M5Clive

Like Ian, I am also very glad you bumped this one back up Jack - Don't know how, but I also totally missed it back in September. We visited Upottery in October 2001 when staying with friends in Exeter - Naturally it doesn't seem to have changed judging by your photo's since our visit. The one thing that amazed me however, and something that I wasn't really aware of during our brief visit, it the sheer amount of concrete (both runways and hardstandings)that clearly still exist, as visable from the aerial photograph - This is something special. I live on the edge of the old USAAF Heavy Bomber base at Eye airfield, Suffolk, which was home to the 490th BG with both B-17 and B-24's. My garden backs onto one of the old loop type hardstandings, and if I were to look out of my bedroom window in 1944, I would be able to shout over to the ground crews fueling there bomb laden aircraft and have my washing dried courtesey of a wright-cyclone revving-up! I am only 3 miles from Thorpe Abbotts and have over a dozen WWII airfields within a 12 mile radius of home. However, none (in Suffolk at least) are as untouched or complete at Upottery appears to be from that photo. This site really needs saving. For those of you coming to OPERATION BOLERO - Tour of the Dromes, you will get the opportunity to visit 3 fully restored Control Towers identical to that in your photos at Upottery - It will be interesting to see how that Control Tower could be restored, just like the volunteers have up here at Debach, Framlingham and Thorpe Abbotts. We will be visit all three during the course of the weekend convoy. The thing that captures my imagination more about Upottery however, is the sheer number of loop type hardstandings that still exist. This is now getting ever rarer on old WWII airfields, as a think-tank has recently come up with the idea of using satellite imagery to source all unused old concrete, with a view to reusing - See the recollections section on www.redballexpress.co.uk The hardstandings are where the ground crew worked and often actually lived in the better weather. These parking areas for the aircraft would have seen so much activity. What we need is a rich multi-millionaire to join HMVF and let us talk him into buying this old airfield, with a view to returning it to its former glory :-) We can all dream - Can't we? Cds

Wasn't it a huge difference to have a warm, well illuminated hall or two to stroll around rather than the cold concrete floored cattle sheds that we have endured for the past 15 years - A definate improvement, even if I did wear two coats and a scarf 8-) Managed to get a nice repro set of Tankers bib & brace trousers and tankers jacket ready for when the Stuart finally turnes a track! I compaired them to my original set when I got back home and you have to hand it to these guys who repro this gear, in this instance, Soldier of Fortune - They are a bleeding good copy, and at only £50 for the bib & brace trousers. I bought the jacket from a french guy who wanted £45, so both Phil Benham and I got ourselves decked out for under £100 each. The only thing I did consder on the way home is that we usually have our toys out to play in the hottest part of the year - So i'm not entirely sure that the idea of thick lined trousers and jackets inside an armoured vehicle in the middle of July is particularly appealing :roll: Should have stopped by the stall that Berni did - They seem a little more lightweight :-D Cds PS - Stopped by the MVT Vehicle stand and introduced myself to John Pearson with the Valantine as per a previous request for HMVF members to get aquainted. John shook me firmly by the hand and said "What name do you go under then on HMVF?" I replied "Erm, Clive Stevens actually, I've got nothing to hide from!"

Think my first vist to Stoneleigh militaria wa about 1989 - 1990(?) when it was organised under the umbrella of the MVT and paid-up members got in for free! Sadly, those days are gone now, but the show has just got bigger and bigger, infact so big that you can't really get around to all the stalls within the time scale really. I wish it was a two day event - like most good model railway shows!!!! Have been saving my christmas and birthday money, so hopefully I will find some bits needed for my Stuart M5A1 or even some good quality USAAF flight gear from those European dealers who like to move the decimal point to the right a little too much ;-) Whatever, I'm sure it will be a good social as ever, where you spend more time gasing to those you haven't seen for a while than actually what you went there for! Cds

