LarryH57

I was driving a Land Rover and trailer up past the Angel in North London in 1980s with a few other vehicles from my unit. An 'old git' er.. sorry 'grey haired gentleman' pulled along side me at the lights and was trying to say something to me. Fearing something was wrong, I leant over and slid the passenger window open. What he said amazed me! "Your trailer and vehicle have got different registration numbers!" "I know, this is the Army mate" I said. "Don't give me that, I know the law and I'm going to report you to the Police" said old git. "Well don't forget to tell them I've got no f**king MOT, Tax or Insurance either" said I. Sadly the lights changed so I could not discuss this matter further but I have often wondered what reception he would have had from the Policeman as his local nick!

By the way - did anyone keep a recording of Dig 1940 as it would be great if a still from the war time home movie could be copied on to this thread

Ted, Did you by chance see the recent programme on TV called 'Dig 1940' concerning the Battle of Britain? The programme showed clips from a very rare 'home movie' in colour, by W Rhodes Moorhouse showing 601 Sqn Hawker Hurricanes in the BoB. But as the film panned across a group of pilots in the background was an RAF truck in green and brown camo - which looked the same coulors used on the Hurricanes - not that I'm claiming it was the same paint. As with so many of these programmes, they spare more air time filming people today taking about the past rather than showing the complete home movie! Unless they are interviewing a veteran, I suggest they get rid of the 'talking heads' and have movie film of the period with a voice only commentary.

Regarding Land Rovers in the Falklands, I have just seen a picture in 'The Falklands War' by Marshall Cavendish that shows seven Land Rovers; LWB Hard Tops and what I think is at least one Lightweight stored on the walkway running along the side of the QE2, which set sail on 12th May 1982 with the 5th Inf Brigade (including the Gurkhas). Only a small section is showing so I think the QE2 had more on the same walkway and no doubt the same number the other side. There must have more ships with loads like this so Atlantic Conveyor cannot have been the only 'Land Rover transporter' for such vehicles that arrived before the surrender. When QE2 got to South Georgia her cargo was passed to Canberra and Norland

Guys, since Dirk bought the entire stock of CMP parts from a UK firm with a name like Nordian (?) about 15 or more years ago, I think the best place for spares may actually be Australia and Canada-as there is a much greater following for these types than in the UK. Go to Maple Leaf Up forum http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/index.php There is a For Sale or Trade section too. Good luck and keep rolliing!

This Youtube link I found interesting - but there is a sort of moral to this story; when you get to the end you will know what I mean!

You know I visit the forum often but missed this post - perhaps it should be a 'Sticky' for all to see as the show season gets underway.

Apart from the Lorry, 30cwt Armoured Anti-Tank with steel armour as shown in the photos above, the RAF also used a short wheel based armoured Bedford OX, called Armadillo Mk 2, that retained the normal cab but had armoured windows and doors and radiator, with a wooden 'fighting compartment' inside the GS rear body. The 'armoured fighting compartment' was made from two layers of wood with stones, gravel and sand packed between the layers! The were armed with two Hotchkiss MGs or Lewis Guns Two of these were used at RAF Christchurch 1940-41 together with an Armadillo Mk 3 on a Bedford OY chassis that carried a 1.5 pdr Coventry Ordnance Works (COW) gun on the back. I have a shell case from this in my collection.

I think the SU-85 had a small gun and because the barrel looked very long I believe they were SU-100s, especially as these were in service for many decades. I wonder if any country still uses them; in Africa perhaps?

I saw on the TV that the Welsh Guards were marching in the parade to mark the 65th anniversary of end of WW2 on BBC News 24 and was amazed to see about half a dozen fully operational SU-100 assult guns on the move, together with a few GAZ-67 vehicles too. Can we get them to W&P!

In 2008, I went to Jersey on holiday and the Bovington Char B was on loan to the German Underground Hospital. Is it still there or back in the UK, as it needed a bit of TLC when I saw it.

"how this country ever managed to feed our efforts in the Cold War". In those days nothing we bought was made in China, Taiwan, India, Malaysia or Indonesia! I remember seeing the first Transister Radio made by Sony and everyone at the time thought it was a little cheap and that the Japanese electronics industry would not come to much! How things have changed :cool2:

Ted, I presume you have a copy of Mike Starmer's book - British Army Colours & Disruptive Camo in UK, France & NW Europe 1936-45? What do you reckon to the colour chips on page 40? Are they a good match for the same colours used by the RAF that you described earlier in this thread?

Mastolf, I've just seen your Flickr photos - I joined in 1978 and yet I hardly recognise anyone in the photos, apart from the group photo taken at Tidworth in 1976 - Captain Proud with his dog and Corporal Smallpeace, third from the left back row! Mind you I never got issued with No2s and we never wore them when I was in 873, even when we marched up Action High Street for Rememberance Day. When did you leave 873?

The attached photo of an Austin came from a contact in Eire. He was interested in the Loadstar but behind is an Austin K2 Auxilliary in reasonable condition. I'll try to find out if it is still in existance.

Seeing that the original post concerned selling aerials on eBay i thought I would see what was available for collectors of Clansman radio kit like me and in doing a search I see Ebay still has 408 items listed. So where exactly is the problem?

That's certainly true - because our unit LR's in 1970s and early 1980s NEVER had a bit of red paint on them and yet by 1990 towing hooks and hub nuts were often painted red even though it was not official practice. Also yellow bridge plates stayed on our unit LR's till 1980 even though they should have been grey since 1977!

A different version to the one photographed in UK about 7 years ago. See link http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.php?17031-What-happened-to-this-Bussing-NAG

Just found these quotes from Bob Doe We do not want to be remembered as heroes, we only ask to be remembered for what we did....that's all. If you believe in yourself and believe in what you are doing then you are twice as strong as if you don't. That is what I believe and I certainly believed in my right to defend my land. I wasn't fighting for the King, I was fighting for me Mum — I didn't want them over here. Read more on Bob Doe on this link http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Doe

In the years after WW2 Bob Doe shuned alot of the re-unions and lived a normal life out of the public eye. I seem to remember he owned his own Petrol Station at one time. Because he was not one to brag about his exploits he remained relatively unknown and not a household name like Bader, Tuck or Jonny Johnson and yet with a score of 15 or more certainly played his part in the defence of this country. RIP

How about re-enacting this one - what better excuse for smashing up all that expensive German kit at W&P. If it's OK to have an up turned Jeep in a shell hole at W&P its OK to do the same to Axis vehicles!! By the way these vehicles are probably still there in use - but no one has thought of going there to find out:laugh::laugh:

And another of the same but a bit closer. The Dodge appears to have the blue & white star on the hood though it is covered in dust. Austin K3 on the left I think but what about the car?

Another one for 'Tony B' - an elusive sand coloured Dodge doing a bit of 'meet the Brits' at some Roman (?) ruins in Tunisia.

I built a couple of Land Rover doors in the spare bedroom and thats where the ammo box sits

How about this MW at a show? I thought it was the most realistic of the lot - seen at the end of season meet they have at Brooklands in November.