Snapper

Good work, Jack. Have I missed them - or will you post more of your Normandy pix to cheer us all???

More than happy to attend any social gatherings after a day "in the field" getting my hat run over by tanks, attacked by wasps, sniped at bychildren with bb guns, mugged by my own son for money, knackered, assailed by women looking for lost dogs, people wanting their pictures taken (just ask), etcetera etcetera etcetera. I think I can just about manage a not too nuclear curry and some hops related fluids. I think that's a yes.

finale

Back again...last batch.....

Wonderful. I really like the shot of the moving jeep taken through the rear "window" and the shot with the Churchill. Lovely stuff.

I've got a snap of it somewhere, John.

Count me in. Are we having a dining in night?

I got a new Indiana Jones hat to replace the one run over by a CVRT in the Beltring arena last year. I wish I'd used the old one (I had with me) at Kelvedon on Saturday. I got bad sunburn on my bonce which I am definitely NOT supposed to do thanks to previous encounters with the surgeons knife. My Mrs also bought me an Ipod. I asked for a Bren Gun.

I don't even own a tent. This will be remedied in the weeks ahead. I am camping at Beltring this year and will be winging it to say the least. I'll be in the showers queue like the rest of the hordes. What a way to meet people! My wants list for bits and bobs is endless. But the shed is not the tardis.

I've got a few more snaps to add but SWMBO chucked me off the home PC last night to do some work.

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My turn....

This is a chief reason I bought the Iltis. Four proper seat-belts. One happier wife. I don't suggest it is a reason for everyone to buy one; but if anyone new to the hobby is thinking about it, then a modern-ish pig ugly motor with above average spares availability PLUS the seat-belts is a definite selling point. AND NO.....I'm not trying to sell mine.

My gang of four had a good day on Saturday. Thanks to Karl for the kit sale and all the info for future use. Great to meet up with the Johns, Lee, Neil, the Ians and the Daves from this forum. Sorry if I missed anyone else. I'll try to redress the issue during the rest of the season. To be honest, I did take a few pix and I will post some up, but I didn't make much effort. The worst snap I took was of my own motor. Did anyone get a decent one??? I think the event has enormous potential. Spread the word - the site is enormous and very pretty in places. The turnout was great - plenty to look at. Re-enactors - come and see what you're missing. Loads of room for trenches and all kinds of stuff. There is no reason why Kelvedon could not become an essential event in the calendar. It is for me already... Many thanks to everyone at Essex Armour and all the other helpers.

The gate records the names of 54,000 men killed in the Ypres Salient who have no known grave. The named deaths date from 1914 to roughly the 16th August 1917. Unfortunately there was not enough room on the monument to record the further 34,000 names from late 1917 to the Armistice and these had to be put on a new memorial built at Tyne Cot. The gate stands on the site of an original entrance to the city and was opened in 1927 by Lord Plumer, a popular general with the troops. The Last Post ceremony has been held there every day since, barring the period of Nazi occupation. The very day the Nazis quit the town, the towns people held the ceremony.

If I'd had my brain working I'd have corrected this caption. The Demarcation Stones in Belgium DO have different helmets to reflect the three allied armies represented. But in France they all have the standard French helmet. According to Before Endeavours Fade, the most recent edition has been thoroughly revised; there are still 95 of these stones left from the 119 put in place. Interesting. I'll have to look for more.

And finally....a bog standard view of the Menin Gate - Meenenport in Flemish; and another view of the Last Post. The RBL are to the fore here. You may be interested to know that the group of British squaddies at the back had General Service Corps cap badges, but were led by some maroon beret wearing old sweats. I hope you've enjoyed this ramble. I will start looking out some previous stuff. I think the Scottish band from last summer deserve an outing. I can still hear them! all the best, MB

The famous Pool of Peace at Spanbroekmolen was originally called Lone Tree Crater. It was made when 91,000 pounds of ammonal were blown during the assault on Messines Ridge on 07.06.1917. Sadly for the Royal Irish Rifles they were ordered to advance too early and caught the full force of the blast and falling debris. The victims are buried in Lone Tree cemetery which has been described as the most beautiful in Flanders. Certainly, it has stunning views. You can see as far as Armentieres and Ploegsteert and even as far as the coal slag heaps over near Loos. The Pool is owned by Toc H, when we were there a cluster of very bored Belgian girls were waiting by their car. They had the distinct look of "You brought us all this way to look at a duck pond" about them....

Another view of the Lettenberg dugouts. There are four. It was a British headquarters. Two have been cleared out, but the others are full of earth. The facades look great. The best view is from the road; but access is easy. While we were there a squadron of typical nutters on bicycles came whizzing by just like Eddie Myrcks. The pix from Kemmel show the French memorial again and the ossuary there which contains the remains of 5,200 Frenchmen, only 57 of whom have been identified.

Here are some more pix from Lijssenthoek. The grave of an American soldier from the 105th Infantry Division, David Stanley Beattie; some Germans and a British nurse Staff Nurse Nellie Spindler, aged 26, from Wakefield. She served with 44 CCS and is one of only two British female war casualties buried in Belgium. The inscription on her grave says A Noble Type Of Good Heroic Womanhood. There's also another view of the closely placed headstones.

Here are two final views of Toc H. The garden is amazing. The notice - Come Into The Garden and Forget About The War is one of several scattered through the place that reflect Tubby's unconventional style and sense of humour. These days they come as fridge magnets at 2 euros a pop. I bought one.

more views of Talbot House. It really is as peaceful and as wonderful as it looks. The chapel in the loft is reached by some pretty steep stairs. A good many men chose to be baptised or confirmed there while they could. There are many amazing artefacts and the whole place is full of ghosts. God Bless them, every one.

As requested, here are some more pictures from Flanders. The first batch show Talbot House in Poperinge; the famous Toc H. When I was a kid in London I was a scout in the London branch of Toc H, it was where the founder Tubby Clayton lived. He died in 1972, which was the year I started going there. He was only a short little fella, but he won the MC and was obviously a determined and caring sort of man. I've heard a few allegations about his other "interests" which are not for this forum - but they go some way to perhaps explain things about my scoutmaster! But Tubby deserves his place in heaven for Toc H and it is gratifying that the institution mattered so much it was kept for us all to use and admire to this day. It costs 8 euros to get in,