woa2

Andy Robertshaw has agreed to give a talk at the Aldershot Militaria Society on Thursday 30th October 2008 at 7:30 (Get there at 7pm). Location is the Galpin Hall (Next to All Saints Church), Windsor Way, Aldershot, Hants. He will be talking on his new TV series. If you want to attend, it will cost you £1 donation. If you want any more details please PM me. Look forward to meeting anyone who can attend.

I would very much like a set. You can get my Email address from clicking on my avatar. Many thanks. Robert Davey

A story I beleive is true, is that a great deal of American Airborne equipment was buried in trenches and covered over to dispose of it during the war. This info came from a man who was a Policeman during WW2 and was at Aldermaston where the 101 AB left from (he 'acquired' a pair of boots at the time). The area he mentioned is now the AWE and there is no chance of getting in there, let alone digging.

Actually, I think the Imperial War Museum has it, as they were doing photo reproductions of it once. I know they also have the 'piece of paper' signed by Hitler and Chamberlin in 1938.

Hang on a minute. I thought the one signed on Luneburg heath had the date changed by Mongomery. Is this a copy or a fake?

Hmmm.... I could make a fortune selling these as Motorhomes after the war.

Jeeps would be painted standard US Olive Drab in America and just have unit markings added by the British. Some were camouflaged with Matt Black, but looking at photos, only a very few. Jeeps didn't last long in combat, so why spend time with a fancy paint scheme or changing the shade of green? Check with 'The Wartime Jeep in British Service' by Gavin Birch for details. Austins were painted No.7 Green, I beleve. RR Services paint section made me up some in 2005, so will have the recipe.

My Mother-in-Law was shot in the eye by a sniper with an Air Rifle some 20 years ago when she was standing at her front gate. She lost the sight in one eye and still has the pellet behind her left eye. Police never arrested anyone, but I beleive they had an idea who it was. This all happened in a quiet town centre back street in Reading, Berks.

Colours for PVC electrical wires in vehicles?

http://www.blackanddecker.co.uk/powertools/productdetails/catno/A7150/

What have you got for Christmas? Anything interesting? My dearest Wife gave me a Black & Decker electric adjustable spanner. You press a switch and it closes or opens the jaws. Anybody else got anything interesting?

I have seen photographs of the railings being used as re-inforcing in the concrete of Pill Box construction.

I have 2 Wartime vehicles. The history of both is very difficult to trace. All I have is :- Ford WOT2 - Built early 1943, as I found the serial number under the paint, and I also found an Imperial War Museum photo of another WOT2 of the same contract number (S2019) at Ford in Dagenham with the date written on the tyre. Therefore I can calculate that my WOT2 was built around Easter 1943. I know that it was sold off in 1945 as I found the original Garage that bought it for use as a breakdown truck. No markings on the vehicle, so I think it never had any Army use. Ford WOA2 - Don't know when it was built, but must have been late 1943 or early 1944 as the contract (V5000) was completed then. It had an accident when in Army use, as there was a panel added to the back. When I removed this, I found an RAOC badge and a headquarters badge. It also revealed green, gloss green and sand paint, so I assume it was meant to go to Suez when the accident happened. I know it was sold off in 1958 and registered 12 months later in 1959. It did have a re-registration plate on the chassis. Reasons why British Wartime vehicles are difficult to trace are that Ford have little or no records of production and that the records held by Deepcut only have the serial numbers of the vehicles if you have the post-war re-registration number.

Private Atkins shows that it is possible to do a 'Wheelie' in a tank.

Looks like the radio set-up in the Titanic.

I believe the only difference between the Military and Civilian versions was the Bonnet sides. Anybody know any mechanical differencies?

As a WOT2 owner, I would like a detailed look at the WOT2 in the collection. Who is best to contact so that I can get a 'behind the scenes' look at it? Many thanks. Robert Davey

YES. What part of WW2 and which conflict are you interested in? Colours did change with what vehicle, what manufacturer and what part of WW2.

Bit about Land Rovers in the news. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7140813.stm

Just saw this on the BBC news site. It covers replica blades, not genuine ones, and bans import and selling them. Same laws as replica guns, it seems.

I heard that the British Army would only consider actions in countries that had good Vodafone coverage.

Solid ring around the star on the bonnet is British & Canadian, the broken ring is American. That is the official explanation, but it did get miss-interpreted as the stars were applied by the unit that had the vehicles. It was just to help aircrew see who the troops were on the ground.

I once found a reference in a British wartime Airborne manual to a 4x4 15cwt vehicle being used, but it didn't state what make. It must be Morris or Dodge.

Gentlemen, thank you for your help. He did turn up at the meeting, and I found out that a) I hand his name wrong. It was Crook, not Cook. b) He had recently moved. Your help was very much appreciated.

Can anyone help me, please? I am trying to find Mr Paul Cook who lives or lived in Guildford. We last spoke to him at the end of October 2007, but I cannot phone him on the number I have or find him on Directory enquiries. I need to speak to him today (Thursday 29th Nov) as he is due to give a talk in Aldershot about the Sussex and Surrey Home Guard. Many thanks for any help.