Larry Hayward

Hi all What does Prestone 44 mean? I have seen it stencilled on the front of WW2 GMC's & Dodges

This site has the real sound of a Merlin - where it should be in a Spitfire! http://www.supermarine.co.uk/

Hi all, I suspect there will be a few replies to this tonight! I just watched the programme. Obviously it went to town on those who like to dress as Nazis, SS and Hitler Youth etc and who sell Nazis memorabilia. No doubt the German re-enactors will not like the programme as it suggests that many of them are supporters of the Far Right, when in fact there could be only a few. The leader of the Second Battle Group did his organisation no favours at all in saying no comment to the BBC in response to every question! He could at least tried to explain what his organisation was about. However secret filming in the beer tent certainly revealed a few Right Wing views that W&P could do without but I do not think what was said was particular to this kind of show, as I hear these same views in pubs up and down the country. The only difference is the bloke in the pub isn't dressed as an SS soldier when spouting off. The BBC brought over a German woman to W&P who was shocked at what is allowed in the UK compared to German and other parts of the EU. There was the suggestion that the EU could be asked to introduce an EU wide ban of Nazis flags, memorabilia & emblems etc! Personally I would never ever want to dress in any German or SS uniform, but I still defend the right of others in the UK to do so. I thought the comments about portraying war crimes too, in a show of this nature a bit stupid, for the very fact that if you actually did this then you would get hammered by the press for portraying such things as 'family fun'. I mean can you imaging getting a few Japanese re-enactors to drag a blindfolded Aussie into the arena and pretend to decapitate him with a samurai sword! At the end of the programme, the BBC interviewed an author (sorry I did not catch the title of his book) who said that WW2 re-enactment shows in the UK reflect our experience of the war. Because we were never invaded we do not associate people dressed as SS in the same way as those in Europe who had to endure occupation. For that reason we do not see dressing as SS as so offensive, even thought many of us have parents who lost close relatives in WW2. As for Nazis memorabilia on sale at W&P and Detling this week, I think there is a fine line between selling an original item of historical value and selling newly made mugs with Hitlers face on them which I find a little tacky. But then again if I agree that people can dress as SS soldiers I have to allow them to reproduce SS badges etc. I wonder now if MV owners will now get tarred by the same brush - whether or not we wear any uniforms?

I thought Detling was a little light on vehicles this year too. No sign of the WW2 German stuff owned by the Sdkfz people, who own the Jagdpanther. I wonder why?

I will certainly not forget Rememberance Day, as long as I live, as I lost two Uncles in WW2- one in the Army and the other just a teenager. My two Grandfathers both served in WW1 and still suffered from their wounds for the rest of their lives. One joined in 1909 and was at Mons, so I hope to march to Mons in 2014 with my son, in honour of my maternal Grandfather.

So with the exception of the Bar security at W&P is much worse than I thought, and because of the size of the show it must be much worse than any other show I have been to! Enough said - lets hope that W&P take this matter up!

Just a thought - how would anyone at W&P know if a member of the public decided to stay there after the normal closing time? Surely it's possible to turn up on day one of the show and camp there for the week, perhaps in some empty corner? Who is going to notice if a person turns up at the gate with a ruck sack containing a small tent? Also is the perimeter secure or is it easy to get over?

"This unique vehicle is the last remaining example of its type in existance at the end of the 21st" - Do I hear £500,000, from the man at the back, going once going twice, sold! (Remember - todays junk is tomorrows collectable!)

My claim to fame is holding up two armed German Policemen with a rifle when I ran out of a bush and stopped their police 4x4 at night on a lonely country road! It certainly made their eyes bulge with me in their headlights in the middle of the road. Luckily they recognised a British soldier's uniform when they saw one, as I fear I would have been shot! I was on guard at a cross roads and mistook their vehicle for one of our own. They had not seen any British Army searchlight units on exercise before so had come down a track to have a look, probably as they were bored with patrolling their part of NW Germany where nothing ever happens! My second claim to fame is scoring a goal at Wembley stadium (the old one) but the match only lasted a short while before the groundsman kicked us off! Actually I was there to assist with one of several Military Band Extravaganzas that were held there every two years (up to 1984 I think) and in between rehearsals me and a few TA soldiers took the time to invade the pitch and have a kick about. Where we found a ball I do not know but it was good fun to be on that famous pitch. I think the groundsman took exception to some of us digging up bits of turf as souvenirs - sadly no eBay in those days nor any reason to believe the place would EVER be demolished!

