horrocks

Have done the CCTV thing, but none we can find locally pointing in the right directions. The Jeep has several unique features, but for obvious reasons I can't advertise them on an open forum. However, if anybody is offered a Jeep or parts that seem suspicious or unusual, I am only a phone call away.

Indeed, and Jeeps are incredibly vulnerable to this kind of thing. Unless your Jeep is in a locked garage or sitting in your kitchen, there is very little to stop someone sufficiently determined from just winching it onto a trailer and disappearing. The British Army in its post-war rebuilds put a makeshift steering lock onto jeeps, and I have also seen eyes put onto the dashboard that allow the gearbox to be padlocked into reverse. Both aren't perfect, but they would at the very least slow potential thieves up. Thanks again for the words of support.

Many thanks for the words of support. We have done everything we can. Police, local papers, facebook, here and the G503, and now an ad in the Jeep section on Milweb. Not optimistic, but fingers crossed. Something might bubble to the surface. Finally, should anyone who is reading any of this who might know anything about the theft, please could we implore to your better nature. This might look like any other Jeep, but it is one with enormous sentimental value to its owners, and they would really like it back. Boris White 07587 099353 or Toby Webster 07762 529410. I suspect a reward for info that leads to its recovery is in the offing.

In fairness, I could barely have been expected to sleep beside it.... OK, not ideal, but I have explained it all clearly. The field is private, closed in by high hedges on a quiet, very rural back lane in a small, close community, without obvious direct access to, or view from, the road, though in retrospect, we (or I) clearly chimped it... I started this thread in the hope that should should anyone in this fairly small MV community pick up any hint or whisper, be offered anything or maybe have even have seen something that could get the Jeep back, then it would have been worthwhile. Thats all. I can understand some measure of scepticism. However, it was almost certainly underinsured, and we are not now altogether sure that it was still insured at all, which makes a bad situation worse. However, this is about a vehicle which has a deep sentimental value to its owners, and they would very much like it back.

Because that route would have taken it past my open bedroom window and around two sides of my house, down a private gravel chase on a farm. Even without my dogs going berserk, it would have woken me.

You are beginning to lose me here. I am sorry that you feel this way. I have appealed for help from the MV community, not abuse.

The latter..

Yes, insured. Not sure of anything, only assuming. Too far and too awkward for a winch, and unlikely that another vehicle could have fitted through the gap they made. The only wheel pressure marks were where a vehicle had been pulled up on the verge, none visible in the field. It was virtually spirited away. Police, incidentally, were uninterested. Apparently all they really contributed was the information that should the vehicle be recovered there would be a charge of £150 before it could be collected. They didn't visit the 'scene of the crime'. The family is understandably very upset. They have had a bad run, and this has rather capped it.

Here it is.. Unfortunately, it looks like any other Jeep. There are however some unique identifying features.

Afraid it was, but an extremely private field beside my house, with no easy access, and absolutely invisible from the road - the thieves must have carried out a thorough reconnaissance. The gate from the field onto the road was pedestrian/horse width, so they removed a section of fence. They then must have pushed the jeep across the field to the access, and loaded it onto a trailer. It was thoroughly planned, and must have involved at least three or four strong men, and some local knowledge.

This morning (we think) from a closed, private field in Bobbingworth, Essex. It is an MB of historical interest, as it came from 387th BG at RAF Chipping Ongar, and has belonged to the same family ever since. Needless to say, this is pretty shattering for the family. The thieves removed a gate from its hinges and hauled it out. It doesn't run, so would have been towed or trailered. If anyone saw a Jeep this morning, perhaps yesterday evening, in the Ongar/Harlow/Chelmsford/A414 area, please could you PM me so that we can inform the police. Better still, my phone 07762 529410

Nick Jeffrey at Smarden will do it, surely http://www.jeffreyeng.com/ Also this company have done numbers of Jeep starters and dynamos..http://www.londonessexautoelectrics.co.uk/ Close to Harlow M11/M25.

The Vimoutiers Tiger is in dreadful condition. It is simply an empty hulk. The torsion bars have collapsed or gone, and it is sitting on its belly on the concrete plinth. The interior is gone, just so much rust, full of coke cans, used 'feminine items' and general rubbish. The exterior is poor, with rusting mild steel plates welded over the engine covers, likewise the hatches, and it has an old and awful paint scheme. All the exterior fittings that still survived in the 1970s have long since been stolen or removed. It really is depressing, and it barely serves any commemorative purpose in its current state - indeed, it belittles what actually happened here. It needed to be retrieved, the deterioration arrested, and to be placed in some form of dry shelter years ago. Some of the Panthers in the Ardennes are apparently in retrievable condition, with intact engines and running gear, and could be restored to one degree or another before they rot away. The Breda Panther was rescued in this way, with the price being that the motor was put to use elsewhere. Surely this is preferable to the total loss of the vehicle. I guess it is all a matter of cost, and some kind of tradeoff is better than nothing at all.

British jeeps had the standard US blackout marker lights retrofitted onto the wings to comply with British traffic regs. I am not convinced that Butler sidelights were used until postwar - I have certainly never seen a wartime photo showing them.

Very wise. Seatbelts are as dangerous when there is no roll bar as their absence is when there is a roll bar. I rolled an MB without a roll-cage a year or two ago, and was thankfully able to jump clear. It happened very easily.

Nick, I had forgotten that I posted that comment. It is the windscreen. It appears to have the standard 1940s/50s British rifle rack fittings. It is not unknown for Brit Jeeps to crop up in the States. Jim Mulligan has an extraordinarily original 50s REME rebuild that has been in the US for years. http://www.g503.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=96&t=136433

Nick, dare I say that your MB has Brit Army features.......