Blackpowder44

These pictures are of a Radar station built on the edge of the cliffs at Stonebarrow, Charmouth, Dorset. During the war a radar station was built too near to the edge of the cliffs, against the advice of locals. Sure enough its weight caused the cliff to give way and the building and three lorries went down 50 feet on a platform of land that slid down but stayed nearly upright. The smaller brick building was the Generator house and that slid down later. On the top of the cliff and about 30ft. from the edge can still be seen 4 or 5 slit trenches. The picture of the brick hut bases are taken about 400yds.to the rear of the cliff edge.

If you decide to go with the extra spring option you will need to put the rear shocks on the front axle and find longer ones for the rear. Mine came from Tony Sudds at T.S. Autos in Kent.

Missed one page on springs

I have a folder of emmers files, amongst which, dated 1Mar.54 it detail 9 leaf at rear, 8leaf at front. 11leaf rear 10 front. One of my jeeps has the latter, extra springs. Markings found on it shows that it was in No.1 command workshop REME, Aldershot up until 1958 so it is not surprising that it had the upgrades on it.Whether this extra springing was first used in the Western Desert I cannot say.I hope the pics turn out clear enough.

Here are a couple of pictuers of my James ML and its little friend the Mk.1 Welbike.For the numbers man, the ML no. 1547 and the welbike 883.Yes I know that a Mk.1 Welbike did not have a rear mudguard.My answer to that is, if you were getting your uniform splattered with mud etc and your mate was nice and clean on his Mk.2 you might go to the MT shop and beg a rear mudguard from them. John

Germans doing their bit for planet Earth, early re-cycling.

I suspect that I am the person mentioned as having bought a lot of Baptys and Co. vehicles in the 1980s. Amongs the ones I bought were two kubles, two schwimmers. Keven Wheatcroft bought 1 Schwimmer and one Kuble. The other kuble went to a person in Gloucestershire.

Take note of the date 1943 showing on the bulkhead. There is a famous picture of a Dorsets carrier with "jagged" black cammo.

My kettenkrad and Bofors 37 mm anti-tank gun at Yeovil festival of transport many years ago. Both have gone to new owners

Restoration projects in the future?

Sorry about the size of my pics. can anyone tell me how to reduce them before I submit them.

Pictures of steam charging set, not put together but I have two articles from the Model Engineer 19 Jan.1990 showing the first type, also one from the Model Engineer 20 April 1990 showing the 2nd. type which mine is.

Pictures of my Universal Carrier Mk.2*

Please can anyone help with identifying a zinc label I have. It was found on the site of a firing range along with a dozen more.It is 95mm long, 20 mm wide. The top line stamped reads R.M.C. HECKMONDWIKE. 1940. Bottom line reads No.. B870335. a small hole is at one end only. Who were R.M.C. and what did they make, perhaps rations, ammo ?? any help would be welcome. thanks, John

Thought you had a Jeep? Yes I have three jeeps, a Humber "Box", Universal carrier Mk.2*, Airborne trailer, James ML, Mk.1 Welbike,BSA folding bike, the last was "liberated" from a shed along with some more, From Warmwell Airfield in 1947.Steam Charging set,other bits and bobs, and finally a lot of formation badges and genuine WWII airborne uniforms with their red berreys. Not Liberated by me I must add, my little legs would not take me that far.

Thanks Mark for taking my point about the vast difference between WWI and WWII battlefields.WWI war for the most part trench warfare and countless men on both sides were killed and buried by shell and mortar fire.We have all seen the pictures of the carnace on these battlefields. The soldier buried in this way would be nearly impossible to mark and recover. Conversly in WWII much more fluid battles took place, for fewer men were killed at any one time and their mates could mark the place with the rifle stuck in the ground with a tin hat on top. The Pardre would mark the places on his map and pass them on to the graves registration unit. I would suspect that very few allied men were buried in slit trenches. I know of two Paras. found buried in a trench on the crossroads near Arnhem and of course there must be others. But I stick to my main point,most detectorists want to find weapons, equiptment etc. not remains. As for Archaeoligists excavating the battlefields, they have neither the funds or the time to cover anything but a minute fraction of the war zones. Watch time team flaffing around with a paintbrush and a pointing trowel. Their most exciting finds have come about through "Treasure hunters" telling them where to look.If the "Profesionals" were the only people allowed to look then nothing would be found. After all that I will say that diggers who sell artifacts containing human remains should be castigated and cursed if and when they are found.John.

I have allsorts of junk. If I put wheels onto the steam charger will it count as a M/V

I suspect a lot of the Anti metal detectoring relates to the first World trenches from what I am reading on this site. Fossiking around in Normandy or the Ardennes where the battles were much more fluid and far less trench fighting occured and therefor the finding of human remains is far less likely.When I have been to Normandy with my wife and jeep I meet up with some French resistance veterans, one of them keeps asking me to bring a metal detector onto his farm to find buried arms dropped by the RAF, another told me about a dry well that was supposed to have the remains of a German at the bottom.Would looking into these two places be wrong in your view.I havnt got a detcor but I suppose I could borrow one, but French law prevents detecting anyway.John

I have a Military steam operated battery charger. I am feelinf a bit left out of all this. John

As I have already stated I do not use a metal detector but I do know people who do. GRAVE ROBBING is a very emotive ,over the top way to describe people who search battlefields for relics.You make it sound as if their sole intention is to search for and dig up body"s. Isuspect that they would far rather find rusty weapons and other "junk". Do the majority of detectorists sell on their finds or is it a very small minority.Look on Ebay to see crashed aircraft parts being sold with crash details etc.People who dig for aircraft have to have a Home Office licence to do this. The records may tell tham that the body was recovered at the time but sometimes that info.is wrong.Are these bad, grave robbing gouls. John

Have a look at this site, warrelics eu/forum. It appears that any remains are reported and given a military burial. If these people were not hunting the battlegrounds then the relatives of the fallen would never know where their people lay.I think some of the comments on the HMVF thread are slightly hysterical. Many missing men have been found and reported to the appropriate authorities, is that so terrible.No I do not go out with a detector and dig up anything. But if someone did and they found my missing relative I would be happy.

Re the bren carrier destroyed by an 88, An ex.4 Dorset carrier driver told me that when he was driving his carrier in Normandy he heard a sound like corrigated metal being rattled and at the same time there was a terrific lurch and a crash from his carrier. He bailed out into a ditch. On looking up he saw his mates jeep and trailor which was behind him smashed to pieces and his mate dead. It transpired that an88 AP round had gone through the front of the carrier on the passenger side, alongside the engine and out the rear and hit the jeep. He drove carriers right up till the wars end

I made my own using a suitable piece of brass bar on my myford lathe. Very simple joband satisfying to know you did it yourself. Canvass from an old pack. Find some brass round bar and a bloke with a lathe. Maybe someone going to metalwork classes at night school.

Put Welbike into google and you will come accross the Dutch mob who have built twenty replica welbikes. Put Villiers ontu ebay U.K. and villiers junior delux engines turn up quite often. Price around £50. I have a real one so if I can be of any help please ask. John Real Mk.1 Welbike I mean, not spare engine