11th Armoured

What an absolute heartbreak!

I saw that the other week & wondered what the hell it was! The latest in all-singing, all-dancing camo, apparently Barracuda camo Multi-spectral camouflage

Incredible to see what still turns up! Looks like a daunting project, but I'll follow your progress undoubtedly with an amazed look on my face I suspect there may be a few folks along shortly wishing you'd dug that axle out of the sand, though... Best of luck, Kevin

The muff cover idea would make restoring these wonderful old trucks SO much easier... "Yes, of course it has the proper engine, carefully crafted bonnet & painstakingly hand-made radiator, but the muff's period, so what can we do? Oi, no peeping!"

It's a 'Pouch, cartridge, pistol, Mark I' belonging to 'Accoutrements, naval, Pattern 1912', I believe. Karkee Web has a page detailing the Pattern 1901 naval equipment, which also has a section on the 1912 Pattern (just two items - pistol case & this cartridge pouch) towards the bottom of the page: Naval accoutrements, Patterns 1901 & 1912 Hope this helps, Kevin

That's the root of the problem, though, isn't it? One of the AK-derivatives used in the Charlie Hebdo shootings WAS apparently bought as an Eastern European de-ac & then re-activated quite easily...

Just be careful driving along it (especially trying to overtake), as while it's straight, it's definitely not level - you get a lot of idiots racing along it & if they don't get you, the wandering deer might... Definitely preferable to either Grantham or the A17, though

That must be a really good feeling, getting to the stage where you can even think about displaying it to the public - a lot of hard work, but it's definitely paying off

P.G. Models make some very nice 'modern' vehicles at 2mm:1' scale (1:152) P.G. Models

When you consider that this is all that's left of the Meteor in the Theddlethorpe Comet, it's probably to be expected that wires, hoses & suchlike don't survive. I suppose a beach is a very hostile environment for any metal object to begin with, let alone one that's also been shot at & bombed :-)

Continuing the beach theme - Comet at Theddlethorpe, Lincs. a couple of years ago

Unless it's a set-up, I'd be a little peeved at the thought of someone creeping round my workshop taking photos of my obviously well cared-for collection & then trying to justify it by claiming they're 'abandoned'...

Brilliant work, as usual

Considering where you started from, that's really beginning to look the part - nice work!

I'll confess I'm struggling a bit with some of this Andy, but that's probably my failure to grasp the gist of what you've written, more than anything else. I think I'm correct in my understanding that you're saying that in early 1945, your dad & his REME team were tasked with collecting German armour, presumably so that it could be looked at by the 'boffins' to see if anything could be learned from the designs? I think this is fairly well documented, even to the extent of the British building Panthers & Jagdpanthers after the war to evaluate them (several of which still exist in various museums/collections). I wasn't aware there was any particular 'competition' or secrecy over this between us & the Americans, however, so that's interesting to read. When you talk about the post-war meeting your dad had, and the subsequent mission to bury "a lot of tanks", though, you say it "appeared to be a cover up from the first operation back in 45", so are you saying that the tanks that were buried were actually German? Also the tank ID plates you mention - are they from the collected German tanks or from something else? Finally, when you mention that Churchill had amassed a secret private arsenal of weapons in the years running up to the start of the war, and that "nobody ever asked him where they came from when he pulled them out of the bag in 1940" - what weapons are we talking about here? I believe the army in particular was still in the process of (legitimate government-sponsored) rearming at the time of the invasion of France & the Low Countries, and after Dunkirk was quite frankly 'on the bones of its a*se'! Apart from Winston probably having a hand in securing arms supplies from the US & Canada, etc., I wasn't aware that anything was 'pulled out of the bag' in those dark days, so any light you can shed on the matter would be much appreciated. All the best, Kevin

If we had a button for it, I'd like this post...

There's a little bit of info on the Flickr page, but nothing much beyond a general attempt at deciphering the Jeep's markings - my Dad was with the Royal Lincolnshire Regiment at the time (2nd Bn up to 28/10/1948 & then amalgamated with a cadre of 1st Bn, to become 1st Bn) & was generally to be found knocking about HQ it seems, as he was both in the Corps of Drums & was quite a good boxer, so had 'favourable' duties much of the time. He was also at one point in 1st Infantry Division demo platoon at the 'Battle School' (while in Palestine) & later in HQ Company Defence Platoon according to his letters, so to be honest, the Jeep could have belonged to any number of owners (I seem to recall that he said he took driving lessons & passed his test in a Jeep as well, which could account for its condition... ).

Best I can do is this photo of my Dad & a rather sorry-looking unidentified Jeep taken sometime between 1947 & 1950, most likely in Egypt (although it could also be somewhere either in Palestine or Trans-Jordan). It's up on my Flickr page, if you'd like a copy for your group? Jeep photo HTH, Kevin

"Frank was counting down the days until the new bypass was completed - the morning commute was terrible!"

Excellent work - really starting to come together now

Brilliant work - the photos really bring home the magnitude of the jobs you fellas take on. Awesome in the true sense of the word

It's a labour of love, to be sure, so I'm certain it must count!

It's been a while since I went to Thorpe Camp, but at the time I think the only turret parts they had (on display at least) were Lancaster dorsal & tail canopies. FN50 dorsal turret canopy Rose-Rice rear turret canopy

Cheers David, much appreciated

Very interesting thread about some very interesting vehicles. When they were in the UK, how were they transported between locations? Did they travel under their own power (notwithstanding the comment above about front tyre wear), were 'tank transporters' used, or were they within the railway loading gauge? Cheers, Kevin