Tony Lawrence

The idea of the Home Guard having tanks sounds like an unmade "Dad's Army" plot?

 

jh

 

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

The Times , Saturday 27th May 2017

 

 

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!!

Its post war 1960s same as I one I've just broken :cry: only just come out of service I believe, very wrong if its in a WW2 museum.

 

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.

Anyone know if the wheels are same size as centaur or cromwell? Any pics of Suggs?.

Possibly a silly question, is the interior filled with spoil?

 

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

Well done to everybody involved in this recovery. Looks to be a challenging restoration but it seems that the parts required are out there. Am I seeing things or is that a 79AD Bulls Head on the previous Covenanter recovery - and why...

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

£176.71 :shocked:

 

I'm putting my spare in the bank

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/182448529585?ul_noapp=true

 

Its a start if you can get it for £50 ? chassis has been cut down & I'm not sure its got the correct hubs / axle ? but spring hangers are correct.

 

Life is too short!!

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

Hi Ian

 

Lots of good original parts on this one. Interesting to see where the side lights had been fitted, as that possibly explains what those vertical steel straps were originally designed for.

 

The trailer was built by Reliance (who had contract this S4833 for 10cwt G/S trailers).

 

Believe that X numbers between 5443370 and 5443469.

 

I have a spare set of trailer wings in very good condition, if you are interested.

 

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.

Hi Tony

Here is the pump from the Tilly parts book. I can see the Austin utility prefix, 1G on your pump casting. Hope this helps.

 

regards, Richard

 

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?

A friend who is too stingy to purchase the magazine reads mine. He has pointed out that the article on the Wasp flame thrower carrier was used at Auschwitze to destroy the inmates sheds. This we think is an error as the camp was liberated by our then allies, the Russian army and to my knowledge the Wasp was not used by them.

 

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.

Do we know why they were buried there? Seems to be a lot of work, dig a hole, shove three (?) tanks into it & backfill.

 

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

Tony, I assume from your comment that's the one that went to Bovvy. Did you get any photos of the ones that were put back? Might be handy to know exactly how bad they are...

 

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.

i have arranged to see the vineyard owner this week for a face to face meeting.

 

i have a feeling i will be digging up tanks for xmas

 

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

no kidding, those manuals are amazing.

 

I have to ask though, A Panda for a combat unit mascot to Strike fear into the enemy? , not too many people are deathly afraid of Pandas :-D

 

Hey Rick I hope your Divining rod is in good shape

 

So according to the article, there is definitely one more there " in really bad shape" that they left, and maybe as many as 2 more on top of that in unknown, un-dug condition.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]120369[/ATTACH]

 

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

Hopefully also we can compare the engine with the one on my Lightweight compressor trailer (see appropriate thread). having stripped the engine, re-ground the valves and seats we have a good spark but when the plugs are fitted they won't even ignite Easi-start. Now we have an engine that apparently works we might be able to do something or see where we have gone wrong with the compressor trailer engine. Also I have sent off for what may be some sort of manual from the National Records office at Kew (or it maybe what I already have - I won't know until the end of the month)

However, all in all another recruit for the Surrey Trailer Trash group