David I

Hi Folks, You here many stories about Jeeps etc being first ashore at D Day, but this Douglas C47, which has definite providance (even if the nose art name is actually misquoted, it was actually "Thats all brothers"), is due for a rebuild as a "modern" turbo aircraft. While it would ensure that the aircraft still existed, it would be changed beyond recognition from the historic warbird that it deserves to be. Hope someone takes it on. http://www.wittmanairport.com/2013/09/what-future-for-d-day-leading-c-47/#more-1175 Dave.

Woud be great though, wouldn't it? W&P 2015, 3 cromwells and a Challenger. Anyone know if anything has happened with the ex IOW one? Sorry if its off topic, I'm just in awe of what you guys achieve. Dave.

You haven't found an A30 Challanger to go with the Cromwells? That would be awesome. Dave.

Hi all. Really interesting thread. A few years ago I was trying to find the fate of the Chorsley Horsa.As far as I know that it members of North East Air Museum were involved in its rescue, and that it went to Mosquito Air Museum. Can anyone confirm this? Afterwards, I was told that it had gone to Holland. Does anyone know if it definitely ended up as part of the Pegusas Bridge replica? My interest is that Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum have a restored Horsa fuselage section (not currently on sight) which had been used as a caravan in Wales, and was rescued by members of 2 Para. Its 17 feet long, but is the rear piece of the fuselage. The Museum was going to get a replica cockpit from the Assault Glider Trust at Shawbury, but didnt have the bit in between. The Chorsley section if combined would have made a complete fuselage a possibility. The Museum at Dumfries has Scotlands only Airborne museum(albeit in a portacabin), and 7th (Galloway) Battalion Kings Own Scottish Borderers, who flew in Horsas on Operation Market Garden were from this area. Any info on this, or other surviving pieces would be interesting. Cheers Dave.

Hi Rob, if you do get the Airborne 6 Pounder, will you be posting pictures? My Dad is ex Airborne Anti Tank (post war, so never used in anger) and looked over your American gun with great interest at Durham a couple of years ago, but as you say it wasnt the same gun. Love to see it. dave.

Only three weeks to go now.

Hi Bryan. The ships in the picture are LCTs (landing Craft Tank) and are like LCT 7074 which is currently semi submerged at Birkinhead (as far as I know). LCT 7074 is the sole survivor of its type to have actually taken part in the D DAY landings, having landed British Tanks on Gold Beach on the Afternoon of 6th June. Postwar it was a nightclub in Liverpool, and then part of a maratime museum collection which folded. It was still aflot until then, but has since sunk,thankfully in very shallow water. My guess is that it wll end up being scrapped, but its a sad fate for a D Day survivor thats lasted another 69 years since. I cant help thinking that if it was in the States it would have been preserved by now. As next year is a big anniversary, perhaps something might happen, but I suppose its not like taking on a Jeep, or even a tank. Dave.

Hi Duncan, I guees that the real significance of the clip is that its also missing its racks. Do any of the Commer Q4 versions still exist? Dave.

Hi All, any further news on LCT 7074? Are things progressing quietly to save her, or is it a lost cause? Shame if something as significant is lost, but I suppose it is very big, and you couldnt exactly take it to MV shows! If anyone was doing it A&P Group Ltd on the Tyne are the modern owners of Hawthorn Leslie, and are ship repairers. They also have a facility at Falmouth, so further D Day connections? I have no connection with the ship or the compay. Id just love to see it saved. I know its pure fantasy, but imagine being able to take something like this to Arromaces. Dave.

hi Geoff, Did you ever find out what this trailer was? Would the dark green paint, and the stencilling relate to a Home Office owned Civil Defence item? Dave.

Hi Duncan, Regarding the Scottish RL, it might be worth contacting the Scottish Military Vehicle Group to see if anyone knows about it. There isnt a big movement of "military" vehicles up here, and assuming that it is in preservation rather than being used as a working vehicle, theres a good chance that someone in the group will have encountered it. Dave.

