Adam Elsdon

British Mk 6 Helmets should be ruled out too, wearing these lid's is like,having your head in a vice,I have yet to meet anybody who said it was/is a comfortable lid to wear;)

Mine used to be alright, once the straps were properly adjusted and the suede leather chin cup had actually taken the shape of your chin they were good, i had my adjustment straps taped so it wouldnt shift, they are quite a heavy helmet, but they would take a good beating and they are well padded.

You just don't see Hotchkiss Jeeps in French livery very often.

This one belongs to a mate in Dorset, where are the rest of them?

 

Its nice, and unusual to see one in original form, its how it should be in my opinion, but each to their own...

And a bit of old French Armour, a Renault FT17 Tank.

ACMAT VLRA, the modern day version of the earlier pictured power wagon.

Dodge Power Wagon used by French Special Forces in Chad

There you go, more of a reason for a French vehicle section, must be other stuff out there like armoured stuff thats a bit of a bugger to get bits for........

I was looking up info for a Panhard VBL, the French army were racing around Sarajevo in them, and it made me think, there doesnt seem to be a French vehicle section on here, which is a surprise, given the amount of Hotchkiss Jeeps :cool2:.

No seriously though, they have some pretty epic kit, look at the wreckers, and trucks etc, you could even say it was with the Foreign Legion instead of the US Airborne!

So who owns French vehicles?

That looks about right, the hatches and the roof profile look the same, that is one sturdy looking vehicle!

While reading about events in Aden in 1967 involving a mutinous uprising, there is an account of a "Pig" involved in a street battle, however i have never found any evidence of Humber Pigs in use in Aden, Saracens, Saladins, Centurions, ferrets etc but no Pigs.

And then i find this picture, what is it, its not a pig, and its not a Saracen, the troops in the rear are the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers, and it is Aden 1967......

Saladin Armoured Car and AEC Matador in Gun tractor guise, both very British serious sturdy looking machines. And of course my Pig.

This says it all about the stupidity of the process............

Quote: Bird, 52, turned a gun on himself after going on the rampage in west Cumbria.

Twenty years earlier he had been sentenced to six months in prison, suspended for a year, for stealing decorating materials from his then employer. He also had a drink-driving conviction.

However, Bird had been allowed to keep his shotgun certificate, obtained before his 17th birthday, because neither conviction warranted an immediate custodial sentence to trigger an automatic ban.

Last month, an independent review ordered by Cumbria Constabulary proposed that anyone handed a jail term of three months or more which is wholly suspended should be banned from owning licensed weapons for five years. End quote.

Surely anybody with a criminal conviction shouldnt have access to firearms... if people are willing to drink drive or steal, they dont get to have a firearms licence.

Why would the police think it a good idea to give it back after 5 years, and then consider it ok to clamp down and restrict the law abiding licence holders.

I think that is completely Ar$* !!

I have two user hand books, both with the winch info, and one has amendments loose in the back, its quite nice!

BSA Motorcycle !

I think part of the problem is the historical "Baggage" you potentially get with an M.V.

If you went out and bought a very good MGB, it may have had only one owner, and a full restoration just add petrol and take it for a blast around some country lanes, put it in the garage and then forget it.

M.V's are fantastically engineered in ways that make civilian classics look crude and cheaply made, however they may also have that "Unsavoury" history that some people wont like such as being used in a conflict, and then the feeling that they have to immerse themselves in that periods history to fit in, instead of just enjoying the big mechanical marvel on the driveway.

I personally like alot of veterans i meet, but then i can relate with them, apparently i am one at the ripe old age of 41 !

If you are young, havent had any military background, and no family connections, turning up at military meets is probably fairly intimidating.

Dont get all "worthy cause veterans yadda yadda" with them, i took a 15 year old lad, the son of an M.V. owner that had lent me a couple of bits, out in my pig, he had learnt to drive his dads civvy landy in a field and was pestering him to have another go, but dad wasnt having it, so after describing how the pig was to drive, i got him in the drivers seat ran through the controls and got him driving it, after i was sure he was in full control of it, i stepped out and let him go around the field a few times by himself, and spot on he was with his driving. A couple of years on and he is still addicted to M.V's, i dont think he cares to much about vehicle history.

Absolutely! when i pop down to get this stuff, i think the wallet will get a battering!:-)

Just for info, the 4th Brigade of guards HQ were based at llanelly barracks Hubbelrath, at the time period that the pigs were in use, they had another barracks called Gort barracks at the same location:- http://baor-locations.co.uk/Hubbelrath.aspx

Might be your pigs former residence! certainly the markings on your vehicle all point at the guards.

If you are having wing boxes made up, let me know, as i could do with a vehicle set including the fronts and front wing lids, my friend also has a pig that he wants wing boxes for, so maybe we could come to an arrangment...

I like the highway illuminated message board trailer they have for sale in miscellaneous, you could leave disturbing or rude messages for your neighbours and the general public, fantastic!!

Join the EMRLA and get the MERLIN card, the UN markings are probably of Bosnian origin, i seen my old S3 109 FFR (17KA50) marked the same in use with the Army at Split on my way out to Sarajevo.

I like the idea of a Help for Heroes Pennant, excellent idea everybody should have one :-)

I have raised a "few thousand quid" for Help for Heroes and it takes alot of your personal time, effort and hard work to do so, if your Landrover is helping raise money for what i consider to be an exceptionally worthy cause (H4H also help out other forces charities, so it goes where it is needed) then crack on with it.

I must confess initially i thought fer f***s sake another bloody walt, but i think your explanation more than makes up for that, you are a star, welcome to HMVF !!

Looks like the kiwi's have gone down to barrack stores and got some old married quarters carpet to line the hard top with, we used to do that with ours.

The Tac sign on the rear, if its original looks like our Royal Signals, so possibly the Kiwi equivalent, and it must have been carrying some load to warrant a twin wheel rear axle setup.

Blimey Clive , She's a rocket ship compared with mine !

Its the GTI version, like mine, no tons of extra armour applied all over and inside it!

It might not have even been mounted to a vehicle, i remember seeing an air horn set up, with relays mounted to a board and using lead acid batteries for NBC (Nuclear, Biological and Chemical) attack warning, as Richard has previously mentioned, it could of well have been mounted possibly temporarily to any vehicle and used as mobile external warning. Secomak have been going for years, so it could be early post war.

I have done no end of exercises and operations where NBC sentries are posted and use a variety of warning methods from Electric sirens, car horns, bells and the banging of mess tins, and good old shouting "Gas Gas Gas".

Thank you all for your congratulations and kind words! Very pleased with my new son but man I need some sleep... :yawn:

They are easy at that age, wait until he's a bit older and running around and then have a couple more kids within a few years of each other, thats proper long term sleep deprivation!

Good God man!!!!!! Well done for still sounding fairly sane!! Congratulations to you, the missus, big bro and big sis. Good luck with the new house and job hunting!

Blimey with all these new babies I am going to have to open a creche soon!!!!!!!!!

The club house is going to need a good clean, and a parent and child parking area, so thats all of the Scammell Explorers needing moved.

And giving custard creams to a days old baby will probably result in the creche been shut down in quick time, putting in a demand through channels for baby milk and Farleys rusks should sort that out though!