Tony Lawrence

What you have all been waiting for. There was a good amount of original green paint still but what we all want to know is what the T number represents. Obviously it is the tank number but can anybody relate it to a particular vehicle and its service in a particular brigade or division. There was also a red tac sign with 51. The ugly person in the tank is Rick who thinks it is his personal property (it probably is - well done Rick)

It is up to the standard of most British newspaper journalism. Why let the facts get in the way of a story.

I must have been dreaming but I thought Suggs was only there for about one hour half way through the afternoon but then of course he must have used his expertise to tell Rick how to proceed!!

The museum is not only WWll but also covers post war so it is in keeping. It is a very good museum with many interesting exhibits.

FYI...seen in the Malta Air Museum about a month ago. It is apparently fully operational.

Look at the pictures of the recovery and the final product!

Yes Simon, you are correct. Elements of 9th AD who used Covenanters were transferred to 79th AD when 9th AD was disbanded (27th Armoured Brigade for example) and so presumably they still had some of their Covenanters on hand to use for training. Speculation unless somebody can come up with more definite proof.

I hate to pre-empt Rick but here are some photos of the recovered wreck. Some photos have been published of the recovery underway but as it did not finish until late at night it was not possible to take sensible photos. With Rick's go-ahead here they are, taken this morning in beautiful sunshine The damage caused by being a hard target is obvious - the only markings that I could see was a tac sign (51 on a red square) and a possible red/white/red RTR flash. Nothing that I could see to correspond with the first Covenanter dug up in the1980's

I'm putting my spare in the bank

Life is too short!!

No swastika on the tail but I know a shop where you can buy them!

Nice thought John but if you look under the mortar trailer the three vertical strips/brackets are at 90 degrees to Ian's ones and so would never be of use to hold the light brackets.

Thanks Richard, I have now downloaded the complete Tilly parts book where relevant and also been onto the Austin A40 owners club spares chap who told me that the last two sets of bits went to Malta last year (apparently Austin A40 and Tilly water pumps were very similar). He gave me the number of somebody who overhauls water pumps in the Midlands somewhere - possibly using a Renault seal that is similar so in the meantime will just watch the water drip slowly when we turn the engine over.

After a long break I am attacking the compressor trailer again and sorting out a couple of problems before trying to start it in the near future using our Murex trailer as a guide to settings, etc. The oil pressure pipe was leaking and so I am getting a new pipe fitted to the old brass olives at each end and also sorting out the leaking water pump. No problem I thought, just telephone Alderton Austin for a water pump repair kit, only to be informed that Austin 10 engines do not have a water pump! So what make is the professionally fitted water pump on my compressor trailer? It is ta same as on our Murex trailer but apparently John Corden's original airborne Murex trailer did not have a water pump. Is it something added by the REME because the older trailers were overheating? I have included some photos of when I took it apart and as it is now in situ. Sods law says that I did not photograph the rubber sealing washer that is probably the cause of the leak. Has anybody any ideas of where I could obtain a repair kit?

I assume the article meant Belsen - yet another factual error

Rick, Try this link http://maps.nls.uk/geo/explore/sidebyside.cfm#zoom=17&lat=51.2418&lon=-0.3415&layers=10&right=BingSat it appears to show a line of a ditch

Rick, here are the copies that I mentioned earlier. For some unknown reason I could not upload them from my computer to a PM. Essentially they consist of a thesis regarding the line of a Roman road, Stane Street where the archaelogists in 1958 thought that they had found a new line of the road but then realised that it was actually the filled in anti tank ditch. The measurements and observations on the map might be of use.

The hole was probably already there as mentioned in previous posts - the anti-tank ditch across the Mole valley between Box Hill and Ranmore

My first car was a 1939 Morris 10 - suitably 'customised' by myself but it shows 5 stud wheels

No, the first I knew of it was when a chap came into my shop and said that I might be interested as they had dug a 'Sherman tank' up at Bradley farm.

Hopefully they will look like this. I have finally found my old slides (dated March 1981), converted them to JPEGs, reduced the size and here they are. One interesting point is the symbol on the front stowage bin (last pic) - it appears to be 79th AD which blows all my theories regarding 9th AD out of the window. Possibly Bovington will have a record of what it was like before they restored it. The fifth pic is looking downwards through the turret opening.

Hi Phil, My condolences - I never knew your father but his influence on the MV world was immeasureable. Tony

Apparently Panda was meant to be a pun on Panzer - who knows.

Several posts ago I mentioned that I had the instruction manual for a Covenanter and a document regarding 9th AD that may have been relevant to the Dorking Covenanter. I am now gradually unpacking all my books and 'bumf' that were in storage due to a severe fire in my work room and stables and so here are some photos of them plus a photo of the original