Jack, I should have also mentioned that getting to shows in unfamiliar territory can be a nightmare sometimes, with out clear instructions or a map in the confirmation sent to MV owners. You may laugh but it is not easy to find an AA route map on the web to some field you have never seen before if you don't know the postcode! And you will be amazed at how many place names are duplicated even in one county! Unless the event is at a well known venue, some discreet signs at junctions may also help an MV owner save his marriage as he might be too proud to ask! However, I have heard that councils now want paying for boards placed on 'their' verges, so some kind of Divisional sign with a directional arrow tied to road signs might 'help' as it did in WW2. The Div sign could be changed each year, though on second thoughts could they could be left in place and become associated with a particular show (to those in the know of course).

Jack, Good thread. One thing that makes a good show is if the organisers show consideration for photographers like me who like to take tons of photos on digital. One of the best MVT shows I went to (about 1981!) was I think at Knebworth, where the vehicles that attended passed along a MV only route behind a barrier with a woodland / hedge behind which was free of any people or distractions. So I and many others were treated to our favourite vehicles being in front of us and nothing in the way. The results on my camera of that time were as good as any of those MVT calender shots of MVs in recent years. In relation to this, show marshalls should ensure MVs are parked up not too close together, as space usually does permit this, so that reasonable photos can be taken of individual vehicles. Many people who come to MV events are keep modellers too and like to take detail shots. Strangely when I first got in to the MV scene it was usual for vehicles to have a turn driving round the arena and for the comentator to say something of their history - even if it happened to be bog standard. This parade could take the form of same types all together, ie Jeeps or Land Rovers or WW2 or PW - it does not matter except that it gives us owners our 15 seconds of fame as apposed to just being totally ignored by the organisers. Many a time I have filled in details of the units my MV has served but I may as well have saved what I wrote as toilet paper for what good it had! OK this parade is not going to happen at very big shows like W&P with such large numbers but at smaller shows it is possible. As you can imagine I am not in favour of civi tents and vehicles parked up DURING THE SHOW next to the Military stuff. Kemble does this bit better than W&P. A show that looks like an open air museum with some order to it will be more interesting to the public than a field that has all types of tents or support vehicles scattered about like the photos shown on this thread. Lastly if you do organise a show please put the stalls NEXT to the arena so that myself and the public can browse the stalls but be close enough to see events that we like but then go back to browsing afterwards. You know what it's like - one minute you are looking at some interesting military hardware going round the arena then next you get a half an hour gap of nothing, then some other event your not the slightess bit interested in, followed by searching the skies for a parachute display that's 10 minutes late, followed by some more MVs!

With all the things that are going on in the UK today, from being told we should 'move on from the past' and a loathing of anything military by the youth of today (outside our hobby) I often wonder if there will be any Rememberance Days after 11th November 2018? And if not 2018 then I suspect they will not continue after 11th November 2045. It's not that I agree they should stop - its just that I cannot see that future generations will care that there great great grandfather or uncle etc died in a war that to them will be as remote in historical terms as the Crimean War is to me. As for the 'small wars' and anti terrorist actions since 1945 with much lower losses, who will remember them in the mid 21st Century?

I bet there must have been a few historic vehicles ruined by the floods up and down the country too

I'm surprised the SOF guy did not call security and get his name and details so at the very least he would be known to us all even if the Police were not involved! Which reminds me I did see that one of the weapons stalls had their white van broken in to at night, as it was being dusted for finger prints when I passed, so if it wasn't the same guy there was another thief amoung us at W& P

It might be an idea to have some volunteer patrols round the place to deter thieving. If they grouped the vehicles more effectively you could get enough volunteers in one area to watch their patch of similar vehicles. (Sadly EMLRA to which I belong were dispersed all over the place this year but we usually look out for each others Kit.) One problem with a patrol would be if they saw someone 'adjusting' something on a vehicle. How would they know it was the owner? Perhaps W&P could write vehicle registrations on the arm bands of vehicle owners and their passengers. But I suppose all this depends on when the thieving is carried out - is it at night or is it anytime and is it mostly carried out on vehicles left after the show?

Mates rates - that's free, plus actual cost of P&P then!

Gutted - I could do with a plaque! I wonder is Rex has a few spares?

I didn't get a programme when I signed in. Perhaps the cover looked just like the outside of the Welcome Pack I received in the post, which I had in my hand at the time?

