David I

I remembr Sandy Hunters's Martian. i once walked 4 miles in the snow to watch it recover Sandy's other recovery vehicle at that time, a Mack NO, after it had got stuck in snow at Redpath. At that time it looked as if it was straight out of service, in a bronze green finish. Later, in the mid Eighties the NO was replaced by a second Martian, and both were painted red with light bars fitted etc. Hunters used to be an amazing place to look around for a kid who loved military vehicles. A few bits survived until fairly recently, but now its all gone. I've just looked on Google Earth and the sites totally clear. Wonder where all his vehicles went? That said, a few years back there were lots of ex military vehicles in the Borders. Now, I cant think of any sitting around. Dave.

Hi Ian, What a find. It shows that there is still some good stuff out there. I suppose that the important thing would be to save it initially. the missing parts can be found or possibly replicated later. I see from the restoration blogs that you are restoring a Bedford QL GS truck, so this would be a nice accessory. Here's an extract from the Orbat for the Admin Platoon of a typical British Infantry Battalion in North West Europe 1944: 3 ton 4X 4 lorry GS 11 butchery dutyman, cook, driver IC Tows a water trailer. Dont know what your plans are, but Bedfords are not that common a sight nowadays (very few up here in Scotland), but while not as versatile as a GS trailer, this could make a nice combination, if you wanted anything like that. Regards, Dave.

Hi All. Des anyne knw which Loyd used to be on display at Myerton Motor Museum, Aberlady during the Seventies? It seemed to be complete, and if I remember correctly had a tilt fitted, so I presume that it will still be a complete vehicle. It had gone before the Mutch collection was auctioned off I think. Dave.

The Frigate is HMS Meon. Built during the war as quite a large batch of River Class Frigates, it served with the Royal Canadian Navy. Post war it was returned to the Royal Navy and served until 1966. Dave.

Hi Shaddock. I've just been looking at your Churchill list and amazed at whats still out there. one thing I noticed is the Lowick Home Guard MK11 and the Bovington MK11 are both listed. I think that this is actually the same tank. It was in the childrens play area at the now closed Museum of Army Transport at Beverley, and was loaned to Lowick Home Guard. Some time later, it was passed on to Bovington as far as I know. Perhaps someone could confirm this? Dave.

Hi Steve, having seen your other Jeep and Dodge at Durham both obviously having a definite avation theme to them, are there any similar plans for this one? Or do we all just have to wait and see? Regards Dave.

Hi guys, I've been following this with interest as I encountered a loyd way back in the Seventies at Myerton Motor Museum. its the only one I've ever seen, and I was fascinated with it. I see that Bob Grundy's came from Myerton, but the one I saw was an exhibit. Fully restored and with a tilt fitted if I remember correctly. Where is it now? Actually, at that time (1977ish) they had a couple of Morris C8 Quads, Humber box Daimler Dingo, and a Bedford QLR all sitting outside in unrestored state. The Bedford had stood on a hillside for many years be used as a Royal Observer Corps post. i wonder what happened to them. Dave.

Hi John, Good to hear from you. hope you are all well. It would be great to see you back in 2012. I'll be happy whether its a display or diarama. We'll make the space for whatever you need. Thanks also for all of your suppport in prevous years. Dave.

