M5Clive

Very interesting reading and thanks very much Steve for posting this.

I was at the East end of the airfield watching all the aircraft that had performed in the 'Balbo' land back in and witnessed this incident first-hand.

The following quote from the report surprised me:

"A flight test was flown in the overhead of the airfield in various configurations and at

various power settings, including in simulated approach conditions, and the engine performed normally."

I was sat just beside the new AirSpace hangar that morning when Miss Helen performed these tests overhead the airfield and on one pass, she sounded to me to be running very rough indeed - So much so, that I watched her acutely, expecting the prop to stop turning any minute!

Alright, so what do I know sat down on the ground when the report is compiled from the opinions of the guy in the hot-seat? Nonetheless, I am used to seeing and hearing various Mustang's nearly every weekend throughout the show season buzzing around this area and none of them ever sound like Miss Helen did at Duxford that Sunday morning!

Thanks again for posting.

What were you using as the towing vehicle Clive?

Renault Traffic - In hindsight, something not quite heavy/man enough for the overall train weight of the Chrysler, trailer and van combine - which although had nothing to do with the actual 'snake experience' as described on the radio, probably wouldn't have been a pretty sight if we had needed to stop sharply in an emergency!

On a similar theme my boss said to me today, "Christ, 8 million listeners tune into Jeremy Vine on a daily basis - Couldn't you have said that you were towing a trailer full of domestic water softeners instead of an old car?"

Incidentally, our business specialises in supplying and installing water softeners!

The offending article............as mentioned on Jeremy Vine yesterday.

Yet another shining example of why HMVF is so worthy of its Bart Vanderveen Award and is clearly gaining the praise and respect of like-minded individuals far and wide.

M5 Clive ?

Not as some may think an allegiance to the motorway that runs from the west country to Brum, but moreso the MV that I owned until March of this year - Pictured Below

Ok, to be strictly correct it should have been M5A1, but what the hell. Sadly it had to go when we needed funds to build the following.................

Ok, so I should now change my HMVF Name, but WillowCottageClive hardly has the same ring to it!

I'm guessing Chicago George spent the most on traveling to Bolero tbh...

Indeed - those B-17 Flying Fortresses are thirsty beast at altitude!

I think I said (so long ago I forget) that the 2 x original petrol engined Diamond T's that drove down from North of Brimingham to Route to Victory at Ramsbury and who drove both convoy trips and drove back to Brum spent close to £1000 collectively on fuel for the wagons.......

.....and that didn't include the cost of the head gasket that blew half way to Wiltshire!

We could have one hell of a good time, doing something that has never been done before and we will follow the lead that Clive D Stevens does by laying wreaths of thanks at relevant places.

 

As much as I would like to take the credit for much of the work involved in organising Bolero, Gathering of Eagles etc etc, (which I believe has given Jack much inspiration to front this new venture,) I must however give the full credit to Ed Abbott for setting the principle of laying wreaths at the historic places that our convoys have stopped in the past.

Where have you bin all this time? (In fact thinking about it, don't answer that question!)

Welcome to the mad-house......

I know exactly where you are both talking about, but I'm not sure its the exact spot. The escarpment looks just a bit too steep and I'm not sure about that yellow shrub - I'm not familiar with these kind of bushes in the Kennet Valley locale. Do you know what type of shrub that is Jack?

Having said that, it does look very much like the area of Ramsbury Airfield where the living accommodation was sited. If it is the same place, the bank on the left (further around the corner) was built upon with living quarters quonset huts and even the land in the distance appears to be in the correct position......

Its a superb find on Joris's part and I will get Neil to view it and give his opinions. The picture is in fact so good, that I initially passed it off as a modern re-enactor shot!

I think this shots below shows the valley that you are both thinking it is but of course these pictures are taken from exactly the opposite direction.

Ed Abbott keeps the Route to Victory Convoy moving forward........

Steve Silburn with his International M5A1 Half Track from Suffolk leads the convoy through Ramsbury Airfield.

Many thanks one and all for the offers of help and for commitment to the event at this early stage - I will start to make a list of those owners who are wanting to attended from HMVF.