Maybe if you had a few decent vehicles between you instead of those bundles of old (but not old enough) iron that you list as Military Vehicles under your threads, they would! :-D You could also be so nice and actually attend the MVT CoM meetings and raise the issues you clearly feel so strongly about with the people that matter. But why the hell should anyone from the CoM waste their time coming on here trying to pasify you two? You both have chips on your shoulders about the MVT wholesale and all you want to do it cause agro - It so obvious :-o But to attend a CoM meeting, well that would actually involve making an effort and I know you don't feel that strongly about the issue now do you chaps ;-) Cds

Just got confirmation today that another Half-Track is making the event, this time from Wiltshire/Berkshire border. It's an M-16 varient with maxson turret in the rear and looks the works 8-) That makes two booked in, and a possible third in the balance. Funny really, no doubt people will say "Whats an M-16 got to do with British Airfields?" The answer being, when Jim Skidmore, C-47 Troop carrier pilot based at Ramsbury Airfield (Station 469) returned to his old airfield in 2002, he told us that whenever he saw a unit of anti-aircraft Half-Tracks arrive at the base, they knew something was up. This turned out to be the first indication that D-Day was about to take place and the situation repeated itself in Sept 1944 for Operation Market Garden - The Holland Invasion. So there you have it - Anti-aircraft vehicle mounted machine guns, for use in the event of an enemy attack, prior to the vast airborne-armada departing the airfields for Normandy and The invasion. (In hindsight, never needed of course) So Anti-Aircraft Half-Tracks are relevant vehicles for an event commemorating US occupied airfields in the UK - Not that we needed much of an excuse of course anyway! Cds

Hi Jack Yes, I'm very much up for taking a H Catagory Licence. As the owner of a 1943 tracked vehicle which one day will be back on the road, I would be a fool not too! Some people would say I'm a fool at the best of times anyway :-o Cds

I better warn you now...................She is still waiting for that Indian you promised her at Beltring in 1999 - And I do mean of a food variety :-o Cds

There is a convoy coming from Cumbria I think, via the MVT National Show at Kemble, in Gloucestershire. If my memory serves me right, he is bringing a GMC, Chevrolet, Dodge and Jeep(s)? So really, the answer Bodge Jeep is to tag along in the convoy with your Weapons Carrier - Safety in numbers and no fear of having a problem if you break-down. Much safer than coming to the event in your modern car :-o Cds

Hi Nick, The possibility of either of your Dodge Weapons Carriers sounds great! Andy Foster was from Battle in East Sussex, so I guess IMPS like the MVT is a big club, but I know that have expressed an interest in coming up to Suffolk this summer for the bash. The web-site continues to be updated with new information and material, so be sure to check it out again and keep me posted of your intentions ;-) http://www.redballexpress.co.uk Cheers Cds

Evening Gents, The idea for this TRUCK SHARING facility came about as a result of a section on http://www.redballexpress.co.uk where the thought of re-enactors and vehicle owners sharing the costs of fuel expenses was suggested in order to help more people and vehicles attend the BOLERO event. Obviously January is very much early-doors in terms of confirmed vehicle attendence for a Summer event, however to date it looks to be:- 10 GMC's 2 Diamond-T wreckers 1 International Half track (M5A1) 1 M4A4 Sherman 1 M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer Numerous Jeeps, Dodges and other insignificants - He say's firmly tonge in cheek as the owner of a Dodge WC-56 :-D There are also a bunch of guys from the Wiltshire region who are keen to TRUCK SHARE with anyone looking to help out with the running costs of GMC's to Suffolk for THE event of this year - OPERATION BOLERO, tour of the Dromes Anyone interested? Cds

Hi Jim Belated welcome to Jack's brilliant HMVF! No doubt see you at Stoneleigh at the end of the month. Cds

