ruxy

Polish involvement in Britain during WW2 is quite involved and I would say still part hidden. Including a 'guarded' camp (political prison) on Bute for Polish officers + two other similar for Polish rankers - locations in Scotland, leading to questions in H of P. Very little is known about Josef Retinger (eminence grise / propagandist for Sikorski / some of London poles). Due to the complexities - only somebody having strong Polish origins could best put to pen. I should be able to give the titles of two books by authors of British origins - where this was revealed. The full situation in general - best I have read is , Britain and Poland 1939-1943 : The Betrayed Ally by Anita J. Prazmowska (1995)

1961 - I learned to drive on one of these Fordson , strange things - pedal half down for clutch and full down for brake. AFAIK it was a civilian model. I always call it the 'low' model because I advanced to the next model where you were sat very high (I hated it). Then to the Standard Major which was best of all, the two early models were well worn of paintwork but I would say they were very near to Navy Blue, the post WW2 Standard Major of course was the paler Fordson blue. I remember the orange Nuffield that looked very similar to the Standard Major. I may have seen the odd Fordson in a collection that was orange , if this collection still exists (1 mile up the road) I have only viewed it once 2098 (the owners fitter showed me it on the sly , I don't think any attend shows or tractor runs)- there are about 30 early (style models originating before WW2) blue Fordson and possibly just a single one or two orange Fordson.

"Modern" cars - let's say post 1980 , have had plastic petrol tanks - these don't create internal condensation like metal petrol tanks do in cold weather , due to airflow , driving over deep snow etc. Since at least 1980 most cars have had EVAP charcoal canister sealed from atmosphere systems. Such as Series Land Rovers - the tanks are vented to atmosphere , standing unused for long periods - often hot/cold pumping of the petrol due to ambient temperatures aids the change of air to top of tank and this could be moisture laden air.

At least with a Lightweight Land Rover you have underseat fill petrol tank with a large fill aperture to peer through (providing you use a intrinsically safe torch). You will see beads of water rolling on the bottom of the tank, water contaminated petrol was quite common long before the 'unleaded' days. Bad garage underground storage tank facilities often the problem. On such as a S3 / S2A the caps are vented , for safety reasons only become unvented in a vehicle roll-over situation. The cap breather is the white peg on underside (IIRC this incorporates a fine filter) , the safety is the brass clack valve with spring loaded ball bearing. Unfortunately with most car petrol tanks - unless you drain the fuel into a container there is no easy check for water at bottom of tank. A locking cap does aid the prevention of drunkards using your tank as a urinal.

Push rivet ? Spline drive rivet ? Hardly - that seems thin sheet metal. What can be seen of the head on other side ? Probably just dome/button-head small soft iron rivets.

There are a few different types of Combustion leak test kits (colour change of coolant) , various ££

It's all a bit of a puzzle , today I took more interest at the local filling station - All the signage & brand new pumps are ESSO , yet read the small print on the signs - it is Penny Petroleum , the largest indi. based in Northumberland with sites from the Glasgow/Edinburgh belt down to where Northern England ends LoL A tanker was present filling the tanks - owned /operated by Flexigrid , so I Googled them up & they are owned by Greenergy !

From approx. 1979 / 1980 - a civilian Mini would have a 14 digit VIN plate ,after this a 17 digit VIN plate (just like any vehicle). Often black anodized. A common place with various manufacturers was under the drivers seat , often under a hinged piece of carpet . 1983 , late , to late from me . My first car was a used 1962/3 Morris Mini Minor, then a Ex-polis grey mini-van (I think that was Morris) then I went up in the world with a de-luxe (a 2" instrument either side of Speedo head clock) - IIRC that was termed a Austin 7 LoL The Austin was up-rated to abt. Cooper spec. with a re-worked cylinder head but the boot lid was "regulated" to Cooper S LoL

Just type in all the nomenclature off this plate. The terms looked for are quite standard, e.g. Contract , Warrant, Code No.

There is a User Manual (I have the March 1980 Edition for 3/4 ton , Army Code No. 22230 / Land Rover Part No. 608179), I suppose there was a MOD Repair Operation Manual or at least covered the FFR aspects of servicing beyond the User Manual - but I have never seen one , I have always just used the civvy Repair & Operation manuals & worked out the electricals myself. During the 1970's at subsequent new Edn. a few items were moved into the User Manual from the Repair Op. manual.

Readily available at any LR dealer/stockist , the SQUARE SECTION "cap" seal is Part No. NRC 6836 , don't be misled - it is the cap seal but does not fit on the cap (some earlier seals did) - NRC 6836 fits (loose fit) in the gutter on the tank-top. They are used with a cap having a white nylon breather 'peg' and a brass tube for a ball bearing "Clack Valve" - when tank is off the vehicle best to check seal and cap by placing small quantity of petrol , inverting tank (to simulate a roll-over) - should be no leakage.

We-- - any future postings here on this or any other subject - I will not even read - just IGNORE. Over the years you have actually offered absolutely nothing of any substance.