Ed Abbott and myself had another informal get together/chit-chat last night about the 2010 bash and are bouncing around some great ideas between us. We have come up with two possible regions/locations to base the event around:

1) South Suffolk/North Essex taking in eight USAAF bases of the 3rd Air Division

2) North Suffolk/South Norfolk taking in up to 13 (but probably not all of them) USAAF bases of the 2nd and 3rd Air Division.

My gut instinct at this stage is to run with the South Suffolk option but nothing has been decided. Both areas have pros and cons, advantages and dis-advantages. The truth of the matter is of course that their is no right answer!

We have discussed some ideas below:

All social activities to take place on-site.

Up to Five Day event incorporating a separate on-site social day.

Parking on concrete, camping on grass. Consider paying a farmer to sow a grass area adjacent to concrete ahead of time - instead of crops.

Lottery and Sponsorship funding.

Appropriate aircraft to land on a suitable Drome within the Bolero Zone.

Previous Bolero 2007 entrants given preference to book-in.

Entrance Fee - (Proportion deductible upon arrival) to include cost of T-Shirt and plaque.

All for now.

I beleive they were made locally to me in Woodley, about 2 miles from where I live in Reading.

Found this quote on another link re-affirming that fact Robert!

"This was filmed in the summer of 1976 in Woodley, nr Reading - I was 8 and watched it being filmed. They put the crossing in especially for the filming, then took it down the following week. Matter of fact - it was a dead end!"

No need to go to the Winter Rally in Belgium this year - Its just come to us!

The view from our bedroom balcony - The industrial units in the distance are built upon where the B-17's and B-24's parked - (Hardstandings.) Imagine working on readying a heavy bomber for a mission in the winter of 44 in these conditions - And they did.

I remember that you were the Windscreen editor when our family first became involved in the MVT in 1989. The magazine was A5 size and compact enough to fit into my school bag, alongside my books, without the pages getting nurled.......!

Back then, as now, the Area Reports were a major part of the 'club journal feel' about the magazine. I well remember Chris Wilkinson as Editor in later years devoting a complete page of the magazine to one sentence in bold print - THIS PAGE COULD HAVE BEEN USED FOR THE 28 AREA REPORTS THAT I NEVER RECEIVED!

How times have changed.

But wouldn't that require a drop of fuel in Jack's wagon to negotiate a puddle of that size?

By the way, does anyone know the chap (Phil Plumb) that wrote those 15 pages of write-up's on events that he has attended - I quite enjoyed them!

In my last communication with the Windscreen editor over 12 months ago, I was told that article's submitted by members would only be allocated a maximum of 5 pages. I am therefore wondering if they are now getting a bit short of voluntarily submitted material and are happy to overlook this previous ruling in the interests of filling the pages.

I wouldn't mind, but it makes a bit of a mockery when one individual can take up 15 pages of the magazine, (irrespective of how good or bad it is), but Area Secretaries are ordered to write no-more than 900 words or 600 words and one photograph to detail half a rally seasons activities - Hence the reason why I tend not to bother doing an Area Report unless I feel particularly inclinded.

This isn't a criticism of Phil Plumb's worthy efforts, just an observation about a possible 'one-rule-for-one' scenario.

Excellent Calendar produced by Peter Hamblin by the way.

As we intend to make this a five day event, somewhere in the middle of the event, we intend to hire a coach (or two if necessary) and doing a tour of the local area WWII aircraft crash sites.

I find this particular area of research very interesting and I cannot convey enough details to all individuals drivers and crews of 60 + vehicles on the move, nor can we halt a convoy of this size at some of the relevant sites, due to the space this number of vehicles would occupy. Therefore, I propose to conduct a guided tour of this nature by coach for those interested parties. We would also visit the crash/belly sites of a couple of aircraft that bellied-in on return from the October 10th Munster mission in the locality - Sound good?

We also intend to have a much larger communal tent/marquee at Bolero Base HQ for the greater interaction of all participants. One positive spin that came from Bolero 2007 was the way friendships were forged between likeminded individuals, many from HMVF, who up until Bolero had not actually met each other and knew each other simply as screen-names. The Bolero HQ Tent worked really well, but ideally needed to be bigger with slightly more facilities - This is something we intend/hope to improve upon, but it is of course all subject to funding being available.

