M5Clive

Yea that and the Long Tom is about 10 tons heavier !!!!!!!!!!!!

Sorry, its been a long week with sickness and bugs running rife through the house and I was only going from a vague memory of what you had said in a PM ! Pity its not a long tom........!

I think some bloke is bringing a mini-moke............I'll tap him up for a space for you (a man of your position and all that).............!

Besides, if you really want to travel in the Chrysler then no problem - Just be sure to have a spare fluid drive top-gear in your box of spares for when we get further than 15 miles away from base camp!

Well it all sounds like this is going to be yet another great event, really looking forward to this one, Clive will there be somewhere I can hide the Camper?. Do you want the Bofors Gun brought along.

 

Howard.

By 'camper' you mean the 'Farley's Ruskie mobile' ? Its green and has six wheels, so no problem.

The Bofors Gun will definitely add some atmosphere - especially if R Cubed brings his 'Long Tom' along as well !

Thanks Clive - I need style (a man of my position and all that) so I will want to be travelling in your Staff car.....

I think some bloke is bringing a mini-moke............I'll tap him up for a space for you (a man of your position and all that).............!

Dave Griffin - Diamond T 981

Grey Radley - White M3 Half Track

Dave Wright - Dodge WC-62

Jimmy Snowling - Dodge WC-51

Dan Snowling - GMC 352

Peter Snowling - Dodge Carryall

Roy Baker - Dodge Carryall

Tony Butt - Dodge WC-63

Jerry Hill - Morris Commercial

Kevin - Bedford QL (GS)

Andy Dickinson - GMC 353

Brian Slingsby - GMC 352

Lindsey Smith - Willys MB

Howard Wade - Dodge Carryall

Me - GMC 353 / 41 Chrylser (static!)

Kevin Gant - GMC 353

Tony Goff - GMC 353 / Clarket

Malcolm Holland - WC-51

Kevin Taylor - Willys MB

Jack (our hero) Beckett - 1997 3 Man pup tent with mahogany poles & winter lashing straps

Joris (Mod) - 1974 Millets 4 man bivouac tent with extended porch awning, and stainless steel pegs

As one can see, the list continues to grow with an ever increasing variety of exhibits for the public to admire.......

I'm certainly hoping to come along with the GMC or Chrysler.

I did e-mail Stuart after he asked me to make contact and requested some support from the Suffolk Group, but I haven't heard anything.

Time is marching on and people are looking for firmer details.

Dance tickets can be bought direct from me either via e-mail or PM.

Bear in mind that this poster is aimed at the general public and not the MV participants, so makes no mention of our planned activities, convoy runs, presentations, camping facilities etc etc.

In fact, because I have been rather 'taken a-back' by the high level of interest in the event, I am considering organising something for the Friday in addition to the Friday evening programme, because it appears that quite a few people are considering traveling considerable distances to attend the event, so I want them to get as much out of the weekend as possible.

Just a suggestion, but maybe I hire a coach, and we spend the day touring around the area visiting various WWII aircraft crash sites and a few airfields, and doing some 'then & now' photographs, and for those who want to, bring your MV's on the trip around.

Saturday will be the full convoy day, with as many miles as the Bolero 2007 Saturday run where we had about 80 wagons, so with the price of fuel as it stands, the Friday run can be entirely optional - which is why the coach tour sounds appealing. Also, some of the crash sites are not going to lend themselves to a convoy of vehicles just pulling up on the side of the road and holding-up all the traffic, whereas one coach we can probably get away with!

Ok, so we are never going to organise an itinerary to please everybody, but your thought and input will definitely be considered. If you would prefer Friday to be a non-activity day until the evening, this is fine by me.

Nice photo, Tigercat it is!

Reminds me, I must get to Duxford this year.

I hope your not going with the intention of seeing the Fighter Collection's Tigercat which has lived their for many years - It was sold and relocated to the US last year I believe!

Thanks one and all (especially NOS) for your efforts here chaps. I'm digesting it all..........

I'll have to discuss this at home but would there be space for a dutch family of 4 without a WWII vehicle? The tent will be WWII so don't worry about that.

Joris, it wouldn't be the same without you!

No problem with bringing the children either - (You know we try to get all the family involved as much as possible.)

Jack will be putting up the HMVF Tent just like he did for Bolero 2007 (not that he knows it yet, but he will) and of course as the founder member of the Maurice Hammond Appreciation Society, he will also be polishing the hub caps on his fleet of aircraft and providing the polish!

clive - I think im more excited about this than i am about Beltring this year!

I'm not entirely sure that 'Simon' shares your thoughts on this, but I do have to fully agree with you sentiment!

Of course you can make it a 3 Ship Formation (I have adjusted the list) - And i'm assuming brother and father are also on-board considering the family connection to the venue?