I wouldlike to invite any interested Forum members to attend our event, the 41stScottish Borders Historic motoring Extravaganza, on Sunday, 2nd June 2013 at ThirlestaneCastle, Lauder Although this is principally a car show, which is organized by the BordersVintage Automobile Club, of which I am a Committee Member, we are interested inall kinds of vehicles, and are definitely Military Vehicle friendly. Althoughour Club cannot claim credit for the award, the Scottish Vintage VehicleFederations Champion of champions Trophy was awarded to a Military vehicle forthe first time ever at our 2012 show. Thiswill be our eight year at Thirlestane Castle following our movefrom Mellerstain House. The show has certainly grown, from around twenty exhibitors in the early years,to over a thousand entries in recent years. Althoughwe were very well supported over the years by both Scottish Military VehicleGroup and North East Military Vehicles Club, by 2006 numbers had dropped to theextent that we only had one Austin Champ attending in the Military Vehicleclass. As a keenMilitary vehicle enthusiast (although, sadly I’ve never owned one yet), and havingdone a bit of WW2 re-enactment, I volunteered to see if I could increase thenumber of vehicles attending our event. I was quite lucky in that the owner ofthe Champ is Alistair Smith, who is an Area Liaison Officer for the Scottish MilitaryVehicle Group, and who lives within a couple of miles of the show. BetweenAlistair and me we have been able to increase numbers with 20 - 30 vehiclesattending last year. We did not just want a row of vehicles as in the car classes, so the Militarydisplay area has vehicles parked as if they might have set up camp for thenight, with tents, nets etc. Our club has been very pleased with the results sofar, and is keen to further extend the display. Ideally it will be a Militaryshow in its own right within the main show. Dueto our location the Borders, the event is ideal for military enthusiasts from Scotland and Northern England to meet up. So far members of Scottish Military VehicleGroup, North East Military Vehicles Club, Berwick& Borders Military VehicleClub, and the Ex Military Land Rover Association also attended. We have also welcomed Re-enactment/Living History displays with 4th Indians Living Historygroup attending, as have Kampfgruppe Schottland, and Western Desert Recce Group. We have plenty of space, and our show does not have any entry fee so itwill not cost you to attend our (apart from the cost of fuel!) The military display is growing. Those who have attended seem to have liked it,and we are always looking for ways to improve it. Although it is part of a car show,it is developing in its own right. Thirlestane castle is situated by Lauder, and is sandwiched between the A68 andA697, so is easily accessible from Southern Scotland and Northern England. North East MilitaryVehicles Club The show is open to the public on the Sunday, but there is a road run on the Saturday(I must admit that the Military Vehicles tend to skip this. Access is availablefrom the Friday with camping available on your pitch on Friday, Saturday andSunday nights (military tentage) or if you prefer modern tents you can pitchthem nearby for a small fee. Facilities are basic, with portaloos and astandpipe for water. Alternatively, there is a fully serviced caravan andcamping site adjacent to the show field, but this is run as a business, so youwould have to pay their rates for that. The show fieldis situated next to the village of Lauder with fuel, itshostelries, and a Fish & Chip shop. For your interest,Thirlestane Castle itself was used as a Militaryhospital for British and Commonwealth troops during World War 1. I hope thatthis might be of interest and that some of you might want to attend. If youhave any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me David Irvine Borders VintageAutomobile Club evelyn@birth.plus.com www.bvac.org.uk

Hi All, are there now several daimlers in 2HCR colours? I saw the the article in CMV, but I take it that this is another. Dave.

Hi All, I see that Commer Q4 RXY 72 is currently on E Bay. Most of its rear boby is stripped. By it now price £1500. Dave.

Hi Rick. I see that somewhere during this tread the Centaur has dissappeared from your vehicle list. Has it been passed to someone else so that another Centaur/Cromwell will be resurrected, or was nothing usable left? Dave.

Hi All A QLD for sale in thr Borders Region? As in Scottish Borders? Don't know of any around here. Any further information? Dave.

Hi All, Strangely enough about three hours ago, I was parked in a supermarket car park when a Vauxhall Insignia pulled in beside me. Its registration was RYX 27. Would that have originally have come from this batch of Commers, and what happened to the original vehicle, I wonder? Dave.

Hi Paul, Hope you dont mind this thread being resurected, but did you take on a BY5 anyway, not the one from the scrapyard? If so, any updates? Any does anyone know if the scrapyard one was saved? There seems to be very little information on this type of vehicle. Thanks. Dave.

Thanks for the replies. The recovery body wasn't chariot type. It was the standard body, but with a bit of a diagonal cut to it, if that makes sense. It might also have been slightly shortened, but it was difficult to tell as the wheels and the rear body are fairly level at the back. I didnt know the registation number, so thats a bit further forward. Many of Kings vehicles were glasgow registered. I remember that one of the tippers in the late 70s was AGG 1S. Always thought that this would be more suited to a butcher! Would there be any chance of posting the picture of it in Tarmac livery? Thanks Dave.

Hi . There is another picture of this vehicle on page 12 of this section of the forum. I seems to belong to a forum member, Skiprat. under recoiless champ ,or something like that. Dave.

Thanks for the reply Rick. Glad if it actually has been rescued for restoration (although if its gone south, I'll never see it. furthest south I've been to a show is Yorkshire) I can see that you might need a command vehicle for your tank fleet! Iooking at the lack of vision though, I bet that if someone does restore it, driving it to a show would be a nightmare. Dave.

HiAll, The old Maple Leaf thread seems to have been lost. Does anyone know anything about the Dorchester in Scotland? Does it still exist? Has someone rescued it? Havent heard of this before. Didnt know we still had stuff lying around. Havent come across any wartime stuff lying about for ages now. Dave.

Does anyone know the current status of LCT7074 at Birkenhead? Most reports are now around two years old. Dave.

Hi All. One of the more unusual D Day craft still to survive is Landing Barge Kitchen (LBK) 6, which is now used as a boat clubhouse at harwich. Dave.

Hi all, I wonder if any of you know what happened to a WW2 truck which used to be owned by the company my Father used to work for. My Father worked as a road roller driver for Kings & Co. Earlston, Scottish Borders, from the late 60s until his retirement in the mid 90s. During all of that time Kings, laterly part of the Tarmac Group, had a Mack NM as their recovery vehicle. It was seldom used but kept in tip top condition and in fact had a spare chassis, wheels and axles, and gearbox stored along side it. The truck wasn't modified much, just the rear body cut down, and a jib fitted. it also had a hard top cab, well fitted so looked original. There was a proper metal nameplate on the front with ANNIE on it. It was painted in Kings brown livery long after all their other vehicles were in Tarmac colours. Eventually, it also succomed to corporate livery. When Kings Earlston depot closed the Mack was transferred to the yard at Gilmeron, Edinburgh. During the late 90s my father enquired and it was still there, but Tarmac have since closed that yard as well. Given that this vehicle was in such a good condition and with plentiful spares up until around twelve years ago, it could well have made it into preservation. So , did it survive, and if so where is it now? Any thoughts? Dave.