Any thoughts on any of the above?

Its all happening in 2010 then!

I organise WWII themed events (or as Jack calls them experiences) because I have a passion for WWII vehicles, the era, the nostalgia, the history behind it all and the social element to the hobbie via meeting like-minded people to myself who share the similar interest.

If I was passionate about Bedford RL's, Scammell Explorer's, Saladins and Saracens I would get off my backside and organise a similar styled event to 'Route to Victory' or 'Bolero,' but themed around the British Army in the late 1950's and probably base the event at Lulworth in Dorset, Layburn in Lancashire or Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire.

When oh when is a Post War vehicle owner/operator going to stop kicking-up a fuss every-time a pro-active individual who has the desire to run an event/show/experience (call it whatever) aimed at solely WWII vehicle owners actually going to organise a comparable event, but aimed at the era of vehicle that he/she chooses and that of what they personally enjoy and what satisfy's them?

Don't bleet at Jack for wanting to do a WWII Tank in Town event - Its his graft, his heartache, his time and effort and his decision as to what, where, when and who is eligible to participate - Just like myself when I stuck my neck out with Bolero and Gathering of Eagles and was not prepared to back down upon or compromise.

Ok, so you don't like a HMVF event being planned under a HMVf flag that excludes some of its members by default, because they happen to own a vehicle that does not fall within the remit of the historical context of the event. Its a pity, but thats just how it is.

However, if HMVF were to organise a show called 'A commemoration of the BAOR in the post WWII years' and invited members to attend the event only if they had a suitable vehicle of the period, that was indeed used by the BAOR and excluded M5 Stuart tanks and US Army Chrysler Staff Cars (of which I have owned both), would I be getting hot under the collar because I didn't have a vehicle suitable to participate? - Would I hell.

If I felt strongly enough about it I would do one of three things:

A) Obtain a vehicle that allowed me the eligible to join in.

B) Attend the event by car and jump in with somebody who did have.

C) Watch the convoy event from the side of the road and marvel at the spectacle.

Ok, as I've said before I'm not a diplomat and as you can see I don't look to fence-sit on this debate, but its just the same old argument being thrashed out again and again by the vehicle owners/collectors of the post-WWII-era machines. Ironically, It might interest you to know that the first vehicle I ever had a hand in helping to restore was an Alvis Saladin, as my Dad was a driver of these vehicles in the Royal Wiltshire Yeomanary in the late 1950's. The first Tamiya model I ever built properly was a Cheftain MBT and I still have it upstairs. The first tank I ever rode in was courtesy of the Kings Royal Hussars at Tidworth in 1989. Contrary to what people may think I am not actually anti-Post-War-Vehicles. Dad's cini-films of his times as a driver in the RWY were a firm family favourite growing-up at home as a youngster, but through choice, I personally get immense satisfaction at collecting vehicles and organising events based around WWII themed events/commemorations.

Each to his own I say, before we find our hobbie being dictated to us as to just what we can and can't do - Not dissimilar to how our government is rapidly dictating to us in much the same manner!

Conclusion? Channel your energy into organising events that satisfy you - Just like I started to do along with my brother and father in 1990, when as new GMC owners we embarked upon our first 'Red Ball Express' convoy event in Wiltshire.

Am now going to bed with my USAAF Flak-Helmet beside the bed tonight awaiting the ensuing barrage!

- PS, can we have a dated t-shirt this time please!!

 

What and risk not being able to sell the remaining stock after the event is over???

 

No seriously, a good suggestion and one that I will be sure to incorporate!

Please try and stick to the original theme of the thread - i'e what do people want from Bolero? From the look of the above comments, it appears the answer is 'pictures from 2007!'

Good point about the school holiday though - Eleanor's school is clamping down on unauthorised absences also, so its worth baring in mind, particularly if we decide to go for a five day event.

