ArtistsRifles

PS. i must just state that as area secretary of the North Oxon and Cotswolds MVT i would be thrilled and delighted to stand down to anybody whatsoever with whatever vehicle they owned, if anybody else would volunteer to do the job. AGM at the end of this Month. Will i still have the same job this time next Month? I bet i will.

 

It's quite simple Tim - keep your ears open at the AGM and next time they say "volunteers one pace forward" - make sure you take one pace BACKWARDS with the rest of them!!!! :-) :-) :-)

Ouch!!!! :-(

Please, please, please can the claws be drawn in on this one peoples????

Some good points were made in preceeding postings about the need for including all vehicles balanced against the requirement for "period" events but getting into a defined "them and us" words match does none of us any favours. Now or long term.

Yes, it would be nice if more people could share the burden of organizing events - I'd love too but don't have that amount of time. What spare time I do have is concentrated on keeping little Maud up and running so I'm thankful for the events that are there and that we are welcome too.

I've never tried working on a Jeep or GMC but from postings I've read on here access is relatively good and parts relatively easy to come by. Please correct me if I'm wrong on this folks.

Compare this with trying to get parts for any of the FV600 range of vehicles - or trying to do simple jobs like clutch and throttle hydraulics. Hanging upside down like a myopic fruit bat only follows actually finding the part required. But we do it nonetheless so vehicles from the 50's through the 90's are still available.

Purely on a personal level a jeep or GMC doesn't really interest me because I'm an engineer not a historian and it'the mechanics that get my interest; in addition I've no interest in dressing the part to suit the vehicle era and I suspect if I had managed to get hold of a DUKW I'd probably be as welcome at "period" events with that as I would be with the Stalwart because I would not be dressed in age related attire.

All this said - would it really, really be so hard, provided an event was not specifically themed for a certain era, to welcome all who are prepared to use their time and money to get a vehicle there for the public to enjoy by arranging the vehicles on display by period?? Or to try and balance the themed events with inclusive ones??

Again - speaking for myself - if an event were publicized on the forum that was:

1) Within comfortable driving range - say within 50 miles of base for a W/E event

and

2) I had no mechanical problems prevented attendance

3) I had the money for the fuel

4) The wife hadn't booked us to be elsewhere in the diary

Then I would do my level best to attend. I'm sure other post -war owners would probably say the same though!! this was only my first season attending events with a vehicle - but from what I've seen the post-war equipment such as the FV600 series drew a goodly few people looking and asking questions.

Perhaps those who do have the time to organize events might respond to a polite request for post-war inclusion to be at least considered in future??????

(If any one does manage to organize a post-war trip back to BAOR - stick my name on the list please!! :-) :-) )

Edit: post was meant to follow SafariSwings.... Some one beat me to it though!!

Could you imagiune the "fun and games if the dartford crossing were to be boycotted and all that traffic either hit the M25 heading west around Heathrow way or tried to get through the Blackwall Tunnel - outside of congestion charging hours of course!!

I suspect the word "gridlock" woudln't even come close to describing the resulting chaos! :-o :-) :-)

Excellent choice Jack - well done!!

Thanks Lee - makes for interesting - if depressingly familiar - reading!!!

Might have known Phony Tony & his Cronies would have found a way of stuffing the motoring public again........ :-( :-(

Got this from a friend tonight:

Does anyone remember that the Government of the time said it would be free to cross the river at Dartford once the crossing was paid for? I do. However, that promise has been very conveniently binned.

 

The Government are now proposing to increase the charges to reduce congestion - What complete and utter rubbish ! Where else can people cross ? Oh yes, the Blackwall Tunnel, of course that doesn't suffer from congestion does it!!!

 

 

Click here http://www.kentonline.co.uk/petition/ to sign the Petition against the price hike in toll charges.

As the Dartford crossing is the only really viable place to cross the Thames en-route to Beltring and points South for us and for the M25 traffic in general I think it's time the promise made by the Gov't years ago to remove the fees once construction costs had been recouped should be put in place!!!

How say you all?????

I reckon they should be sent over to Essex to be vetted for authenticity!!!

This will obviously be a difficult and dangerous job for the person doing it but in the best traditions of military insanity - I'll volunteer to do it!! :-) :-) :-)

Get something British m- not enough of them! Everyone and his dog have got an American MV! :-)

 

 

.....is this a banning offence anyone?

 

What - having American MV's?? Probably...... Especially if they are all WW2 and not post-war!!! :evil: :evil: :evil:

Just took a look an the MVT page - if I'm right then out of 10 vehicle pictured only 1 is post war, the Saladin, far right on the bottom banner.

