jchinuk

"After the Battle" (http://www.afterthebattle.com/) are (were) the publishers, but they don't seem to mention W&T on their site. jch

Duh! jch

The lights and reflective triangles suggest a trailer designed for UK roads? jch

I'm confused, isn't this show in Essex, so "going North on the M5" seems wrong to me. jch

Will they have to make the gift shop bigger? On a serious note, if there is any large movement of vehicles to another site (even another location on the Duxford site) surely any costs saved over the winter will be minimal? jch

I wonder what will be regarded as the "winter months"? Surely the Christmas period is relatively busy for example? I agree that I don't quite understand how much money will be saved assuming some heating is kept "on" and I wasn't aware there were lights anyway :-). The museum seems to regard the LWH as an unwanted embarrassment, all the effort seems to be concentrated to the Eastern eand of the site. jch

Good point, contemporary accounts suggest that a fair number of people thought that the Russian Revolution would spread across Europe, which was certainly the aim of the Soviet revolutionaries. jch

The only survivor is the one in Ashford, Kent, which houses an electricity sub-station! :shocked: Thankfully the 'Ashford Tank' is now under a cover. :-) I have read that only 'female' tanks were donated to towns that had contributed to tank funds during the war. The tanks had the guns removed and were disabled, in the post Russian revolution period there was concern that these monuments would give any potential British revolutionaries access to armoured vehicles! In reality most town had scrapped them by the thirties. One odder post-war use of WW1 tanks were the two fitted with seats (on top) and used to give rides in Southend-on-Sea in the early twenties. It must be remembered that the tank entered into popular culture after they were revealed to the public.

The US used helicopters for casualty evacuation in Burma, Hanna Reitch (sp?) the German test pilot used to fly early Germany helicopters INDOORS as a party trick in the Thirties, she also test piloted rocket fighters like the Me163 and flew in and out of Berlin during the last Soviet assault. jch

Ah, that's Jamie 'Mockney' Oliver's food police, a different branch of jobsworths! jch

As I suggested above, I wonder if this has ever been tested in court, after all, when I buy a car or picture I don't "own" the copyrights? jch

illuminate! Illuminate! Illuminate!

From memory the Cromwell / Centaur were unpowered (or should I say not runners) and towed by a hidden cable. jch

I tend to agree, though I think Lincoln Cathedral (and possibly others) still offer a 'photo license' for a small consideration, which makes sense as they don't charge for admission. jch

Thanks for all the responses, I understand the restrictions on active bases, though the Hawkinge museum is in the middle of a rather souless housing estate! Having said that, I've taken photos (with permission) inside Luggershall, Ashchurch and the D&M school at Bovington, the only concern was that the photos did not give the positions of the buildings, a concern rather negated in recent years by Google Earth! I recall the RAF Museum at Hendon had a "no flash" rule at one point, though that was apparently because flashes were triggering the fire alarm, but photography was still permitted. I'm not convinced by the 'flashes cause damage' excuse, possibly if the flashes were constantly repeated over a period and the same museums often leave stuff outside to fade anyway. Some museums feel there is a "copyright" issue, but as far as I am aware that is just one interpretation of the current law, and unproven in court. What seems petty and pointless is the ban on note books. By the way virtually all the exhibits at Hawkinge are replicas anyway. jch

I found the following on the website and adverts for the "Kent Battle of Britain Museum", "In keeping with common practice, on grounds of both security and copyright, we regret that no cameras, video recorders or any other types of recording equipment (including notebooks) are allowed in the Museum." For a start I'd argue fairly strongly that it's not "common policy", the only other museum I can think of is the "Cars of the Stars" museum, but that issues with film and TV copyrights. It's the banning of 'notebooks' that I find most amazinf, what if someone has a photographic memory, do they get a brain wipe? jch

I'll bow to recent knowledge, I was talking a few years ago regarding the Crusader. I forgot to add that some items (notably 'Kitchener's coach) is at Chatham as part of the RE Museum's 'large exhibits' collection. jch

The old MoAT collection, which was essentially "owned" by the NAM has been dispersed. The railway items have gone to railway related collections, the 'cutaway Crusader' on it's railway wagon is at the NRM in York, the narrow gauge rolling stock is at a railway in Lincolnshire. A lot of the one-off vehicles are at the REME reserve (not open to the public) collection at Borden. Some armoured vehicle ended up at Bovington. No sure what happened to all the ex-Iraqi softskins and artillery. jch

I visited the NAM once while it was hosting a 'London Fashion Week' event, some galleries closed and set out as "cat walk", though there were a lot of very tall young ladies about the place...:nut: jch

I'm only a researcher and model maker, pending more space!:nut: Main interests are British and Allied military vehicles of all periods. Great forums. jch