Jessie The Jeep

Dodge Put To Work Again - July 15th The Dodge was back working again on the 15th. I needed some fence panels and posts for the garden and they weren't going to fit in the car. Now that the patio extension is done, I'm moving to working on the boundary behind the garage. I needed two 6ft x 5ft panels for behind the garage and a 6ft x 3 ft for behind the veggie planters. They were just the right size to fit in the back of the Dodge. I also found out that the Dodge was too big for the B&Q parking bays! It didn't take too long to get them home and unloaded, straight into the workshop for painting.

I had an AN-J-4 jacket many years ago and it does look very similar.

There was a firing display by the Wizzbangs group on both days of the show. A few faces from last year were missing, as the show clashed with Ingleton and while that was not a local show, some had gone there. HMS Trincomalee is a Leda-class frigate and was designed in 1812. It was built in Bombay, India and was launched in 1817. After serving in one form or another until 1986, the ship was restored over an eleven year period. HMS Trincomalee, while 52 years younger than HMS Victory, is the oldest British warship still afloat. I was thankful for the doors on the way home both days, but at least the time at the show was mostly dry.

For the second day, I got a different spot, further up the quayside. In the Captain's cabin aboard the Trincomalee, there was a 1940s wedding display.

The displays were spread around the three sides of the quayside. While the museum displays inside the buildings were left era related to HMS Trincomalee, the contents of the shop windows were changed to reflect the 1940s show theme and there were a number of 1940s posters around the site.

Some of the usual guys and displays were there, in addition to some less often seen in our area. One of these was the Royal Navy mine disposal display. In addition to a great talk about defusing a German parachute mine, getting into the diving gear was also eye opening - especially since this gear was used into the 1970s.

Hartlepool Historic Quay 1940s Weekend - July 6/7th At the start of July, I took a Jeep to Hartlepool Historic Quay, visiting HMS Trincomalee, for the museum's 1940s weekend. I had planned to take a Jeep and Dodge on Sunday when Lynne was free to drive, but due to the forecast of thundery showers both days, I decided not to bother with the Dodge. I didn't want to be caught, packing the roof away in a thunderstorm. Instead, the doors were fitted to the Jeep and I took it in the Flying Control markings.

The show ended at 4pm and after the traction engine left, we packed up and headed home. More pictures can be found on my website - https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2024/northallerton.htm

The un-marked Dodge Command Car is one I haven't seen before around the shows, so I don't know if it's a new purchase by someone in the region. It was an early round front Dodge, the same as the other command car which attended.

The next set of pictures show just a few of the many classic cars that were on show. To the North end of the high street, there was also a stage where there was 1940s music and dancing. Wifey and daughter spent some time up there. There were also several trade stalls spread along the street.

The public were there early in their hundreds, so I didn't get a chance to get any photos early on without lots of people in the way. Instead I waited until a little later when the crowds spread out more and also took some selfie-stick pictures on my phone, held up high, over the top of many people.

Northallerton 1940s Day - June 30th It was going to be an early start on Sunday morning, so I got the Dodge out and assembled on Saturday evening. It was around a 40 mile drive to get to Northallerton. We stopped for a short while on the way, waiting for a friend who was going to follow us. However, he didn't turn up and couldn't be contacted, so moved on after 10 minutes ( his batteries had gone flat and the Jeep wouldn't start ). When we got there, it was already packed with military vehicles and classic cars. The military vehicles were parked up at the North end of the high street, while the classic cars were at the South end. Military content was mainly split between Jeeps and Dodges, with one Alvis Stalwart.

I don't remember the hex size, but seem to recall having to work from the top, over the fender, by feel with a spanner to unscrew the whole fitting. A new one will show you the right spanner size to use.

The 'ears' had been twisted off the one on my Ford, so I ordered a replacement and took the whole fitting out.

There were multi-period displays elsewhere in the village, but it was too hot to be bothered to go for a walk. Here's a panorama which includes most of the military vehicles on show. A couple of Jeeps, the Kubelwagon and halftrack were out of shot. I stopped off in one of the country lanes for some pictures on the way home. More pictures can be found on my website here - https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2024/bowes.htm