Ok Jack, We are back up in Sunny Suffolk again now - Our 500+ miles eight day adventure to Dorset and Wiltshire almost a memory! But, I have to agree that the picture is very odd to say the least. Ok, so you had consumed far more Whiskey than the rest of us, but you weren't taking the photo anyway :-o It certainly appears that the Milton Abbas skyline has an orange hue to it (above my head), along with the unexplainable light images in the foreground, but to attempt to explain it away or justify what it was is beyond me. People can speculate until the cows come home as to whether it was digitally added in afterwards I guess, but I think I know both you and Annie a little better than that! It sure is mysterious :-o Cds

I think the members on this thread have been spending too long with Private Frazer from Dads Army :-o "These tracked vehicles are doomed, I tell ye........doomed" :roll: Yes, they are a bugger to move if they are not under there own power - I speak from experience, having given my M5A1 the guided tour of the country during its on-going restoration, partly due to moving house in the middle of the restoration and partly due to fabrication work being undertaken on it. The following list shows the locations it has been stored at/worked on since purchase by me in 1999...... 1) Burbage, Wiltshire 2) Calne, Wiltshire 3) Bedfield, Suffolk 4) Mickfield, Suffolk 5) Great Finborough, Suffolk I wouldn't say the restoration process has been significantly more costly than my previous GMC project. Of course if you a talking a tracked vehicle that needs significant fabrication or extensive mechanical overhaul you are always under the constraint of the rarity of spares and the cost implications that go with scarcity. OK - so it would cost me probably just shy of £2000 to put new old stock tracks on my Stuart, but how much are 11 bar-treads for a Jimmy these days? Got to be a £100 per tyre for a decent set of rubber and they will wear out far quicker than metal tracks! But what does it cost to totally re-canvas a 6x6 truck? Don't have that problem with a tank! Yes - they drink fuel, but so did my Dukw and all the Jimmy's I've had also. A tank isn't something that you will take out every weekend throughout the Summer, unlike a Dodge or Jimmy. It really is Horses for courses. Just attempting to paint a slightly less darker picture for the would-be tank enthusiast ;-) Cds

My Stuart M5A1 was apparently the first one of quite a number to be recovered from Pounds Scrap Yard by John Marchant in the very early 1970's. Unlike all of the other M5's at Pounds, mine was inverted and therefore the inner floor in the fighting compartment was out of the salt air/water elements, thus preserving it very well. OK so armoured vehicles unlike the Austin Maxi were not reknown for excessive rot and corrosion to the sub-frame :roll: but having seen the floors of other heavy armoured restoration projects that have sat outside in the elements for an extended period of time, (eg Adrian Barrell's magnificent Sherman M4A4) I can see how my Stuart M5A1 has clearly benefitted from being inverted and why John chose the one he did. According to John Marchant who sold me the vehicle in 1999 and was a very early member of the MVCG, he had the pick of the stack and chose mine because of its overall better condition, but he had to refit all the running gear and tracks before he could move it. It was also an American Car and Foundry manufactured machine and to my knowledge, the vast majority of preserved examples that I have seen here in the UK are usually Cadillac manufactured variants. But, Pounds Scrapyard is definately where it came from and hopefully where it won't end-up :-o Many years ago, After the Battle magazine did a feature on the restoration of MVCG founder Peter Gray's M-10 Tank Destroyer which was recovered by Peter from Pounds, I believe in the 1970's, but it may have been earlier. Cds

Great wartime colour footage Jack. They were brave guys indeed who flew those heavy 'Jugs' into aerial combat, all too many of them not living to tell the tale. I was fortunate enough to attend the 355th Fighter Group reunions in 1993 and 1995 and had the privilage of meeting many of the GROUPS pilots and Aces, who flew operational combat sorties from their Cambridgeshire airfield flying the P-47 Thunderbolt and P-51 Mustang. Its not until now that I look back, I realise just how privilaged I was to be part of these unique events and meet these very special men - many of whom have now passed on. Footage like this makes you realise just what flying combat was all about and in full colour too! Cds

lol The two year subscription was a present for my 30th Birthday, so I guess its up to me to stump up the cash to renew it in January. In fact I probably will do because I enjoy the publication very much. Now that Jack's writing has come to an end in CMV we'll need something else to fill the gap :-o cds