Since announcing the event a week ago I have had the following entrants book in:-

 

Dave Griffin - Diamond T 981

Grey Radley - White M3 half Track

Dave (Felixstowe) - Dodge WC-62

Jimmy Snowling - GMC 352

Peter Snowling - Dodge Carryall

Roy Baker - Dodge Carryall

Tony Butt - Dodge WC63

Jerry Hill - Morris Commercial

Andy Dickinson - GMC 353

Brian Slingsby - GMC 352

Lindsey Smith - Willys MB

Howard Wade - Dodge Carryall

Me - GMC 353 / 41 Chrylser (static!)

Kevin Gant - GMC 353

 

Not bad for an event which has only been publicised one week on HMVF !

+ NOS - GMC 353 / Clarket B

Thats six GMC CCKW's already - Think its gonna be another cracking convoy of heavies......

Hi all,

How do you dismantle a GMC water pump?

You don't - You send it to Rex Ward for an exchange and bolt on the nice new one in place of the old one and the smile is only wiped off your face when you go to check your bank balance!

Not really a proper answer, but it has worked for me in the past.

Since announcing the event a week ago I have had the following entrants book in:-

Dave Griffin - Diamond T 981

Grey Radley - White M3 Half Track

Dave Wright - Dodge WC-62

Jimmy Snowling - Dodge WC-51

Dan Snowling - GMC 352

Peter Snowling - Dodge Carryall

Roy Baker - Dodge Carryall

Tony Butt - Dodge WC-63

Jerry Hill - Morris Commercial

Andy Dickinson - GMC 353

Brian Slingsby - GMC 352

Lindsey Smith - Willys MB

Howard Wade - Dodge Carryall

Me - GMC 353 / 41 Chrylser (static!)

Kevin Gant - GMC 353

Not bad for an event which has only been publicised one week on HMVF !

Hey Clive

 

Isn't that exactly what Steve, Kevin and myself suggestted two years ago!!!!

No. Two years ago you suggested changing the oil (which I believe Ed Abbott had done when he serviced it before his wedding) not changing the grade/type of oil as Richard has suggested here.

Don't forget your talking to someone with limited knowledge and who is guided by those with greater know-how. If an experienced life-long Engineer like Ed say's to me "I've changed the oil,' who am I to argue with that?

Thanks for the input thus far guys (and for NOS telephone diagnostic's tonight!)

Friday July 15th, Saturday 16th & Sunday 17th July 2011

Hi folks!

Well this isn't the full-blown legend that is comprehensively and unquestionably the one and only 'Operation Bolero' of Stevens and Abbott fame (and no fortune), but the very next best thing given the time scale!

This summer, the ‘Our Little Friends Wartime Weekend’ is an event being staged on an original US Eighth Air Force airfield in East Anglia, perpetuating the admiration for the Allied Fighter aircraft of World War Two and the men who flew them. The weekend will uniquely combine a collection of historic operational warbirds along with period re-enactors and Military Vehicles to give a truly nostalgic insight into the operations of the USAAF flying from England in WWII.

'Our Little Friends' is a collaboration between WWII Warbird operator Maurice Hammond, convoy co-ordinator exceptional' Ed Abbott and myself as the creator of previous 'Experiences' (as Jack calls them) 'The Gathering of Eagles' and 'Operation Bolero.' We have all teamed up voluntarily to throw our particular talents into the ring to stage this WWII themed charity weekend in the East Anglian countryside!

Held at former United States Army Air Force heavy bomber Station 104, close to the Norfolk/Suffolk border, the event will have a packed itinerary starting on the evening of Friday 15th and concluding on the evening of Sunday 17th July. Throw into the plot a Bolero convoy aimed at US heavies, a Big Band 40’s Hangar Dance, a WWII warbird and aircraft fly-in, an educational interactive presentation on the construction of the local airfields and how they were used and the possibility of meeting some returning Eighth Air Force veterans from the USA who flew from the region in WWII..........and well, it all adds up to something a little bit different in the show diary!

Maurice Hammond owns and operates the Hardwick Warbirds Collection, which comprises of five privately owned WWII Military Aircraft that have all being painstakingly restored over many thousands of hours, back to their former glory. The pride of the collection are two immaculate P-51D Mustang Fighter’s - both of which are painted to represent aircraft that flew combat operations from East Anglia during 1944 and one of which has an actual combat history. Have you ever hankered to get a good quality photograph of your own MV alongside a real icon of WWII aviation?

For one weekend in July this year, Hardwick airfield will once again be awakened and resound to the sights and sounds of wartime England. The noise of packard-built Merlin Engines running up, the sound of Jeeps and 6x6 trucks trundling around the airfields remaining concrete roads, the familiar sound of Glenn Miller’s ‘String of Pearls’ once again echoing between the buildings and the hustle and bustle of yester-year nostalgia.

