johnwardle

This photo reminds me of the last MVT show at Kemble!

I have been contacted by the BBC, who were put on to me by The Tank Museum, with a request for a tank or armoured vehicle to take part in an episode of the BAFTA award winning science series 'Absolute Genius with Dick and Dom' to be filmed on Weymouth beach on Monday 22nd of August. As I can't think of anyone with a running tank or armoured vehicle that would be available, I'm hoping that someone on here can help, please pm me if you are interested and I will forward the email that I received from the BBC. This is a rare opportunity for someone to have a bit of fun while educating young people. Thanks John.

These documents are current and should not have been sold. The vehicle that they refer to is still in service!! The AB suffix came in to use in 2005. MAN SVR JU37AB was at Warminster this morning!!!

This is old news, MERLIN, Management of Equipment Resources, Liabilities and Information Network, was replaced by JAMES, Joint Asset Management and Engineering Solutions, in 2005! Information is still available through FIO requests. One of my neighbours works at the UK H.Q. for JAMES in Warminster and has provided me with the history of my Leyland Daf and also the Radio Repair body that is fitted to it. This was a personal favour to me, so please don't ask me him to do this for you, please use the FOI option.

So that is what flew over our house last Friday, I thought it was a Hercules at first, then I noticed the higher tail plane. We get a lot of unusual aircraft flying over as we are on the edge of Salisbury Plain.

They are still supplied in the 10 man ration packs! Or they were 6 years ago when I was given a 10 man pack.

Menu 17 has an Oatmeal Block, not sure which other menus have them, I only have a list for menus 11-20. Here are some photos of 2/3rds of my Oatmeal Blocks, the other tin is in my truck and available for viewing at Wicksteed at War this weekend, look for the West Wilts MVT banner

Would you believe that I bought them cheap off eBay? The were advertised as "Survival Food"! Maybe I should auction a tin on here?

Someone that I work with told me that he ate 17 packs of Biscuits Brown in one sitting! He must have jaws of steel! The Oatmeal Blocks in 10 man packs came in tins, I have 3 unopened tins sitting in my shed, no rust on the tins, so they are probably still edible. Was the chewing gum called PK?

Someone that I work with told me that he ate 17 packs of Biscuits Brown in one sitting! He must have jaws of steel! The Oatmeal Blocks in 10 man packs came in tins, I have 3 unopened tins sitting in my shed, no rust on the tins, so they are probably still edible.

Have you checked the museum website HGM.at ? It is in English as well as German, while you are in Vienna try and visit the Flak towers in Augarten, they are very impressive and well worth seeing.

Isn't there another testing station that you could use, with a tester that knows the rules? I have to travel to Midsomer Norton to get my Leyland Daf tested, a round trip of 33 miles, as it is the only place that I can find locally that is big enough to take it. As far as I am aware, as long as you have a booking for an MoT test and the vehicle is insured then you can drive a reasonable distance to the test centre. You do not have to use the one nearest to you. I personally would steer clear of any 'chain' MoT centres e.g. tyre services or 'service centres' as I had a very bad experience at one of these years ago, they failed my XJ6 and quoted £1,000 for repairs to things that didn't need doing.

Not according to the Deactivated Weapons Association website, the legislation is not on the statute books as yet, therefore it is not currently law.

Looking at the recent posts of tanks abandoned on beaches, it seems to me that all internal fittings have been removed. There doesn't appear to be a single wire, hose or anything else visible in the hull. I remember seeing an A30 Challenger at the old Isle of Wight military museum, which had been recovered from a beach, all that was left of it was the lower hull. Was it common practice for the army to strip the internals, or were they robbed for scrap?

I think that it is a FWD SUCOE as well, the wheels don't look right although the axle ends look like FWD SUCOE, probably had later wheels fitted with duals on the rear axle. Definitely an interesting crane, were any fitted to SUCOEs or is it a later addition?

Hi Brian, According to the Malton Gazette & Herald, it is a multi million pound business park, I remember going to what is now Eden Camp in the 70s when it was an industrial estate. The site very nearly became a crisp factory until someone convinced Stan Johnson, who owned the site, that it was historically important and should be preserved, the rest as they say is history. In my youth I lived in Ryedale and worked mostly around Malton & Pickering, which comes in handy for finding somewhere to park when I visit the Pickering wartime weekend, having family in Ryedale also helps.

I don't know what length or the size of the fittings, like I said the Bofors belongs to a friend of mine. I take it the Gillingham you refer to is the Dorset one, if so its close enough to pay them a visit.

Can anyone help a friend of mine who owns a very nicely restored Bofors gun which has perished air brake hoses. He is trying to find some new hoses but he isn't having a lot of luck. The towing vehicle would be a Bedford RL. Does anybody out there know of a supplier of rubber covered air brake hoses in Wiltshire, or a supplier who would do mail order?

This is a bit of a puzzle, according to the book 'British Forces Motorcycles' by Chris Orchard & Steve Madden, only 1 AJS 350, a model 26 was supplied to the war office during WW2 and that was on 26th of May 1940. Unfortunately the engine number is not listed, but it was supplied on Contract C7353 and given the W.D. Number 4191751. I will be seeing Chris Orchard in a couple of weeks time, and I will ask him if he has any more information as he is currently working on an updated version of his book.

A haulier that I used to use transported bare CVR(T) hulls from Bristol Metal Sprayers to DSG at Bovington using. 7.5 tonne trucks with a payload of 4 tonnes, therefore a bare Scorpion hull would weigh 4 tonnes maximum.

Rick, this is the first of a family of 6 vehicles, Ajax, Ares, Apollo, Athena, Atlas and Argus, which will replace the CVR(T) variants. Good news is that when the Ajax family come in to service the CVR(T)s would be sold off through Withams (unless the government give them away as foreign aid).

M47 Patton?

Hmmm! 6 acres of concrete would stand out somewhat, and be rather obvious unless it was on government property with restricted access. Maybe a USAF base? Weren't there a few in 'the eastern counties?

Welcome aboard Alan, have you considered attending Lacock at War on 20th & 21st of August? It's a small site, but as you don't need the beavertail for your new vehicle we can squeeze you in. Vehicle entry forms can be downloaded from our website http://www.westwiltsmvt.co.uk Hope to see you soon John

I remember a Bedford TM with a Detroit V8 that was aptly named 'Somerset Screamer' run by Rode Haulage (from Rode in Wiltshire) in the early 90s, you could hear it literally miles away, in fact I wouldn't be surprised if it got pulled by the police because of the noise it made.