M5Clive

I heard something on the Radio 2 6pm news tonight about a WWII re-enactor at a show at Evesham who was very badly burned when a grenade exploded in his hand?

Anyone know anything about this story and/or who is was?

Hi Kev it was good seeing you at Bentwaters today sorry for calling you Dave.

 

Dave from Diss

Thought he was looking in the mirror - Too much sun in Normandy!

Hello to all

 

I`ve been lurking for a while so I thought i`d better register and introduce myself

I`ve been messin with MV`s for about 12 years and love every minute of it (almost)

I currently own a Reo m109 shop/van,hotchkiss jeep,Armstrong MT500 and a m105 trailer

 

Oh and those who already know me will say I have a serious fetish/problem supporting Avro Vulcan Bomber XH558

 

Kevin

And does a good line in painting your hall, stairs and landing if you need a decent coat of Crown Plus 2 and is fairly handy with the wood chisel!

Welcome aboard - You forgot to mention Baxter!

Those shots of the convoys on the beach from atop of the cliffs are just excellent.

Seeing your pictures certainly makes me miss my old Dukw. I never did manage to get it to Normandy.

Fantastic work and excellent progress Howard at the Finborough shed - I'm very envious!

Yes thats right folks!

If you look five vehicle back in the convoy line-up, our illustrious Ice Cream Van driver and "king of the Choc-Ice' himself can be seen as bold as brass!

Shame they didn't caption the event, but a good cover picture none the less.

I think we have an age problem,the oldies dont want to much change and the young uns dont want to live in the past. Something so different as HMVF is bound to be contraversial it flies in the face of convention,wandering off topic,joking,mucking about,And other chatter contains more posts than the vehicle topics.What a mess,long may it continue:yay::yay::yay::-D

I think you have something here CW. I do think that Forums in general and not universally liked by all and probably more so by the old-school. The volunteer committee that form the MVT CoM are 'by and large' those of the more experienced age group - many of which are retired/semi retired (inc. the Chairman) and during my attendance at meetings, probably only one (except me) under 40 - And I don't think he has as much involvement as he used to.

However, nothing is really done to actively encourage younger members to get involved at council level and I say that as a 'youthful' 34 yr old member. Rex Ward (past chairman) tried very hard last year to get me to stand for the CoM, but a combination of bad timing (a baby on the way and a house project about to start), concerns voiced regarding my suitability for a council position by other more-traditional members of the CoM and a personal feeling that I would simply not fit-in due to my desire to want to bring about changes, when the vast majority of CoM volunteers firmly believe that things are perfectly ok as they are, all led me to the decision not to stand.

I know that its all-too easy to snipe from the sidelines from the comfort of our own homes and to criticise and complain about the way our clubs are run by the 'all too small' number of volunteers that commit their time and efforts towards running such clubs and I know that some of my comments may be construed as such. However, some things that the CoM have done I simply do not agree with and I feel particularly strongly about their negative attitude towards anything related to HMVF. On the other hand, I think they are worthy of commending for certain things - successfully gaining all that wonderful gift-aid funding for the benefit of the membership to name one such example.

Sorry, I seem to have gone totally off-topic, but I guess it is all related to the age thing that CW referred to.

Your never going to please everyone of course and to that end, the CoM are in a no-win situation. I just hope that those in a position of decision making will be mindful of the need to keep an open mind as far as pre-judging any potential contender for the Bart Vanderveen award and remember just what the award is in recognition of - Something I feel which has been totally overlooked in the eyes of those who question HMVF's suitability of the award in 2008.

I think remarks about who wouldnt get it if certain people were in charge arn't helpfull and pre suposes a bias that exists only maybe in the minds of people who think it.

Interesting point of view CW. However my view doesn't actually come about based upon a pre-suposed opinion. It was actually determined by my attendance (in my capacity as Area Secretary) at a succession of MVT Council of Management meeting in recent years. It was very apparent from the opinions voiced by some of those around the table that for various reasons, HMVF and its moderators/creators were generally not liked, certainly not remotely respected nor commended for moving the hobbie/movement in a hitherto, new direction.

It proves nothing to mention more details within this thread (and nor will I name names), but I will certainly stress that this was definitely not a unanimous opinion voiced by all council members present by any means. However, what it does prove (relevant to this topic being discussed) is that their has in the past, been sufficient bad feelings towards the likes of HMVF to bias any such level playing field when it comes to deciding upon a suitable recipient for the BV Award and to that end, I stand by my initial comments and reiterate that I am not basing my opinions on a 'pre-suposed bias,' but moreo sound facts that I heard with my own ears, but that will not be found in any minutes.

What a shame (in my opinion) that the nominations are now being dealt with by the two largest Military Vehicle Clubs of the UK.

Jack and HMVF would certainly never have been awarded the Bart Vanderveen award for 2008 if the MVT had anything to do with the final decision.................

I, like the overwhelming majority of those who have entered into any discussion on the subject, whole-heartedly endorsed HMVF's richly deserved award and I know (having met the man himself and driven him aboard my DUKW) that BV would have also approved of Jack's efforts to forward the preserved MV movement in a hitherto, completely new direction.

But now, having read on this thread who's assisting in making the ultimate decision as to who wins the award in the future, I have my reservation.

Great pictures Big Red One!

That takes me back to the mid 1980's when the Nimitz class supercarrier USS Dwight D Eisenhower came into the Solent for a few days. We took a boat out around her on a sunny sunday afternoon and what a sight to behold!