I wonder if any Forum members would be interested in attending our event,the 40th Scottish Borders Historic motoring Extravaganza, on Sunday,10th June 2012 at thirlestane Castle, Lauder This is principally a car show, which is organized by the Borders Vintage AutomobileClub, of which I am a Committee Member. This years show will be our 40th,and seventh at Thirlestane Castle. Previously our event was held at Mellerstain House. The show has grown from around twenty exhibitors in theearly years, to over a thousand entries in 2009 when we hosted theScottish Vintage Vehicle Federation's Champion of Champions. However, althoughwe have no problem in getting classic cars to attend, many other vehicle classes were dropping away. One of those was Military Vehicles, to the extent that in 2006 we only had one Austin Champ at the show. As I am a Military vehicle enthusiast, and do a bit of WW2 re-enactment, I volunteered to see if I could increase the number of ehicles attending our event. I was quite lucky in that the owner of the Champis 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 I we have been able to increase numbers with 20 - 30 vehicles attending last year. We did not just want a row of vehicles as in the car classes, so the Military display area has vehicles parked as if they might have set up camp for the night, with tents,nets etc. Our club have been very pleased with the results so far, and are quite happy to further extend the display. My thoughts are that I would like to see a Military show in its own right within the main show. Situated as we arein the Borders, it would be a great place for clubs from Scotland and NorthernEngland to meet up. So far members of Scottish Military VehicleGroup who last year brought their club shop, and collected for BLESMA, Berwick& Borders Military Vehicle Club, and the Ex Military Land Rover Association also attended. From2010, we added a Re-enactment/Living Historydisplay and 4th Indians Living History group attended (collecting for Ghurka Welfare Trust), as did Kampfgruppe Schottland, and Western Desert Recce group. We have plenty of space, and the Committee is fully behindthe idea, although sadly, there is not a budget to specifically develop thispart of the show. Having said that, ourshow does not have any entry fee so it will not cost you to attend our show(apart from the cost of fuel!) I hope that this event will grow. It is still fairly small,but the few who have attended seem to have liked it, and we are always lookingfor ways to improve it. Although it is part of a car show, I would like to seeit develop in its own right. Thirlestane castle is situated by Lauder, and is sandwiched between the A68 and A697, so is easily accessible from SouthernScotland and Northern England. 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 available from the Friday with camping available on your pitch on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights (military tentage) or if you prefer modern tents you can pitch them nearby for a small fee. Facilities are basic, with portaloos and a standpipe for water. Alternatively, there is a fully serviced caravan and camping site adjacent to the show field, but this is run as a business, so you would have to pay their rates for that. We are having entertainment in the marquee on Saturday nightand a barbeque (food and bar are not free). If you don't fancy that, we arenext to the village of Lauder with its hostelries, and a Fish & Chip shop. For your interest, Thirlestane castle is owned by the Maitland family, who have a strong military background. One, Field Marshall SirHenry Maitland-Wilson originally coined the phrase "Any damn fool can be uncomfortable". Sadly, one of the family, Viscount Ivor Colin Maitland, died during the North Africa Campaign while serving with theLothian and Borders Horse Yeomanry. The castle itself was used as aMilitary hospital for British and Commonwealth troops during World War 1. I hope that this might be of interest and that some of you mightwant to attend. If you have any further questions, please do not hesitate to contact me David Irvine Borders Vintage Automobile Club evelyn@birth.plus.com http://www.bvac.org.uk

Thanks for the replies. i didnt realise that the had so many different roles. I take it that the command tank would be the variant which squadron commanders used? I take it they just had extra radios? Did I mention that it was British variants I was asking about? thanks Dave.

Thanks for the replies. i didnt realise that the had so many different roles. I take it that the command tank would be the variant which squadron commanders used? I take it they just had extra radios? Did I mention that it was British variants I was asking about? thanks Dave.

Hi All, I've been browsing through a few books tonight, and have come across pictures which include Shermans which have an extra aeriel next to the lap gunner, lockers on the rear of the hull (Lee/Grant style?) and what is possibly framing for an awning stored on the rear hull. They also had what I assume were reels of telphone wire on the front of their hulls. Two of the pictures suggest that they were ordinary tanks but used by the Major in charge of a Squadron of tanks, while another has two sitting back to back with each other. Just wondering what they were used for, and how different they were to standard gun tanks. Any thoughts? Dave.

Hi Chris, I'm pleased to see that this OY has survived. The previous owners were a friendly family, who used to attend our car show at Mellerstain every year, in the markings of HQ Royal Engineers, 50th Northumbrian Division This OY having been restored, was on its way home from our show one year when a BMW? travelling too fast collided with it causing considerable damage. However, it was stripped down and rebuilt again. Does it still have two folding steps on the tailgate instead of the usual one. If so I supplied the spare step, my only real contribution to restoring a WW2 vehicle. Regards. Dave.