Could be a contentious issue this one..... :-o

Speaking personally - and not for any one else - I would love to be able to afford a WW2 vehicle - but the ones that "float my boat" as iwhere, DUKW's, are so far out of reach they might as well be on the moon. So to be able to have an MV I've gone post-war with the Stalwart and theres no regrets on my part.

I've also been exceptionally lucky in that Lee, John (FV601) and Stuart (Saracenstump) and the other ladies and gentlemen from the AMVG and Essex A&S have "adopted" me and little Maud here in Essex from day 1 as it were so there are events I can go to in company, always having a willing volunteer for the Commanders seat/hatch, where post war vehicles are welcome! :-) :-)

Some form of guard - lights perhaps?

I thought it was the First WW that was the family argument?????

Never knew Hitler was related to the Royals???? :-) :-) :-)

Is the photo in the correct orientation - or should it be rotated 90 deg anti-clockwise???

Nice photo's Lee. Much credit must go to your granddad for his compassion in taking them for the families involved.

As regards the colour of poppies - well, the original flowers that grew in the shot and shell blasted fields of Flanders were red and this is why the poppies sold for Remembrance Day are red.

And why they should remain red

The group currently trying to get white poppies sold is a "Christian" group (quotes are mine!) called Ekklesia. There is a report here:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/6131464.stm

The orginal intention of the group Lee refers to in the 1930's might well have been to promote peace and unity. However in this day and age of political correctness, spin and rewriting/ignoring history I'm deeply supicious of any attempt to change a single factor relating to the Remembrance day activities. We already have church vicars deciding not to read the names of the fallen during the Remembrance service!! See http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/north_east/5399292.stm

If I wanted to drive at 40 mph I'd just pull a few plug leads off the V8 :-D

 

Or buy a Stalwart!!! :-o :-o :-o

Think you are right there Neil, we should all get together next year for a weekend or two :-D

 

Great!! Now we just need to find a date before SWMBOAAC fills the diary up again.... :-o :-) :-)

How about organizing a HMVF tour of the museum then Jack???

Interesting reading - but I cannot conceive of the UK in general, and Churchill in particuar, giving credence to the proposed peace plans at that stage in the war!!

My gawd - Worzel Gummidge and Aunt Sally!!!!!!!!!! Now that brings back memories!! :-)

Thanks Jack!!

Case for a multi-meter or shunt???

Jack, other than the publicly announced changes to structure due to defence expenditure reviews (read cuts) and a few personal anecdotes here and there (along the lines of "how do you deny access to an ammo dump for 24 hours - use a bottle of superglue" - no names, no dates, no locations) 21's (and 23's) operational history comes under the same rules etc. as 22's - not public domain.

Some of 22's op's have come into public domain because Army pay is poor and former members have taken the difficult decision to take the money for their stories. This is not usually a problem for 21 and 23 because members have their civilian pay rather than depending on the whims of T.B. Liar and his minions. The only real "insider story" for 21 is "Quiet Soldier" by Adam ballinger and that only deals with the rigours of getting through selection and is considered by some required reading before attempting the process.

Hope this helps!

Wow - that X-box one is a cracker!! :-) :-) :-) Thanks Lee!!!!

(The water one was good too Paul - just a bit on the long side.....)

Potted history of the Regiment now up on the Wiki.

Hopefully this is not necessary but - please do not ask for details of the regiments history post july, 1947, thanks,

No probs - I've got a regimental history around here somewhere.

One little gem for you though - the regimental structure of the three SAS regiments is unique in the Army in that 21 (Artists Rifles) regiment is the senior regiment in the SAS and not 22, the regular regiment - not a lot of people know that.......... In my day too the suffix denoting a TA regiment was shortened - e.g, the normal form was like 151 Regt RCT (VR) whereas we were known as 21 (Artists Rifles) Regt SAS® or 23 Regt SAS®.

Absolutely correct in my day Mrs Hardy Ferret - it was only possible to transfer into 21 (or 23 if North of Birmingham) from another unit. However I'm told they will now take direct civilian entry.

Contrary to popular opinion though the mega-fit aren't the ones most likely to pass selection/continuation - yes, you need to be fit to undertake it BUT you also need to be able to think on your feet - fast. Not upsetting the Directing Staff was also considered a good move :-)

I think they would have been Clansman units - they turn up on eBay or have a nose on MilWeb.

Vehicles would have had the VRC321 or the VRC322 or the VRC353.

Units would have had PRC320 or PRC329 or PRC350/351's

As ever though - I'm open to correction here as it's been over 30 years since I was last around these systems

any questions:)

Just the obvious one - where do we meet up??? :-) :-) :-)