I have to say, I'm just coming to the end of a two year subscription to Flypast Magazine. It is always delivered to me before it arrives at the shops and I always get mine before Maurice Hammond - My neighbour who owns and flys the P-51 Mustang :roll: If he is ever featured in it, which he regularly is, I ring him to see if he's seen it and invarabily I end-up running down there with my copy to show him 8-) Turns out chatting to him last month he doesn't actually subscribe, but gets the magazine sent compilmentary by the editors. Lets face it, if you wrote a magazine and were on good terms with a warbird operator, you would send them a complimentary copy too!!! But, it proves the point that KEY Publishing, have got things right. The subscribers get there mag first, then the shops and complimentary copies also. Just a shame its full or classic aircraft and not MV's :azn: Cds

Me too Joris! - I nearly fell down when I was browsing through the magazine in WH Smith's in Ipswich on Saturday :-o Naturally I felt duty bound to purchase the copy of Classic Military Vehicle afterwards :roll: Cds

Nice to see another Suffolk'ite join HMVF - Welcome aboard Tim :-) Be sure to check out http://www.redballexpress.co.uk as this show is being organised next year right on our patch. There is a 20 acre field set aside at the event HQ for playing with WWII tracked armour :-o :-o So you might just see some of Tim's vehicles in Suffolk next Summer Jack! Anyway, more later on. In the meantime enjoy the site. Cds

Morning! It is worth mentioning that ALL the pictures of this trip are now available in a seperate gallery on http://www.redballexpress.co.uk under the galleries section. Lots of good pictures taken from on the ground of the static aircraft line-up as well Seasons greetings HMVF'ers ;-) Cds

Now there's a thought :-D

Hey Jack Enjoyed your pictures of Aldbourne you posted recently. For a real good read all about the US Forces stationed in Aldbourne, Ramsbury and the Kennet Valley I can highly recommend a 32 page booklet (colour and black & white) called Gathering of Eagles. It has many previously unpublished photographs of the Airborne Paratroopers in the locality and tells the story of the troops arrival (September 1943) until their departure in (September 1944) It was also fully endorsed by Donald R Burgett - A Co. 506th PIR - 101st AB From memory its written by a chap who's a long standing military vehicle owner and costs about £6.99 including postage and packing. :-o A good stocking filler perhaps ;-) I think his details can be found at http://www.redballexpress.co.uk Happy hunting :-o Cds

Not to unduely concern you Jack but....... Last night I got the opportunity to fire the Command Car up from Winter hibernation and do a Surprise 60th birthday taxi-run just East of Norwich, near the Norfolk Broads. I didn't make up my mind whether I was going to actually commit to the request until I woke up yesterday morning and saw the beautiful weather we had here in East Anglia. To cut a long story short (something I'm not particularly good at!) the chap needed to be delivered to a surprise 1940's party at 7.30pm. The Dodge fired up first turn of the starter (thank god for all WC-56's being 12 volt) and I stormed up the A140 from Stowmarket, the old girl singing her teriffic Dodge burble and running like a Swiss watch :wink: Anyway, point of the story Jack being - Have you been out lately in a rag-top vehicle and realised how bl**dy cold it is trundling the tarmac in a draughty MV? The sun kept me warmish on the journey up to Norfolk, but coming home last night under a stary sky and clear moon was less than warm. Funny enough as I donned my USAAF high altitude sheerlined trousers, B-3 sheepskin jacket and Eastman leather sheerline cap for the journey home, I thought of you Jack and your upcoming trip to Europe - As least you won't sweat to death marching in the chill :-D The Command Car is due to return to hibernation on Tuesday, but it was a great crack last night and I now have the funds to pay for the new canvas that I need before the start of next years show season :wink: PS - Both my Corcoran Jump Boots (purchased in 1998) and my more recent service boots purchased from Soldier of Fortune both rub in feet badly after even several years of show-season use! Best of luck Jack