Duxford's biggest draw back is the fact that they shelved the two day show in preference to a single day event as they do not allow camping - I think this is IWM policy, as we have the same battle over Flying Legends in July.

This will always limit entrants however, (especially those from overseas that regularly used to attend the big MV events as Duxford in years gone by) as some people don't always want to travel serious miles for a single day event.

That said, the show has definitely been on the up in recent years and I'm sure it will continue to flourish - but in answer to your original question, my reply would be that in my opinion "any show of some stature needs to be a minimum of two days duration and to provide provision for overnight camping."

I think Grandfather rights will apply in both cases!

In a recent communication with HMVF regular contributor N.O.S. he made reference to the fact that his ambition is to get his Autocar tractor unit pulling his USAAF Gasoline trailer to the next Operation Bolero convoy event..........Well this has set me thinking.

Jack (Award Winner) Beckett has also advised me that he would love to own a semi-unit of some description and bring it on the next Bolero.

Now the infamous duo of 'Abbott and Stevens' are willing and enthusiastic to organise another Bolero event and we have already thrown some of our own ideas into the melting pot - But this is just the very early stages.

Our initial thought is that the event will take place in the summer of 2010 - There is simply too much going on next year what with the Normandy Anniversary and Market Garden. Another thought is that we make the event longer, possibly five days, as the three day event last year was great, but could have been greater.

But the input I want from you guys is 'What do you want out of the event?' I'm not suggesting that we can implement everyones desires or ideas, but its worth throwing peoples thoughts into an open forum. We naturally have our own ideas about how we see the event working and (lets face it) we do have a good track record of success for delivering shows/events of some uniqueness..............and this one will be no exception.

I have some of my own ideas and one thing that does give me personally a buzz is implementing period aircraft into the mix at suitable opportunities. I think this worked well in 2007 what with the Boeing Stearman at Parham and the P-51 at Hardwick. I would like to build upon this theme for 2010, but aircraft cost serious cash and we would need sponsorship of some strength - Not necessarily easy in the current financial climate.

I also have a thought that the event would attract such a level of interest that we would have to limit the vehicle convoy participation to a maximum of 100 vehicles. Lets face it, we had some 80 vehicles last year and with the good publicity and follow-up interest that followed, I don't think we will struggle for entrants.

Then there is the question of an entrance fee! This is something I personally bitterly object to and will not take any of my vehicles to an event that commands that I pay an entrance fee (mentioning no names - War and Fleece!) But then again, is Bolero actually a profit making show, organised for the purpose of money making or is it a unique event, which actually puts an enormous amount of work (over 12 months planning) on the shoulders of the organisers, all for no financial benefit, but for the personal satisfaction that is achieved when the event all comes together and is pulled-off in the best possible style. This is a difficult one and something I have no defined rigid opinion on.

Over to you guys - Sorry but you know the score - Suitably appropriate WWII Allied convoy vehicles are the order of the day and I'm not up for discussing this old chestnut again as we have thrashed it out a million times. This has always been billed as a heavy haulage convoy event and we will naturally give preference to big wagons as apposed to two dozen Jeeps! (Please don't take offense Jeep owners!) Everyone is welcome however, but if you don't have a suitable vehicle to participate, double-up with someone who has!

Questions:

Who wants to come?

What vehicle you want to bring?

What do you want out of the event?

What do you consider is a fair entrance/administration fee (if any)?

How many days duration would you like it?

What time of the year do you want it?

Any other points you consider relevant.

Just including a few photo's below to remind HMVF'ers what the event strives to achieve - A living and breathing memorial to the memory of the USAAF in East Anglia during WWII, whilst having an enjoyable and educational experience for all participants.

I have enjoyed the banter of this thread immensely and thank you one and all for so many kind words and for Jim Clark's public promise that my pram canvas will be ready for collection by Normandy 2014.........!

As far as Jack's fleece goes, i thought he was looking a little chilly when I saw him last and in need of not only a fleece, but a hairbrush!

I can see to keep himself warm he has resorted to the 'Arkwright's shopkeepers rub of the hands together' in excitement of a potential cash customer....

Now wwwwwhere did I put my hhhairbbrush G g g g grandville.........