Snapper

Welcome Bob. We like variety here, so fire trucks appeal. Enjoy the friendly forum.

Welcome to the Pleasure Dome, Peter. No Panzers IN the clubhouse. Mind the gum trees and keep your feet off the furniture. Otherwise do what you like. Rules and regulations pending.... Enjoy.

If Joris let you in, then you must be in the right place. Rules and regs pending...meantime don't touch my custard creams. Be happy.

Nice to see you here, Graham.

Bloody good post, Mike. Thanks for doing this stuff. MB

There used to be one behind the long gone junk shop on the Bell roundabout on the old A13 junction with the A176 in what was then the Peoples Nuclear Free Republic of Basildon.

Good

Wasn't this something Clive was putting together in the west country? Sounds like a fantastic idea. Interesting to see what all the negatives are. Damage to the carriage way caused by tracks springs to mind. I can't see it happening but would be pleased to be proved wrong. Too many killjoys out there in power. MB

Good stuff JB..you jammy basta...

Dear friends, I will be in Hong Kong in a couple of weeks time and have every intention of visiting Sai Wan war cemetery. There are 1,100 Brit Empire graves there. We are hoping to have an hour to have a good look. If anyone has anyone special buried there and would like a grave snapped, please let me know. I do intend to plant somr RBL crosses for us all. If I can get to Stanley as well, I'll be a lucky man. MB MB

The rifle is stored at the moment. Need to get much in Barnesworld working. Maybe even me. I want a deact, but need the ££££. Not selling many pictures at the moment and Mr Murdoch has his axe poised at the day job.

Welcome to the friendly forum, Hope you find lots of interesting stuff here. Your fleet sounds very interesting. Lots to keep you busy,,, Clubhouse rules will be posted for you soon. This involves Newbies doing the cleaning for a while..and no shinning up the gum trees or eating the moderators biscuits, Someone will be along to explain in due course. MB

This has huge appeal..will check my work schedule. MB

I actually thought I was agreeing with the idea of stocking up on the "old" books because too much accepted history is fogging our minds. If we read all the 1960s histories of the Great War by extreme opportunists like Alan Clark or even the milder stuff from Lyn MacDonald, we would miss out on the wider picture. So I agree, it is important to read Liddell Hart or anyone else. He's a bloody good writer anyway, and in his specific case; he has suffered from being downed by the men who had the fortune to live longer than him who didn't agree with or like him. I've been reading old books off and on. By that I mean the Paul Brickhill stuff and am about to start one of Monty's books. He knew all about revisionism - but I choose to read HIS words and not Nigel Hamiltons again. A classic case of taking care is if you read anything about Rommel because we loved him. Try reading The Trail of The Fox by David Irving. All the British are idiots. It's a bit like watching Galipoli, whether deliberately or not you come away with the notion that only Australians died there. Subjectivity and Objectivity run a little close at times. So we should all keep up the good work. Thanks for doing the review, Paul. We should put it up front and I invite and encourage EVERYONE to dig out the "old" books - even the likes of the Longest Day or Reach For The Sky and give them a once over for a reappraisal - you'll generally find they are still bloody good, but guilty of being old. As always they were written for the audience of their time and not ours - because we are oh soooo clever aren't we! - and we know everything. Tony - the thing about the colours has never left me since I heard it. Thanks a million for bringing it back to the surface. Teamwork makes this forum a happy home. MB

By the look of the jeep I'd have to say it is American made. I think it is brilliant - what a find. What is it made of?

The big problem we are all suffering is the revisionism and modern histriography about the war, it's causes, etc etc. Shakey Paul quotes Liddell Hart, which is "old" history with his twist, while you might find yourself reading wholly newer works or watching stuff on TV. At the end of the war, winning the history was as important to the victorius protagonists as much as it was about real politik (which hadn't been invented in 1945). I think it is good to follow Paul's example and read the old books which offer an evaluation prior to much of the documentation being released (especially in the UK) and then the modern stuff, revisionism and all. I think Chamberlain was a weak politician. But his motive for Appeasement was to save his country and europe from another war. It has merit, but not if you are Czech or a Pole. We have been lead down the path that he was some kind of wimp idiot, suckered by the knave Adolf and that he bears a direct responsibility for the war. This ignores the rampant political chaos in France - the superpower - where as it tried to rearm, the unions were sabotaging factories to halt tank production - amongst other things. Chamberlain was a pragmatist, he knew the west was not ready for a war. But of course he would have been seduced by the propaganda of burgeoning German militarism creating a huge unbeatable army for all time. Chamberlain and co had seen what the Fascists had done in Spain with modern weapons. They had every reason to be poo scared. Britain, of course, hid behind - or counted on - depending on your viewpoint - the Royal Navy which was twice the size of both nearest rivals. But the writing was on the wall for powerful fleets devoid of air power. Tha Japanese, too, were pragmatists and intensely dangerous as their culture and system went into meltdown. They could see that a still weak Britain could not hope to fight a war on two fronts and an alliance with Germany would help their ambitions. I would imagine they still thought their primary enemy would be the United States, and so it proved. MB

It is a bit cock if they were happy to explode it at Shoeburyness just a few miles from Southend and only three from the still very dangerous wreck of the Richard Montgomery. Unless they planned to steam the explosives out. Maybe it was a Tallboy instead of a Grand Slam?? Dunno.

I'm going to have a look at my other two over the weekend. Maybe do some snaps if time allows. I'm supposed to be playing with the MUTT and looking for bathroom stuff. Management will decide. This has been a great thread. Educational and fun. I'm glad I asked. Power to HMVF.

twenty-one again....

Wasn't it £300K?????

I need bigger specs... so three are pip squeak and wilfred. the 1914-15 star, the victory medal and the war medal. I have no clue on campaign medals. My grandfather was an ERA for grey funnel in the 1st war and all he got were the three standard medals. MB

Nice one JB, I'm glad we got you into this place. I missed this trip - JB and I spend a lot of happy hours out in Flanders and on the Somme. JB has taken to WFA membership a little more proactively than me (I just turn up and win the raffle) and has been very busy with his sister, producing a book on the boys of Southend High School who fought in the Great War. He's a pretty average snapper and a terrible dancer; but he can cook a mean beer butt chicken if coerced. MB

Will try and do some pics if time allows. This is fascinating. I'll have to look at the other two as well. The tin hat corner seems to have come to life...:-D

Too small for my knackered eyesight...sorry. If this is WW2 then three of them may well be the Atlantic Star, the Victory medal and the 1939-45 Star. My father in law, who was MN had 39-45 Star, Victory Medal, Atlantic Star, Africa Star and one other I cannot remember, it might be Italy or France and Germany. Will check.

I should think so, what would the shareholders think? Probably explains why the French are buying up all our power companies - revenge... :cool2: