M5Clive

The serious stuff now! Joris who made the trip across from The Netherlands and is seen here waiting to board his C-47. Jamie Meachin from Bristol (who crewed the Sherman M4A4 with Jim Clark) and who's the right age and shape to do a WWII US Army Tankers combat uniform justice - (I wish more re-enactors would adopt this mindset). Chris Till and one of the Copeman brothers from Colchester during a lull in activity. Manny Trainor from nearby Yeovil did an outstanding job marshaling the lengthy convoy and also superb traffic control during the lunch stop at Martinstown - Certainly one of the major achievers of the event in my humble opinion. Enigma (from the Netherlands) and Steve Whitehouse from Frome looking timeless in this shot. A scruff-bag from Suffolk who needs to learn how to tie his boot laces correctly! (Blimey that Roughwear A2 jacket looks good in this shot - can't tell it from an original one.) More DR's - Sorry I don't know who you guys are, but you were certainly kept busy! Lewis (and his Mum from Nottingham) hitching a ride with Steve Whitehouse in his freshly restored HST .

Here is my photographic record of some of the people that supported/attended this year's A & E bash. Sadly upon reflection, is does not extend to anywhere near the number of people that should be included and their are some glaring omissions (like the folks in the cook-house that did sterling work under exceptionally trying conditions), but although I am happy to stick my camera under the noses of people I know; I tend to shy away from folks I am not familiar with. The first shots are the general 'run of the mill' stuff and the second batch are ones that I have tried to give that 'US National Archives' feel to the shots - in the faint hope that the viewer may be mistaken for thinking they are looking at genuine wartime colour transparencies from 1944. You'll have to make your own mind up! The Man and the Hour ! Chris Till and (Jonny Loot) made the trip from Lancashire and Yorkshire (with a tank) and were amongst the first participants to take full advantage of the Government's recent U turn on the pasty tax ! (Snapper) and Son ! Mark Barnes and his lad - Sorry I'm dreadful remembering names. Bruvver! Neil Stevens from Newark, atop of Jim's M4A4 trying to look pretty! Mr. Beckett's reaction when he has just been told he needs to cut his hair ready for the 2014 A & E event! Roy Baker and Tony Butt (Anthony) from Suffolk share a peanut butter sandwich from within the gloom of Tony's Toyota Hi-Lux early on Sunday morning after a rather unseasonal night's sleep. As Roy said (who slept on-site in a Jeep trailer) "As long as I lifted the canvas up to stop the water from pooling every half an hour throughout the night, I didn't get too wet!"

I have been at the American WWII Military Cemetery today at Madingley, Cambridge, doing audio recordings/interviews for the forthcoming BBC radio documentary i am working on as Historic Advisor, due to be aired around the Armistice Week in November. Some of the stories surrounding the many names on the wall of the missing are truly courageous and bring an absolute lump to your throat. We were given an excellent guided-tour of the entire complex by Malcolm Osborne in-between the rain showers and had a truly humbling day. Over 3000 hero's live there and they are always in residence come rain or shine - If you have never been I strongly recommend a visit whenever you are in the area. You will come away with a much greater appreciation of life and a fuller understand of the meaning of the word Sacrifice.

The above comments from Adrian truly sum-up what committed MV owners are really all about - Moving absolute hell and high water not to let show organisers down. Many people (myself included) would have given up at the first if not second hurdle and resigned themselves to the law's of Sod ! It is so heartening to read such comments and whether the HST is at the show or not, everyone reading this thread will appreciate the efforts you have gone to do all you can to make it happen. I shudder to think the knocking the credit card has taken on such activities - We all know that everything has a terrible habit of being three-times the price when your backs against the wall...............! We shall be there on Friday afternoon, M25 traffic pending and wind and gales not putting the caravan in a ditch! We're really excited about the event Jack - And that's a great colour spread in the local paper too.

From what the staff tell me, their are now only a couple of rooms left available on the Saturday 14th evening. Friday evening will see a USAAF themed presentation held in the Oaksmere Suit at the Cornwallis, kicking-off at 19.30. All are welcome to attend and its looking like a heavy convoy departure at 09.00 the following morning (Saturday) to head west.

Just a quick update to advise that a time slot for B-17 G Sally B to display over the old 388th Bomb Group airfield at Knettishall Heath, Suffolk has been requested between 12.45 and 13.15 on Saturday 14th. I believe a typical display by the B-17 lasts for around 10 minutes duration. It looks like we are going to have quite an impressive array and wide diversity of wartime military vehicles in the convoy visiting Knettishall for the Memorial Dedication Ceremony on the 14th.

After much delay and delayed communications between various parties, I am delighted to be able to confirm that we have finally secured the Cornwallis Country Hotel in Brome, Suffolk for our base camp for this years convoy event! http://www.oxfordhotelsandinns.com/OurHotels/Cornwallis Rectory Road, Brome, Eye, Suffolk.IP23 8AJ Tel: 08444 146524 Personally, I am absolutely thrilled about this because not only is it a mere 500 yards away from my own house, making logistics much easier for me; but the grounds where we are camping, the overall 'period' setting and the facilities that this venue affords us will suit our purposes ideally. In July 2008 we hired this venue for our wedding and had half a dozen WWII MV's within the grounds and a 20 minute flying display overhead - And it was the successful bridges that we built at this time which has paved the way for being able to use the venue again on a much large scale for a Military Vehicle Base Camp for this years USAAF Festival. The Festival will run from Sunday 8th to Sunday 15th July inclusive with the option to camp for the entire duration (or any given time in-between). Evening activities/guest speakers are being confirmed for Monday thru Friday and the full itinerary will shortly be announced. Dance tickets for Saturday 14th 'Little Friends' Hangar Bash are selling well and I think pending the weather, the week-long event will be something truly unique for all participants to enjoy. Keep checking back for updates! The Cornwallis (formerly the Oaksmere) won't have seen anything like this in 70 years! Heavy Goods on the Greens Hello Campers - Hi-de-Hi ! PS - Anyone thinking of pushing the boat out and getting a room, speak to me first as we may be eligible for a preferential rate. Some of the evening events will take place within the conference facilities of the Cornwallis and I can entirely recommend the food:)

I met up with Mr. Reilly at his restoration facilitiy at Douglas, Georgia back in January and saw the progress he was making on this XP-82. He is doing it on behalf of the consortium that own and are financing the return to flight of this rare aircraft. As exciting as it was to see it, Don Brooks second B-17 restoration project will not leap forward at any great pace until this Twin Mustang project is finished, so as far as i'm concerned, I can't wait to see the beauty airborne !!

Every time someone adds a link to a Pathe news item, my bedtime gets further delayed by a minimum of half an hour! Thanks for posting - Very interesting!

Yes, even I had to look twice Rosie! I was sat looking at my GMC parked on the drive this evening as the sun went down (getting sentimental now) and thinking to myself, I must take that front bumper off and get Adrian Barrell to 'tweak' it a little and to iron-out the 0.24 degree angle of bend ! Having looked at that picture...................I'm now wondering whether to bother? I can see this years latest 'War & Fleece' arena display as I speak.....................Red Ball Express road-run ~ Only those trucks laden with WWII German Jet Aircraft in pieces need apply! Interesting angle on the exhaust tail pipe and the fact that it is fixed the wrong side of the mudguard - And that secondary headlight mounted under the front wing has a decidedly post-war showman's fairground wagon feel to it..............!

Maurice Hammond has just provided me with the 'Our Little Friends' Hangar Dance tickets for the evening of Saturday July 14th at Hardwick Airfield, Topcroft, Norfolk, held in conjunction with the week-long USAAF Festival. Anyone who is attending the USAAF Festival either with or without an MV is advised to purchase dance tickets in good time as we had over 600 people attend last year's bash and ended-up turning away many people on the night. Tickets can be obtained from me direct, either via communication on HMVF or via the designated e-mail address for the event: USAAFfestival@yahoo.co.uk In line with last year's event, the ticket prices have remained the same at £12.00 each, with all monies raised from the event going to worthy charities. Period dress is actively encouraged. News on the base camp location for the festival will be announced any day now.........just awaiting final confirmation.

Anorak...............!

It could have been used by a traveling circus as accommodation for the lion's...................... ......................judging by the amount of jungle still growing on the rear bed......! Certainly a tidy combination when done though.

I went to and had a thoroughly enjoyable day spent with my 3 year old girl, some excellent live big band music, some good quality MV's and an historic venue that you would struggle to better. My visit to USAAF Station 121 - Bassingbourn, some 20 years ago to meet the veterans of the 91st Bomb Group (Heavy) was something that set me on a path for the future. It was great to go back again and dwell on the fine memories and friends made at that old airfield some two decades ago and also to take my daughter along with me for a fun day out in the Spring sunshine! Well done East Anglian Aviation Society for putting on such a great event and well worth the entrance fee.

Connected very much with our USAAF themed events this summer, I have teamed up with local BBC Radio Suffolk Presenter Lesley Dolphin to act as historical advisor working on a radio documentary about the 70th Anniversary of the arrival of the USAAF in East Anglia. As an opening gambit, I went into the studio today for an on-air live interview session where we invited local people to telephone in with their recollections. It spanned a period (on and off) of about 90 minutes!! I feel it went pretty well and even the illusive 'Shop Nut' made a very welcome guest appearance ! Follow the link below and scroll forward to 1 hour and 2 minutes which is where the excitement starts and then go to 1 hour 40 minutes where the real 'meat and potatoes' kicks off. Sorry about the Cliff Richard track!! Clive http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00rbc52

Mmmmm, so does Julie.......................!

Howard, you forgot to mention the stainless steel upstands behind the sink - One of the rigs most endearing features !!! Looks great with the stencils on the trailer - i can't imagine who on earth would have come up with such a novel idea............. ............I tried to upload the original WWII pictures tonight, but for some reason those particular downloads onto iPhoto were not in JPEG format, so I couldn't get them on here. I will try again when I have more time. It will look fantastic on the USAAF Convoy on Saturday July 14th - Better put you up front !

Hi Chris Had a three hour meeting this morning with Lesley here at home where we were 'roughing out' the plans for a one hour documentary for BBC Radio based upon the USAAF 70th Anniversary - Friendly Invasion. I think if it all comes off, it will be a very good bit of radio due to be broadcast this Autumn across Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambs and Beds. Cheers for the heads-up and good photo's too !

Hi Chris The convoy route(s) will not be finalised until closer to the date and will (even then) probably need to be amended at short notice to suit the timing schedules we will be working to. That said, the convoy(s) will not be anything like as ambitious as the Operation Bolero 2007 event, primarily as a result of the hike in fuel prices over the past 5 years and also the wider ambitions of this week long festival. The big convoy day will be Saturday 14th when the assembled vehicles will drive from base camp (wherever that will be in mid-suffolk) to the 388th BG Memorial Dedication ceremony at Knettishall Heath and return to Hardwick, Norfolk for the Hangar Dance in the evening. We never take a direct route on busy main roads any more than possible, as Ed Abbott always maps us out a picturesque journey off the beaten track as we don't like to hold up all the traffic! I will happily provide you with the exact convoy routes nearer the time, but sadly their are no plans currently to take the MV convoys as far south as Martlesham, Ipswich.

Hi folks, Yes, sorry for the lack of forthcoming information, which is not due to a lack of action, but more so a lack of concrete information to convey at this stage. The facts are that the event is definitely on, no if's, but or maybe's. I had a meeting with the organiser of the Tibenham Heritage Airshow last week and they definitely want a Military Vehicle presence, so Mike Warner has offered to co-ordinate this element of the festival and we are welcome to camp on the airfield on the Saturday evening prior to the Sunday 8th show. I have recently met with an extremely well known US Eighth Air Force/Aviation Archeology world authority, who has countless books to his credit. His name is Ian McLachlan and his 1991 book 'Eighth Air Force Bomber Stories' was instrumental in sparking a lot of the interest that I have today in the subject. I am delighted that he has thrown his weight firmly behind the project and has offered to take one of the evening presentation. Ian's knowledge on his specialist subject is unrivaled and I am excited that such a well known author is happy to support the USAAF Festival for everyone benefit. If anyone planning on attending the event does not have the aforementioned book, it is an absolute must. Ian will no-doubt have some of his more recent titles available during the Festival for purchase, which he will be very happy to autograph. I have just this evening returned from a meeting at a mid-suffolk venue which I am really hoping we can use to host the Festival, but as it is not confirmed, I cannot at this stage give any more firm details. As soon as I have concrete details of the event base camp, you will all be the first to know! Talks are still on-going with the USAF locally, and NOS has been exceptionally busy organising the 388th BG Memorial Ceremony on Saturday July 14th. As we have said elsewhere, we are pleased to confirm that B-17 G Sally B from Duxford has been booked (and confirmed by Elly Sallingboe) for participation at the Knettishall Heath ceremony. Tony (NOS) has also been co-ordinating road closures, informing the local police and liasing with the local bus companies, so please don't think nothing has has happening, simply because little new information has been forthcoming. We are all working our butts-off to make this unique event come together for the benefit of all concerned, including you, the participants. I have also had a meeting with Lesley Dolphin, a local BBC Radio presenter who is coming to our house next week to assist in the planning of a documentary she is working on to mark the 70th Anniversary and who is very keen to know more about the 'Festival' so I am hopeful of some increased publicity in this area. The event posters are all but finished, Maurice Hammond has recently shown me the proofs for the 'Our Little Friends' Hangar Dance posters and Dance Tickets and the posters for the Heritage Airshow at Tibenham have been circulating for a few weeks now. On top of all this, we are all still working full time for a living and putting this deal together during our free time. It will not disappoint.............: ) Keep checking back for updates! B-24 Liberator Witchcraft at sunset - Willow Run, Detroit, Michigan. Photo: Clive D Stevens

Brother and I had a great day on our little stand (no.77) with much lighthearted banta from Gray's Automotive and Terry Till, not to mention an endless stream of friends willing to part with a few sheckles in exchange for some high quality merchandise at bargain prices! We'll go again for sure.

We are delighted to announce that the operators of the only airworthy B-17 Flying Fortress outside of the USA has today confirmed their participation in the USAAF Festival, being staged in East Anglia this Summer. On Saturday 14th July, the Uk members of the 388th Bomb Group Memorial Committee are holding an official dedication ceremony at the Colney Weston 388th BG Memorial, to coincide with the visit of the USAAF Festival WWII Military Vehicle Convoy. HMVF stalwart NOS, has been quietly working away on organising the dedication ceremony, where the recently installed wing stones, listing all members of the 388th BG that were killed in the line of service, will be unveiled and dedicated. This ceremony has been purposely planned to coincide with the 'USAAF Festival' and the 'Our Little Friends' Hangar Dance at Hardwick Airfield on the evening of Saturday 14th. Unlike so many events this summer that are being compromised by the vast aerial exclusion zone in the South East due to the Olympic Games, the 388th BG Knettishall Heath memorial ceremony at Colney Weston falls some distance outside of the zone and will therefore not be effected. Full credit to the Uk based 388th Memorial Committee for not only finding a private sponsor to fund the aircraft's participation for the benefit and enjoyment of all concerned, but also for ultimately honoring the memory of the men of the 388th BG who flew and maintained the operational airfield at Knettishall Heath 1943 ~ 1945, in the most fitting tribute imaginable. Its going to be quite a day. 'At just two and a half years old, Amelia Stevens is fascinated by the many names inscribed on to the new 388th BG Memorial Wing Stones at Knettishall Heath, England.......but is still far too young to appreciate their significance. As time goes on, she will start to understand why such beautiful memorials are placed in the rural countryside close by to where she is growing up.'