The event is being held on entirely private land and vehicle entries and camping spaces are genuniely limited due to space constraints on-site. From an historical acuracy point of view, the organisers are encouraging vehicles and re-enactors of the period with an understandable slant towards USAAF equipment to compliment the aircraft and the historic location. Those folks who have supported our many convoy events over previous years going right back to the very first 'Red Ball Express Rally' we staged in Wiltshire in 1990 will also be encouraged to join us again and those repeat entrants will be given priority booking, if space does become a genuine issue.

Entry to the Big Band Dance will be by ticket only and monies raised throughout the course of the weekends activities will go directly to Cancer Charities. If your driving down to Beltring with your MV, why not break your journey in East Anglia the weekend before and be part of something different?

All enquiries to Clive Stevens on 01379 871020 or e-mail clivestevens17@yahoo.co.uk

You'll be delighted to know Tony that the very manual in question was returned to me all safe and well last Friday by a certain member of the Norfolk Constabulary, on duty, in uniform and in his official mode of transport!

The curtains were twitching next door and he only came around to drop the book off and drink tea..........at the tax payers expense I might add!

No wonder the country is going to the dogs.......

Gents

For the past two years I have been experiencing problems with the fluid-drive gearbox in my 41 Chrysler Royal.

Now I don't profess for one minute to understand all that much about vehicle mechanics (even less about how such an unusal gearbox actually works) despite Ed Abbott's best efforts and fag-packet diagrams to try and explain.

The problem.

When the car is cold, its all fine. I can do maybe 15 miles before things start to happen - which is why the problem doesn't actually stop me from using the car and why when we got married last year, we chose a wedding venue only 1/2 a mile from our house, so we could use the Chrysler on our Wedding Day.....!!

But I digress. After around 15 miles (less on a hot day) the car all of a sudden changes down to second and will not go into top. The car only has three forward gears and the fluid drive enables you to drive away in first, dip the clutch and drop it into second, accelerate in second and when you let your foot off the throttle, the car automatically drops into top without any clutch or gearshifting. Similarly, when you stop at a set of traffic lights and you are in second gear, you do not need to depress the clutch, just the brake. The car sits at the lights in gear, and when you pull away you just release the brake and hit the gas.

But, the problem is not getting any better, in fact quite the opposite and I am now feeling that I must try and get the problem sorted, rather than plan my weekends around the vehicles limitations! Once it has (theoretically) lost top gear I can still do about 45, but the car is revving too high in second. The alternative I then have is to pull a manual cable knob on the dash (which says it is only to be engaged when the vehicle is being towed) and this pulls a metal cable which is linked to a mechanism which sits on the side of the gearbox. Pulling this disengages this mechanism, which then allows the car to jump into top and then we can fly along. The down side is that having done this, the car then looses first gear and you can only use second and third, which by and large is ok, but when I pulled the caravan up to to North Norfolk 40's weekend in September and when we hit a particularly steep hill on the back road to Holt in the dark, I didn't think the old girl was going to crest the hill in second, and I had no more gears left! In the dark, with the children aboard and on a dangerous stretch of minor road with poor lights, my heart was a thumping and I vowed that if we made the hill, I wouldn't put my family in that tight spot again.........So I need to get it sorted.

As I say, I haven't got the know-how myself, so I know I will need to engage a specialist company, but it would help if I could give them an idea of where the problem may lie - It may also help my cheque-book!

Does anyone have any knowledge of this kind of transmission system or can recommend any specialist who may be able to get to the bottom of the problem. Alternatively, the car was manufactured in 41 and the fluid-drive was an option. Could I source a standard gearbox and replace it with that, if this is going to work out more reliable and a more cost effective option.

I have no intention of selling the car as we all love using it and it is so comfortable to attend shows and rallies with the whole family, so have no concern in telling the MV world about my vehicle woes!

Any advice would be much appreciated.

A couple of pictures to show you why we love the old girl so much!

Ed Abbott's Wedding.

Shame about that aircraft spoiling a nice shot of the car!

New paintwork (Summer 2010)

Been away have you - I didn't notice.............

Was watching a re-run of 'Terry & June' the other night on the tele and thought I saw you in the background when they visited the bird sanctuary.......!

I take it 9th AAF (391st BG/573BS) marked WC51 would be ok? Sounds like a very tempting event to come to. I've just confirmed both of Maurice's P-51s for both days at the Essex MVT annual event at Damyns Hall, which will be a highlight of the weekend for me, aswell as Sally B or course!