Was also lucky enough to see the Battleship USS Iowa steam out of Portsmouth in 1986? after racing down to the solent after school one evening when we got the whisper she was leaving port. All of those big US Battleship's have either been de-commissioned, made into museums or mothballed now.

The below vid for the tekkies amongst us will prove informative!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1EcdeUyOzAY

I have flown with Peter in the past and I found him his WWII Jeep that he has based down at the Hangar at North Weald. He is a very competent pilot with many hours flying experience and (unlike some of the proto-typical warbird pilots), always has time to stop and talk when you see him at various shows up and down the country.

Maurice Hammond rebuilt the engine for Hurri-Bomb and I did manage to see it during the various stages of its rebuild at EyeTech Engineering.

Here is a couple of picture's of Peter making a text book landing at Maurice's airstrip in Norfolk and I am very relieved to know that he wasn't injured and the damage to the aircraft was (relatively) minor.

Who can identify these two?

I know exactly what they are. They are two old army guns that some bloke a couple of villages down the road from me has kicking around his yard!

Well I thought it was funny!

Me feels a car on the Portsmouth - Caen ferry may need booking for April!

I guess the essence GMC will be a gasoline tanker. Now that could be interesting......

Any idea where in France the auction is?

Dinger has been getting excited over this half track since I can't remember when.

One day he turned up at a show (probably Uffington White horse Show from memory) and say's "I've bought something meaty!" Well that was when I was still at school and having just turned 34, its clearly a long term project.

I haven't seen his tidy GMC on the show circuit for many a can of beans either? Got a lovely shot of it going through the river fording on Salisbury Plain during the 1990 Red Ball Express though.

I hope he's not expecting to get his fleece back that he lent Suzanne at Beltring when it turned cold!

I suppose I could get it washed and aired ready for him..........

Haven't missed since it since it used to be in the old cattle sheds and MVT members got a discount - Now that dates it!

See you there ~ looking to get an elusive picture of Lovejoy selling his tents for the HMVF photo archives............

Welcome to a dear friend from many years past!

Brian, its great to see you here. I haven't heard or seen of you in years, but then now living in Suffolk instead of Marlborough, I'm hardly likely to.

Those were great days we all shared with your late brother Colin and all the GMC's we used to rally in Wiltshire - I remember them with great fondness.

Will type more when its not quite so late.

Regards Clive

They are still out there to be found. Good luck in your search. Here's me with the Autocar grin after unloading (it goes along with the WLF and MUTT grins :-D)

- Mike

 

What are the chances of getting this 'mighty wagon' completed for the next Operation Bolero event in the summer of 2010 Mike??

We would even allow you to lead the convoy in that beauty, as long as Degsy doesn't mind being second!

Hi Folks

Sorry for the delay in acknowledging everyones kind wishes.

I actually got a radio controlled UFO - which I have to say is simply brilliant, if not a little quirky, but then what would you honestly expect.

Also Pat Ware's book on the Red Ball Express, which is an excellent publication, not only because is shows a picture of my old GMC 353 with the maxson turret in the cargo body, but also a picture of ShopNut driving his Dodge Carryall!

Exceptionally well presented M3 me thinks.

A real credit to its owner!

Had some great flights with Adrian over East Anglia aboard the groups Citabria before they moved on to new aircraft projects.

Maurice Hammond's WWII Auster

Maurice Hammond's 1945 P-51 D

Collings Foundations 4231909 B-17 G

Liberty Foundations 4297849 B-17 G

Ken Wakefield's Piper Cub L-4

Unknown owner Piper Cub L-4

Ken Broomfield's Tiger Moth - One week before the crash!

And very, very nearly a Lockeed Constallation in 1997 (but not quite!)

RAF Lyneham's C-130 Flight Simulator

Numerous other aluminium cylinders that fly at 35,000 feet1

Brilliant videos Steve.

The sound of the Radial engine thrashing through the snow really sounds great.

I know that truck from old. It was restored by Suffolk MV enthusiast and HMVF's very own 'ShopNut' many years ago and has been on the rally scene ever since. It was on the 1995 Red Ball Express in Wiltshire and made Bethune in the Par de Calais many times. It was named Mash Wagon after Shop Nut's terrier - Mash.

It always drove a real treat and although it was always a slow Jimmy, it was very reliable and we had a lot of fun in it over the years. When I saw it advertised on Milweb I thought the price was rather excessive, but that said, it is a good original and reliable truck that will give immense enjoyment to its new owner.

A lovely wooden steering wheel as well from what I remember.

As the final days of 2008 draw to a close and with the Press full of doom and gloom, its a good time to reflect on all thats been GOOD about this year - because their has been plenty of it. I will kick things off with a few highlights from our year......

Naturally the biggest highlight of 2008 for us was the arrival of Amelia Charlotte, who can be seen here undertaking a job interview for a rep's position with Birds Custard!

Her she is again, just a few days old showing her Autumn colours.

Route to Victory in Wiltshire was a great weekend in May this year and our convoy routes proved to be exceptionally good fun.

And of course I cant forget July 10th 2008. If you buy this months copy of Aeroplane Magazine the centre spread is a good shot of the B-17 and the Spitfire in formation and I'm on the flight deck!

B-17 owner Don Brooks signs Paul Marriott's original 390th BG history book.

Overflying the original Eighth Air Force bomber base - Debach, Suffolk.

Marinell is airborne for the first time since 1944 - Hardwick Norfolk - July 2008

Ed Abbott (Bolero co-organiser and dispatch rider) ties the knot - August 2008

Its been a busy year and one of many happenings!