General Mayhem

On the 29th of June, 1940, The British began evacuating 338,000 British & French troops from Dunkirk, on the Belgium coast. Most equipment had to be left behind. Civilian volunteers and vessels of all sizes aided The Royal Navy in this effort. Who would have thought then that in June 1944, they would be back? Also on this day, in 1941, The battleship Hood was hit by a salvo, from Bismark, a direct hit into the rear magazine, the resultant explosion ignited the forward magazine, blowing the ship apart. Just three men, out of a company of 400, survived the ordeal. And if you will forgive my indulgence: On this day in 1941 The German Army completed the conquest of Crete. My father was among the defenders, his war was over and four years of incarceration about to begin. But in 1943, on this day, The dams on the Mohne & Eder rivers in the Ruhr Valley, were breeched. (Do you know why they can't film a remake of The Dambusters? Because you can't call a dog nigger anymore. And Lindenburgh completed the first, non-stop trans-atlantic flight from New York to Paris in 33 & a half hours, back in 1927.

There is a company in Bournemouth, that supplies the Armed Forces with all their uniform requirements. The public can purchase from them too. It's not the cheapest, but they do sell all the accessories, like swords, buttons , ribbons, medals, rank insignia and so on. It was a great help for me, to help my father get a replacement campagne medal, he's ninety this year, and when I gave him the medal, his eyes filled up, you could see him remembering fallen friends, but for all the emotion, he was so grateful, and so proud. Hope you find it useful. http://www.messdress.com/index.html

Did anyone attend the Watercress Line's: War on the Line, last weekend. A great weekend. If you were there and I missed you, apologies, thinking about getting myself a General Patton uniform, substituting the name for Mayhem. Here's a link to last weekend's fun. http://www.watercressline.co.uk/1940s08a.htm

The ladies were well turned out too. So good to see so many getting involved, great weekend.

The clip says it all, any comments? http://www.metacafe.com/watch/1045687/iran_water_proof_air_force/

Yep, it's that time of the year when councils get rid of all the dosh that could cause them a cut in revenue next year, and some of the things they spend it on............... But hey-ho, at least we can get a laugh at the expense of the contractors when they come to move the van. Any witty captions?

Not so, all modern jets are computerised, computers run on windows.

Sorry to hijack your thread Bob, but welcome all the same. Andy, what constitutes British? What about a Chevy, ordered by the British military in 1938, manufactured in Canada in the same year, delivered to the UK in R/H drive, also in 1938, commandeered back by the Canadians in 1942, bought by the US Army in 1945, shipped back to the States in 1946, bought by a UK resident, as a wreck, in the mid nineties, restored from the ground up, and is now seen out and about on British roads? http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb48/savannahwitch/50266staffcar.jpg[/img]

If you can't get up to that neck of the wood, then get yourself along to the Mid Hants Railway on the 21st & 22nd June 2008. Have a look at last year's goings on. http://www.watercressline.co.uk/1940s.htm And here's the edited version, but sadly lacking in vehicles.

You do realise that you will now be sleeping with a grandma!

19 years, good grief. What a film though, I remember at the time much was said in the press about the so called Nose Pin Up Art. The cheesecake, naughty but nice girls that adorned the nose of the aircraft. Some pseudo types opined that these were the equivalent to warding off evil spirits, even to a superstition that it would keep a crew alive in battle. The crew on the other hand, admitted to seeing a scantily clad, nubile young woman on their plane. If you want to see some of the art work here's a good link. Don't worry, nothing risque, this was the 1940's. Some incredible talent amongst the crews. http://www.acepilots.com/planes/nose_art.html

The anacronym does spell S.P.A.M. and I was somewhat dubious when I received an e-mail about this event. It's advertised as a war Weekend, (presumably WW2) The splurge goes like this: Calling all stall holders, Re-enactors, Owners of military & 1940's vehicles, blah, blah, blah. The event is on the 12th & 13th of June, at Heckmondwike, West Yorks. No address is given but there are two contact numbers, which are: Debbie, 07779 155771 &, Lisa, 07779 155969 If any members in the area know about this, I would appreciate more details please.

I would just like to know why everyone gets out of their pram at the slightest hint of anything political. Not suggesting that we have any such thread, but in a democracy, all things are political, as Churchill famously said: "Better jaw jaw than war war." Sometimes I go to add a comment and then think better of it. And in the past, I have been told in an abrubt way that what I posted was political, like I was some pariah. Is that the way it has to be?

Is there a dig at something here? Or am I missing a point? Any hint of politics on this forum is immediately censored. There have been times when I've had an entry removed and left feeling exasperated, but hey ho, that's the rules so get over it. As for using my real name, thank goodness it's not Rushbottom or Treblecock.