Hi Chris

Tony (NOS) did tell me that you were looking for some heavy metal for a show in Essex, but I didn't realise it was Damyns Hall. Thats a good bash and I've enjoyed it on the past two occasions i've been. I missed last years show cos I was in Detroit flying in a formation of 17's that same weekend, but if you come to 'Little Friends' i'll be showing the air-air video I shot from the flight deck of 381st BG's Yankee Lady.

Of course you will be welcome in the WC51 - I love a nice Weappie with bar treads and good markings!

fritton lake is such a fantastic place to visit and the secrets of the lake of which there are many are now starting to come to light.

during the war a figure of around 2000 men(not all at once) trained and lived in secret at fritton in the woods and bravely tested the dd valentines and shermans of which were later to be used in battle. i know there will be a talk given on this subject along with all the new top secret pictures and information that stuart has been gathering recently.

also during the war there was a mid air collision involving two thunderbolts which both landed in the lake and also a 100th bg b17 crashed just behind.

there will be a presentation on these accidents by local author and historian ian maclachlan.

the military history associated with fritton lake is amazing and alot of the footprints and clues can still be found. the nice thing about this event is it will also include access to the old site of the secret training area of which other wise would be private.

if enough people make the effort to go to this first event im sure it will be a good one, i know that it would be especially nice if the owners of dukws and other amphibious vehicles were to attend, the lake itself is 2+ miles long and over 200 acres tree lined and beautiful.

maybe also john will swim the valentine for us all to watch!!!! i remember from before it made it to the waters edge. but we took the plunge in the hagglunds.

I brought this event up at the Suffolk MVT Meeting last night after a request for help from the organiser (Stuart I think his name was) and it created much interest.

Before turning in last night, i had to go and get my old Ian Mac book out detailing the full story of the Thunderbolt mid air collision and refresh my memory. Sounds like another great event and right on home turf!

contact us if any kind of help reqd.. jimmy

These Big Bands and thirsty aeroplanes are ever so expensive to run Jimmy..................

Do you have a piccy of the truck you mentioned? I have quite a photographic archive of GMC CCKW's from over the years and I may have some of your old truck.

Cheers Clive

USAAF Station 104, Hardwick, Norfolk, NR35 2BG ~ Friday 15th, Saturday 16th and Sunday 17th July 2011

Renown warbird operator and restorer Maurice Hammond and myself have teamed up this year to bring you a new event to the show diary - The 'Our Little Friends' wartime weekend.

Based at Maurice Hammond's private airstrip in Norfolk, this event will be a must for anyone with a keen interest in the USAAF and Eighth Air Force in East Anglia.

Camping space and vehicle attendance is limited due to space constraints on-site so please accept that due to the nature of this period themed event, preference will be given to suitably marked USAAF vehicles and unfortunately MV's not of the era will not be eligible to attend the event. Camping will be from Friday midday thru Sunday by prior booking only.

Friday Evening - 'The Eighth Air Force Experience' ~ Feature Presentation.

This is a 2.5 hour interactive presentation I have prepared on my iMac detailing the story of the USAAF in East Anglia from the construction of the wartime airfields to the departure of the USAAF in July 1945, right up to present links with the USAF today. This presentation uses archive photographs, wartime 8mm colour movie film and the creators 20 years of USAAF knowledge to entertain you throughout the evening - All staged in an aircraft hangar.

Saturday Day - Bolero Convoy

Ed Abbott of (Operation Bolero, Route to Victory & Gathering of Eagles fame) will map us out a picturesque route around the region taking in much of the Eighth Air Force's history and is (hoped) to include delivering the convoy to a reunion of WWII USAAF flyers visiting Suffolk from the US the same weekend. Watch this space for updates.

Saturday Evening - Our Little Friends Hangar Dance

Turning back the clock to the 1940's, you can dance the night away in an original wartime hangar to the sight and sound of the Big Band era with the Jonathan Wyatt Big Band, with an array of USAAF warbirds as a back drop as the sun goes down.

Sunday - Museum Open Day & Warbird Fly-In

The 93rd Bomb Group museum's annual open day will coincide with a fly-in of WWII warbirds including the two resident P-51 Mustang's of Maurice Hammond's and many other invited aircraft. It is hoped that a USAAF reenactment display around the aircraft and vehicles can be staged if enough interest is forthcoming.

Going to Beltring the following week? Why not break your journey in Norfolk before heading down South for all the mud and dust sandwiches.

All enquiries to Clive D Stevens - 01379 871020 - clivestevens17@yahoo.co.uk

Nb - Both Evening events are by ticket only with all monies raised throughout the entire weekend going towards Cancer Research. This is a not for profit operation and both myself, Maurice Hammond, Ed Abbott and all the helpers on the day are donating our services free of charge.

I have the definitive answer...........

It doesn't necessarily tell us where he is, but it certainly tells us where he's been!