Snapper

I totally agree, they seem well worth a lot more coverage. There isn't much - but the author Tony Banham is close to publishing a book on them. He is based in Hong Kong and written two books about the Jap invasion and associated nightmares. He also runs a stunning website called Hong Kong War Diary. He's agreed to do an interview. I just have to get my brain round the questions! MB

Here are the graves of Gray and Newnham and a GV of the cemetery. It is such a sad place. There are graves of little children and even one which is just for an unidentified skull. There is a fine monument to Chinese soldiers who have no known grave.

Here are three of the graves...of Fraser, Ansari and Ford.

There are five posthumous George Cross recipients in Stanley Cemetery on Hong Kong Island. They were all either shot by firing squad or beheaded after months of torture and starvation having been arrested for their involvement in the British Army Aid Group. This was a clandestine organisation set up to smuggle in drugs and food to prisoners, organise escapes and distribute news. A good many members of the BAAG were executed or died in captivity and they were by no means all white european men. Colonel Lanceray Newnham, GC MC, of the Middx Regiment and BAAG was fifty-four when he was executed on 18.12.1943. Flight Lieutenant Hector Gray, GC AFM, was thirty-two when he was executed on 18th December 1943. He was the holder of the Air Force Medal having been a crew member with the RAF's Long Range Development Flight which broke the world distance record when flying from Ismailia, Egypt, to Darwin, Australia; in November 1938. Captain Douglas Ford of the Royal Scots was executed by firing squad on 18th December, 1943. He was arrested on 10th July. Forty-seven year old John Fraser, GC MC & Bar, was Assistant Attorny General of the Colonial Service in Hong Kong. He was executed by firing squad on 29th of October, 1943. He operated a clandestine wireless service for the covert British Army Aid Group while a prisoner of war. Following his arrest he was subjected to months of torture and starvation before his execution. He won the Military Cross twice in the First World War serving as a machine gun officer with the Royal Scots Fusiliers in 1916 and then with the Machine Gun Corps in 1917. Captain Matreen Ahmed Ansari, GC, was 27 when he was beheaded along with over thirty other prisoners at some time between 20th and 29th of October. In May 1942 he was arrested by the Japanese because as the son of the Begum of Hyderabad, the Japanese attempted to coerce him to denounce the British in favour of Indian nationalism. He was tortured and mutilated during this time but refused to give in. He was arrested for organising an escape attempt in May 1943 and suffered five months of brutal torture before his execution. He never renounced his alliegance to Britain.

This is a bit different. Good call. I had a miserable time trying to get Bundeswehr plates for my Iltis and gave up when it became apparent that the German government forbade reproductions of them without an EU flag logo. Thus ruining the whole effect. They were easy enough to make - but Mr Rick W took the thing off me and gave it some love. MB

Welcome to the Friendly Forum. That is something else, Rob. Looking forward to seeing it some day. Have seen unladen version at Beltring before. Looking forward to hearing about the rest of your kit. When I restart research on HMVF's MV guide in the New Year I will have to speak with you! MB

Thanks Carmen! This all sounds right up our street. Read away! It all counts. MB

Looks like the base of a French police riot helmet from the 1960s to me. The comb up the middle is pretty typical. The French fire brigades used them as well. I don't think it is Swiss - but their 1960s type which followed the M1918 type (which looks like a German helmet on steroids) are popular with mediaeval re-enactors who convert them. Used to be tons around, cheap as chips. You might found some with a built in hook for hanging them. Very smart. I don't think this is Russian, but they did have combs on some of their designs - as discussed. MB

All looks good, many thanks!!

I think you'll find the Taiwan regime are fairly unpleasant, however "democratic". They are the vestiges of Chiang Kai Shek's reign and the corruption, theft and oppression were pretty awful - a bit of a much of a muchness with the PRC but without the smiling Mao fridge magnets.

Is that transporter a KRaZ? Fantastic looking thing. Look good with the BMP/Tatra on the back, eh Neil!!!! :cool2:

Yes please do! PM me when you're ready. We like all this variety. I am keen to see "old" military subject books of all kinds, reappraised or newly discovered, given space on the reviews section as additional features for our growing empire. If it is possible to get an illustration of the cover via amazon or somewhere, that would be grand! MB

Welcome to the Friendly Forum. You have an interesting collection there. When you get time, it would be nice to see some snaps of your motors. Cheers, MB

I'm already securing permission to come for several days. The MUTT is a bit too new, but I'll probably be bumming lifts to do my snapping as on Bolero if anyone actually wants my stuff (Container Weekly; Cage & Avary Bird;Daily Sport; Hackney Gazette; Walthamstow Guardian that sort of thing). I will definitely seek better accommodation than the back of my Toyota this time. I'm too old for all that - but Barnes The Younger will have finished his college course by then and claims he'll be coming, so we can camp somewhere. The event clashes with my wedding anniversary. Senior management says I can still go...............I'm bewildered.