Well - you will have to learn the standard routines to loose them off , such as a shopping arcade with multiple entrance/exits. However - yes , in your situation you need to eyeball the watchers to confirm.

Then you will have Mi5 and the SB's tailing you ,,

This post started 2016 (2nd of April) , something significant in it being the 2nd ? I think you may have hit the nail on the head - the originator has been playing the "Long Game" now for 5 years + , yet still no hard-evidence just his hearsay. Obtaining Planning Permission approvals for such large projects can take well in excess of 5 years - I doubt if we have heard the last of 'andy brown' , on past form he will cease posts in annoyance but return in a few years.

No , but just pondering - when your old man went off for 2 months on this tank bury job - possibly the real truth was he had a bit on the side ?

Didn't work like that with the security services (Military in name) , Mi5 was owned by the Home Office & Mi6 by the Foreign Office. At the start Mi5 had hardly had any organization or men/women , then most of their registry was lost/damaged in the Scrubbs fire caused by the Luftwaffe.

O'h while I remember , several years ago I e'mailed the owner of the museum to query the copy origins, I should be able to pull up the reply - but basically he told me s.f.a.

Well - I don't rate your chances of getting accepted % good. I think it will run , presently I am too busy sorting aggregate for a large batch of concrete, possibly I will give my opinion of the RAF base story later. One of the problems is you can be waylaid by people who believe they are competent in their/your particular subject , propaganda can sway you for several years of wasted time - you remain polite ,then you make a return and sift out something fresh.

True , Sir Maurice Oldfield was for a period Head of Mi6 During WW2 Mi5 & Mi6 were supposed to be joined at the limb. As I said earlier (I'm not prepared to swot up) 4 or 5 copies were made by Mi5 of this particular document and most certainly Mi6 would have received one of these copies - the COPY I have - I believe is the one supplied to Mi6. When Maurice was 'Head' he was in the best position of anybody for access to files, and he did because he tried to get the answer where there had been much speculation. Maurice , for quite a few years received the blame for a stolen Mi6 file (that was seen by a 'few' in Holland). This file was later sold for top$ , it did not address what I was interested in - the real conundrum, I was aware the "photo-copy" was in a museum , and I think the book possibly accused Maurice , but there are other sources that lay the blame. I am certain the museum photo-copy is a copy of my COPY. This museum has changed location , I have never been - IIRC it was in a polis shop but now in a proper prison. I can only operate by keeping a 'low-profile' , the only clue I will give you - get the Book , a weighty tome as oiled bible paper ,, https://www.amazon.co.uk/Crime-Through-Time-Black-Museum/dp/1902578171 ========= Not that I had anything to do with the Crime through Time , other than I visited the printers works on Tyneside. ------------------------------------------------------------------ Joris actually declined to review the book I wrote chapters & handed it on LoL

Andy - why did you not drip-feed these 40 qty. tank identity plates as single items on Ebay ? As desk paperweights - you would have raised more £ , you would not have got top $ off Sotherby's.

I do have form / notoriety , according to Mark Barnes (War History online). I ghost-write /part write under a nom-de-plume (this particular book -if you searched you would find my name ISTR as a "contributor".. MB did NOT get a complementary for the following book , and I very much doubt if he will get a free-bee for the book that should have been published June/July gone , however it was delayed due to inclusion of new material , I don't always agree with everything deduced by the main author , especially in a far earlier book going back 10+ years , two weeks ago I was able to give him evidence that may re-write history - so with luck that will create even more delay on the new book, that is if this contentious matter is re-evaluated..

Can you show a photograph of the catalogue page HERE ? Also if you feel OK about it the correspondence received ?

Your first post - you state you purchased quite a large quantity of tank identity plates at a West London scrapyard , further that you had them auctioned by Sotherby's in 2002. Now - IMHO the passing of 19 years is not so great for a auction house of renown, they will have a library of catalogues with a history well in excess of 20 years, they should also have your name, address / account No. For starters - without proof of identity and good reason , they will not entertain such a search. Regarding getting info. out of a auction house - I say this with good reason - they maintain there customer's confidentiality like a doctor (probably more so for a seller than a buyer). I say the above with experience and good reason - several years ago , a person (not self) purchased a deed box of ephemera from a auction house , I then purchased a important WW2 Mi5 document off this dealer. I had known of the existence of this document because a COPY of it appears in a book (this copy is displayed in a museum). I had a hunch this museum copy was taken off the COPY in my possession. The COPY I have being one of four/five copies produced by Mi5 and each was marked for traceability of handling from the Registry etc. I believe my COPY is the authentic and was "weeded" by Maurice Oldfield and he kept it safe for 'historical' purpose. I believe the paper of the COPY I have if ever had the paper forensic tested etc. then it would be confirmed Mi5 genuine. I actually contacted the auction house to see if they would reveal the seller of the papers , this would enable me to question this person and see if a link could be established. However - I was blown-out.

Andy - may I suggest that you will make greater progress by convincing Tony Robinson and Phil Harding to call in their team with - ground penetrating radar.