.... one always hopes it is going to like one of these vehicles that is dragged up with the paint present and the tracks still rolling.

Does anyone remember back in the early 90s there was an English guy who was travelling around the former USSR and buying up German wrecks. It seemed not one month passed without Airplane Monthly showing a new photo of the chap (Dave something?) with a rare beast. I can recall near perfect examples of 110s, Fw190s, 109s and at least one Ju88 and a Stuka. All were to be restored to flying condition. I haven't brought a mag or been to a warbird show in 10 years, so I've lost touch. Did any of these ever get rebuilt into flying condition. I'd pay anything to see a Stuka in a dive with the sirens blazing for the first time in 67 years.

It wasn't that site but...... what a site..... it suddenly becomes clear how the 'big' collectors get the rare items! If you search through the text links on that site there are dozens more tank recoveries, including a partial Tiger 1, the rear of a Kingtiger, a Panther in Poland, all sorts.

Would this be their StuG before it was brought to England? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3vs7emG6V4&feature=related Something went wrong...

I've been waiting for that to happen! It was only a matter of time, lets hope it goes to Wheatcroft and in a few years we will have it on the UK show circuit :cool2:

Any idea when and where the last multibank was run in service? Would it be the Argentinian Fireflies before they were up gunned and re-powered in the late 70's....

I know, but to what extent do you take it? They don't have the original gun etc, so all you are doing is returning it to a 'look alike' condition. If they were to do a dual display with the 76mm in a turret next to the CK discussing the late war field mods to upgun the Jumbos that would be nice. If I were to make the decision on CK restoration, 1944 spec would be a no brainer. My point is about how subjective it all is :-D

It is indeed a can of worms. As said before if you own it you can do anything you want. A particular case is the much talked of 'Cobra king' Sherman Jumbo (M4A3E2), the museum plans to remove all the 1945 field modifications and return it to the 1944 spec which it had when it became famous. Seems OK on the face of it..... but why is one WW2 date more significant than any other? Would you take a Marder 1 and turn it back into the original french vehicle? You would be quite within your rights to do so (sadly quite insane though)...

http://the.shadock.free.fr/Tanks_in_France/sherman_claudewinling/index.html Just found this on a french site. Apparently it is one of the normal post war french rebuilt vehicles with a Radial replacing the multibank. An M4A4T.... but I don't know if that was the 'official' name. I also came across photos of a museum that was called the American Society of Military History in the US, you've never seen so many Shermans. Enjoy this site: http://www.toadmanstankpictures.com/

We came to an agreement that I should have the book right away:) If anyone has real interest in the Sherman I can highly recomend this book. According to the inside cover the print run was limited to 1,000 copies and was struck in 1994, so there can't be that many left. It was new and came with a box cover to protect the dust jacket.

I've been told by a chap at work that the annual Steam Show is on the 22nd August at the Lincolnshire Showground. I've never been before but believe that there is normally an MV gathering. Anyone from here?

Arrived today....should I say missed it today and I have to collect at the depot tonight. I shall be getting Mr Beevors latest work too.... but in paperback in December I should think. All of his books should be classroom reading in my opinion, 'Berlin: The downfall' is the only history book that made me cry:-(

Fantastic work! Did 1st gear get left at the bottom of the river? :-D It shows how 'relatively' easily WW2 armour can be restored to operational condition when you have a time warp example...... even if it did look too far gone at first sight. Thanks to the low oxygen levels in silt or swamp areas! A friend of mine at work sent me a link (now lost) to a russian site concerning a group who were pulling tanks from swamps. There was a hell of a lot more going on than we see in the West. The best one was a StuG III pulled out with the paint on and IIRC some rare winter tracks. Found it on Youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V0zfy548jZQ The Polish StuG IV superstructure when unearthed:

Very sad, I still find it hard to believe, but hey, life goes on:coffee:, vehicles will change owners move around the globe, it's been going on since the hobby began.... look at Budge.... different circumstances but the same result.

There was a static PzIV at W&P, I presume it is owned by Rex Cadman...just a guess. Is there any reason that it isn't undergoing restoration? Looks to be a easy one to get running at the very least.... what is it's story?

Midlands Publishing (The Ian Allan shop at Hinckley)

Thanks Maurice. In that case my Ic Firefly will be in OD, however my Ic is 35 times smaller than yours :-D (I had to come away from W&P with something and 1:1 wasn't allowed..... yet) How is yours coming along? I remember seeing some photos you posted earlier in the year, any chance of a photo update....