No only is the anniversary, but it is the 65th Anniversary. Probably one of the most significant days in the history of the free world and not a word in the media about it. Mind you, I'm sure this weeks football results will be headline news or the latest so say celebrity to leave the jungle on I'm a Celebrity get me out of here will be front page. What a society we live in. I think if it wasn't for people like ourselves on HMVF and the like and the RBL, keeping the memory alive, our country would be allowed to get away with event less. Maybe a sobering thought, but none the less. Cds

Sorry to harp on about the finanical issues of this show - but it is a case of principle here! What I object to is the two-tear system that is in place at this show, depending on what you own. For example in the past I have known guys from our neck of the woods with Tracked Armoured vehicles who the organisers have been prepared to wave the £25 facility fee issue purely on the strength of what vehicles they can provide for the show. Whether being an IMPS member or not has never even entered into it the issue. Again, the living history groups and re-enactment guys who pack the boot of the car with an M-41 jacket, combat webbing, boots, belts and the like and get free entry and camping to the event under the umbrella of living history. I don't disagree at all with the fact that they don't get charged - Why should they, as they are providing a visual addition to the show. What I firmly disagree with however is the fact that those of us who don't come to the show in our 50mpg Ford Focus, but instead trundle the tarmac with a 7-10 mpg piece of classic war metal - which after all, is what the show is all about if my memory serves me right - gets firmly taken to the cleaners and hung out to dry :-o :-o :-o I quite agree with the previous comments regarding where can you go for 10 days holiday and camp for £25, but the cost isn't the issue, its the principle that the show organisers are willing to charge the vehicle owners in the first place, particularly considering that they don't charge the LHGroups. Imagine if you turned up at any MVT National Show with or without a vehicle and the bloke on the door said "Just sign in there mate and Bert will take your 25 quid...!" :-o There would be a human outcry. To conclude, yes I go to Beltring every year and have done so for at least the past 12 years. But now, I book into a lovely little quite camp site 2 1/2 miles from the Hop Farm where there is no dust, no mud, no scooters charging around in the dead of night trying to knock you off your feet and no thunder flashes landing in your lap when your trying to grab a bite to eat! I go from Wednesday to Sunday and yes it costs us a little more than £25, which proves my initial point that my gripe is NOT about the money - but about principle of charging vehicle participants. When your feeling dusty and grubby and you have just done three laps of the arena in a tank you can swiftly nip back to the camp site for a hot and easy going shower and then come back later on in comfy clothes, to join in the social with all the good friends you meet at the Hop Farm every year. Its a great show and I would hate it to finish - That why we go every year. When I first got into this MV hobby in 1989 it wasn't unheard of for show organisers to offer limited amounts of fuel money as an inducement to attend an event. Now shows like War & Fleece (a term for which I own the copyright :wink:) charges us for the privilage of attending :-( I wonder what would happen if everyone felt as strong enough about the issue as I do and stated that they would not take there vehicles to the show unless the charges were dropped - I wonder how the organisers would react to that ? But lets face it - Unlike the greatest generation of WWII, this is never going to happen because the world today is full of people who are not prepared to make a stand for what is right - I'm used to sticking my head over the parapit - look at the WW2 - Post War vehicle debate last month!! Incidentally, I also own a piece of tracked armour which (in the eyes of W & F) would qualify me for preferential treatment - In fact in previous years, I have been offered the chance of free transportation for it to the show and associated passes. Just goes to prove, its what you've got that interests them, not whether you've been a long standing member of IMPS. (The fact that I still haven't finished the restoration is nothing to do with it :roll:) I think this subject is enough to get the poets corner out of retirement :-D Cds