This thread has brought a big lump to my throat as grown men (and women) unite in Joris' grief. We're all with you buddy.............

My first contact with Alan was due to unpleasant circumstances when I had a car drive underneath my GMC CCKW at full speed as I was turning into a minor road junction - I guess I was around 18 or 19 with limited experience of driving big trucks (which you could in those days totally legally) and the police took one look at the situation and threw the book at me. I was insured with AC Miles (which not everyone knows that the AC in fact stood for Alan Cogdell) and I was swiftly on the phone to tell them the bad news. Alan became my point of contact and calmly reassured this teenager that in fact, I had right on my side and to stand up and face them head on. Alan also took the trouble to drive from his home in North London to the site of the accident in Wiltshire to size up the situation for himself - How many MD's do that on behalf of their clients? After over 10 months of anxiety, come the big day in court and with my best suit just collected from the dry cleaner, I get a phone call from the Clerk of the Court at 10.30am to tell me that the police/CPS have dropped the case against me just 2.5 hours before the hearing! I was overjoyed but Alan was irritated as he firmly felt that their was no case to answer. Alan had taught me a lesson in life about not being fearful of standing up for what you believed in - no matter how big the opposition. In later years after our move up to Suffolk, I realised that Alan was on the verge of retiring and had sold the AC Miles business to Roadsure - A sad day indeed, especially for all those clients who had been looked after so well under Alan's personal care. Alan had haled from Suffolk in his youth so it was a natural move to return to his old stamping ground of East Anglia. Moira and Alan bought an old converted stable block in Gislingham and Alan set about putting his own stamp upon the property as he could turn his hand to many trades when the occasion demanded. In more recent years they moved to Stowmarket but could not settle in the hustle and bustle of a modern estate house so returned to a country cottage in the village of Mellis, just a couple of miles from their former village of Gislingham, where they still had many friends and where Alan was very active in the organisation of the annual fete, which Suffolk MVT supported upon his request on previous occasions over the years. Alan lived but a mile from me here in Mid-Suffolk and on occasions I shared the journey to MVT Council of Management meetings at Gaydon with him. The conversation was always entertaining and on those lengthy car journey's, I got to know more about Alan and his life stories. He claimed that when he turned 70 he was going to retire from the post of MVT Treasurer and hand the reigns onto a new recruit, but like so many volunteers, he carried on doing what he enjoyed for the benefit of the Trust and its members until the end. I think my strongest memory of Alan was at an MVT AGM at Bletchley Park in the mid 1990's when he was still at the helm of 'AC Miles' and before joining with the MVT Council of Management. He was doing a presentation regarding insuring vintage military vehicles and how hard he had fought with the big brokers to keep premiums low against overwhelming odds and rising inflation. A somewhat outspoken and longstanding member of the Trust that many people will know from Retford in Nottinghamshire called Bob Fleming raised-up from the ranks and shouted at Alan "I don't know how you managed to keep your premiums so low - your clearly not an insurance salesman, your a bloody magician!" With a great roar of laugher from the audience, a rapturous applause followed and Alan stepped down from the podium beaming from ear to ear! Like so many reading these posts, I was saddened by the news earlier this week of Alan's untimely passing and my condolences go out to his wife and family at this time. Clive Stevens, Suffolk Area Treasurer, MVT

I had a very interesting meeting at home yesterday with three current serving USAF personnel from RAF/USAF Lakenheath and Mildenhall regarding potential USAF participation during the 'Festival' this summer. The American Air Force locally are extremely keen to get involved and support the occasion and we are now pursuing many different avenues of enquiry, ranging from base personnel assisting us with traffic control to.........well.............erm, how can I put it................(its classified information again I'm afraid.............!) But put it this way........................if we can actually pull it all off, you won't want to miss it !