:rofl: Sounds right to me, young Tone. My MUTT didn't spin, but I did push the suddern turn means sudden death thing on one occasion. No damage and all four wheels stayed on the tarmac. I am enthused. The Satnav was alseep. MB

Aah, so was it you I got the plastic bits from via Mike? Very kind. James and I are in two minds at the moment. We think we could play with the front to make the plastic bits fit, but I like the originality of the thing. I do need a butt plate. To recap, I bought a metal one which does not fit in any shape or form, so I will get a plastic/rubber one to do the job. Up close the thing is obviously a lump of wood and iron. But it is just really cool in an odd way. You will see that there is yet another version of the L85 about to hit the desert. They've added a new foregrip and picatinny rail to it. It's been under test - but I've seen it looking pretty standard in recent snaps from Afghan. There will also be a lot of new kit, so expect even more of the older desert cam, body armour and GS6 helmets to be in the marketplace. MB

I have a modicum of Christmas spirit- even though I'm getting a letter in January inviting me to fluff off from my employer of 23 years. In honest truth, they might ask me back in very short order; so the will he-won't he thing is driving me a little more bananas than I normally am. I took the MUTT out for a spin yesterday and the simple truth is that all the problems just fade away when I am behind the wheel. I wish good things for all our friends on HMVF and send special greeting to those in difficulty in these rubbishy times. No names, no packdrill. You are in OUR thoughts. MB

Good to have you here, Nick. Mind the gum trees when you're parking that lot. Taking vehicles upstairs in the clubhouse is definitely a no-no. I didn't even know we had a second storey. These yanks know everything... BTW - I have had contact with the Tall One. He is alive and well and swamped with work. Bless him. He hopes to be back round these parts some time in 2009. Good... MB

Welcome to the Friendly Forum. Make yourself at home and enjoy all the stuff and nonsense. The Biker Grove is open for business and the lads in it will be more than happy to swap knowledge with you. This is the place to be.

Hey Dave, You made it here at last! Good man. Good to see you at Beltring . You've come to the right place, even though you'll find Clive and Paul here from time to time...

Phil, keep us informed on this...sounds like a hoot. MB

Wish I was at home for Christmas... Great song. Good call.. The semi-classic Shipbuilding by Elvis Costello is about the Falklands. I prefer Robert Wyatt's version which is really haunting. You can also look for his nutty acapella (I can't spell it Tony B) gem Stalin Wasn't Stallin' - but I haven't been able to find it on iTunes or anywhere like that. The single 45 cover was a picture of a huge pile of German helmets. This is circa 1980. The classic Goodnight Saigon by Billy Joel is wonderful and made me think he'd been a marine in 'Nam. No. The great Steve Earle brings us Johnny Come Lately - about a P47 pilot and a bit more with the help of the Pogues and he continues the white trash theme with Copperhead Rd, which comes from the album of the same name and includes the previous track. Then there is Al Stewart's The Road To Moscow - a curate's egg about the Russian Front. I liked Two Little Boys when I was a kid and have every respect for Rolf Harris, I once spent an afternoon in a pub watching him explain how to spit long distance mouthfuls of lager into a glass. I assume the Aborigines used the methods to catch frogs or Rolexes, who knows?

These will be some of General Juin's mainly colonial troops who cut a swathe through Italy in more ways than one. The sp gun is a little gem. It's a Semovente, I think. I haven't had time to look it up and pretend I know what I am talking about. The other set of snaps were missing when I wrote this - I am referring to the main snap, of course. Not the collection. MB

Here's another GV of the cemetery. I was looking out for snakes at this juncture.

Pte Owen William Fox came from Hong Kong. 20. 3rd Coy Hong Kong Volunteer Defence Corps.He was just twenty when he died on 19.12.1941 while serving with the 3rd (Eurasian) Company. He was not allocated to a specific platoon within the company. Major Leslie George MBE served with the 11th Sikh Regiment. He was thirty-two when he died on 28.09.1945.