For many years I have missed out on W&P as I have previously had to take the family away on holiday. But this year I made the effort to get there in my Lightweight - though only for two nights on the last weekend. Having driven down very early from NW London with my mate Paul on Saturday morning, as I was warned of traffic jams, I was surprised that I had a clear run right up to the Hop Farm around 8 am. In fact I did not see any other MV's on the M25, M26 or the road down to W&P. Perhaps the traffic is bad when a) it’s sunny and b) on the first day of W&P. I certainly found W&P to be as massive as everyone had mentioned but I thought it could have been themed a little better in that vehicles of all ages were mixed up. Apart from driving MV's I love to photograph them in as natural surroundings as possible, which I did not always find possible in the fields. I was surprised at the number of civi caravans, cars and campers and multi coloured tents scattered throughout the fields as these got in the way of a good shot. Most other shows are keen to keep civi tents out of the way. These also detracted from some of the camouflaged displays set up MV owners, seeing a portaloo in the background! I did not see any unruly behaviour reported in previous years - no BB guns being fired at random or drunken quad bike riders. In fact I found everyone to be really helpful and friendly; in a few cases moving stuff to allow me to take a photograph. I would also like to say thanks to all those who came over from Belgium and Holland and further afield who were great to chat to. They always speak such good English! Thanks too, to the guy from the Netherlands who gave me a ride around one of the fields on his KettenKrad without hesitation after I said I would love to own one! Certainly the international aspect to W&P is a bonus, as I got to see many vehicles and their owners that are not normally at other shows. After W&P, it occurred to me that I did not get any kind of programme or list of events. In sending in my application I had promised to take part in arena events and yet I did not know when these were to be. I have just been reading of a proposed Falklands event which I could have supported as my LW was used by 4th Field Regt RA in 1982, and the 4th were in the Falklands. At smaller shows you either have a programme or you get a call on the load speaker system. So perhaps someone can explain how it works. Having got an impression from photos of W&P in previous years that the arena was vast, I actually thought it quite modest in size for the number of vehicles at the show. I'd like to drive round it some time and have a good action shot of my LW driving through the dust (rather than the mud). I thought that it was wrong to put the German re-enactors near the arena as too many people in the hills made photography difficult and for some reason the re-enactors displays were out of bounds & remote from the public and not as effective as some I have seen at Military Odyssey. I don't blame the German re-enactors, it’s just the position they occupied. Another impression I had of W&P before I actually went was that as the premier MV show it would be well supported by well known collections such as the Sdkfz people who own the Jagdpanther and half tracks etc or by Tony Oliver from Eton with a few of his rarities but I did not see anything like these. Perhaps they left in the week! The stalls were good and it may be that some good stuff was to be had on the first day but certainly there were a few price reductions on offer on the last Sunday. I won't mention the weather as it’s out of our control but it did not stop me enjoying myself. Overall a good show which I enjoyed so I intend to return.

God knows what I will find as I have never been to W&P before. From some of the posts it sounds like its going to be like the wild west in the evenings with gunfire, beer and women, and it's either going to be dusty or muddy depending on the weather! By the way all you regulars, how long does it take for W&P to process your entry form. I sent mine in a month ago and not had any acknowledgement. I don't want to miss out if they have lost it, as last registration is by 1st July.

Polecat Paul, My 12v GS Lightweight 49HG92 was with 7 Para RHA 1984-1990. Were you with them at that time and do you remember 49HG92? Have you any idea what a bog standard LW would have been used for. I doubt mine was a recce vehicle. All I know is that my 12v GS had a manpack radio fitted in the back. Thanks in advance

Stupid question - but where was the event held? The only Brownsea I know is an island in Poole harbour!

Great photos Just out of interest were there any Land Rovers taking part?

This years show at C.O.A.M was as good as ever, though like the rest of the UK was badly affected by the weather on Sunday and Monday. Luckily Saturday remained dry. I had a brief chat with Editor John Blackman from Classic Military Vehicle Magazine who was there on Saturday to photograph men and machines for a future article on 43rd Wessex Div reenactment group. The star of the show for me was the Daimler Armoured Car, which I have never seen before. The re-enactors were great too. They were very approachable and took the time to explain things to the public who often feel shy at asking questions.

NEW regulations governing the use of child car seats came into force on 18th September 2006. The changes mean that: Children under three years old must use the correct child seat when travelling in ANY car or goods vehicle. Children aged between three and under 12 must use the correct child seat/booster seat/booster cushion when travelling in cars or goods vehicles until they reach about 4ft 5ins (135cms). There is no exception as to the age of the vehicles so it would be illegal to carry a small child in an old WW2 truck without the correct seat & seatbelt and you cannot use the old get out clause that no belts were fitted when it left the factory in 1940. However once a child in over 135cms they don't need a seat/ booster or seatbelt to ride in a vehicle that does not have them fitted as standard. Obviously for vehicles fitted with seat belts only in the front, all these have to be used before ANYONE can ride in the back unrestrained. For anyone with one child under 135cm, with seat belts only in the front, they would have to sit the child in the front on a child seat / booster and belt them up next to the driver. All the larger people could then ride in the back!