Hi All, I'm certain I saw an ad on Milweb last week for replica jeeps with Toyota running gear. anyone know about them? Dave.

Strangely, when film makers tended to stick crosses on anything to make it German, during the real Operation Market Garden, when the SS recce unit attacked the bridge, their leader Grabner had a captured Humber armoured/scout car. But this was substituted by a strange Half Track in A Bridge Too Far. Wonder if it would be possible to digitally stick in scenes using the OT810s and replica SD KFZ 222s which appear at War and Peace now. Dave.

Hi All. I'm curious as to what kind of trailer is being used. Is it a "16 ton trailer" mentioned in lists for moving plant in Royal Engineers Field Plant Companies? I'm sure that i have seen a picture with AEC Matadors towing trailers like these with Cat bulldozers on them. Dave.

Hi all, it would be great to see these trailers saved, but wouldn't it be a shame to rescue an original piece of kit from WW2, and then convert it into something that didn't exist in reality. Couldn't homes be found with Diamond T owners within the MV community? It might be nice to see a classic engineers display at events? Dave.

Hi All, The ex Beverley Churchill did indeed come North, to lowick, just south of Berwick on Tweed. it did not belong to Beverley and was loaned from the National Army Museum, I think with a view to it going into a new museum(could be wrong on this. I was actually offered a Harrier on the same basis at the same time again owned by the National Army Museum). The Churchill is however now at the Tank Museum and has been externally restored. Dave.

Hi Eddy, If you need to look for stuff by magnetometer, why not speak to any local aviation Archaeoligists. They are not like time team guys. They just look for aircraft crash sites (like my mate in carnwath). Most are interested in metal detecting, and usually someone in the group possesses a magnetometer. Most are connected to aifcraft museums etc and work on goodwill, as do people in this hobby hopefully. Dave.

Hi All. Stobs possibly could have been used as a base for Trent. It had its own railway station with the biggest sidings on the Waverley Line so this might have been the easiest way to get a quantity of tanks into the middle of nowhere. Even today, Stobs isnt an easy drive by car let alone tank! There are lots of rumours of sunken tanks/armour in the Borders, as i stated earlier in this thread. One guy I spoke to even told me that a Humber scout car was sitting on a local farm. This was in the late eighties (Hangingshaws?) but I cant see how one would have been left there. A friend of mine does claim to have found Sten guns at Stobs in the past, but I cant corroberate this. Dave.

Hi All, would a "support tank" be the 95mm gunned version (Mk V?). There were two attached to the HQ of Churchill equipped Squadrons? Theres one in Australia, and a wreck somewhere in England, but I believe they are rare. Dave.

Hi Steve can you confirm that you recieved my PM/s? Thanks Dave.

Hi Guys, I had a visit from my mate from Carnwath today, and showed him this thread. The area you are looking at near the A70 is about 10 miles out from where the tank is. You are looking at a range near Kirknewton. IWe looked on google earth and found the control bunker, and I noted the co ordinates at the bottom of the page: 55(degrees- cant find the little o on my keyboard)45'00.03''N 3(degrees) 32'09.73''W Elevation 359M. If this means anything, you should find the building. The tank would be in this area. Dave.

Hi All, It might be of interest to know that there is actually a 1/76 kit available of this type of vehicle. Its made by B.W. Models and is kit No BW58. Dave.

Hi All, I;ve not seen anything about M16 half tracks in British service. I have heard of M14s converted to ACPs etc, but the M16 at Eden Camp is/was in 11th Armoured Div colours. I have seen another down south (possibly at an IMPS event)in a video, and the artwork on the Matchbox/Revell Comet kit illustrates one. So were they actually used? I thought that anti aircraft tanks disappeaed after D Day, and thought that LAA batteries had Bofers guns. Any thoughts? Dave.