LarryH57

I called 999 the other night when I saw some people loitering in my drive. One was carrying a scythe, another was covered in blood and one was carrying a severed arm! I had them arrested for causing alarm. Still thats cut down on the amount of sweets I'll have to give out to the kids in my road next Halloween!

I could have given this the title ' I told you so about the VCR Bill! A STUDENT dressed as Rambo was arrested for carrying a plastic knife. Anthony Radley was held in a police cell for four hours and had the toy confiscated. He was handcuffed by officers as he walked along Derby Road in Lenton after a fancy dress party. Police confirmed the public order charge relates to the fact that his knife caused public alarm! Read the story here: http://www.thisisnottingham.co.uk/homenews/Rambo-fined-80-plastic-knife/article-442508-detail/article.html Take note it won't be long before you're all shopped for driving a green vehicle that's apparently caused alarm in your neighbourhood.

You can't really count HMS Victory as you cannot really go to sea in her and as for the VC, Jack, if you count that you may as well include human beings. In fact I know some people who have served full time in the British Forces for well over 40 years

In this day and age it seems that an order for a few dozen vehicles costs the MOD billions of Pounds (of our money!) and I bet they won't last very long either. So what is or was the oldest most long lasting bit of kit that the British Armed forces have had or still use. A few things come to mind like the Centurions used in Suez and retired after the Gulf war and Ferrets of similar age. But surely the award must go to those DUKW's still in use by the Royal Marines albeit with replacement engines. Can anyone think of other examples where we have had our monies worth?

Has there been any update from the Government on VCR? Following the VCR bill abut a year ago I got the impression that the Government was thinking of tightening the rules even more.

The yarn about the live Grand Slam, has reminded me to ask if anyone has heard the one about the RAF Barrage Balloon unit that was sent to Wales or the Borders in WW2 and was lost from RAF records? So the story goes a winch vehicle, barrage balloon and crew were sent to protect a location early in the war and as no facilities were available on site the crew were billeted out with the local population. Although they sent in reports and received supplies for some years they never received any orders, or requests to move despite the reduced threat to their part of the country in the last years of the war. After a while they received no more supplies or heard from the RAF but 'hey' by this time some or all of the crew had married local girls so they were in no hurry to remind RAF Barrage Balloon Command or who ever of their 'predicament' especially as the RAF pay came in handy in addition to the money from civi jobs they had taken on. And so it continued for many years after the war until someone discovered the situation and went looking in 1960's. I first read this story over 35 years ago so forgive me if there are differences to what you have heard. I never quite believed it though and at the time I thought, surely the RAF winch vehicle must have survived and if so why no pictures of it! It reminds me of the Laurel & Hardy film where Laurel is still guarding the trench after WW1 next to an massive pile of bully beef tins! On the other hand who would have thought Japanese soldiers would come out of the jungle in 1970's not knowing that the war had ended!

I think what Ted explained killed off the story for me when he said what I was thinking -why take a live bomb 200 plus miles down to Shoeburyness in Kent when you could make it safe on site! And assuming it could not be defused, then getting rid of it in The Wash would have made better sense.

Is there any restrictions on age? I think you have to be 21 to start with but what about the grumpy old men in this thread? Can they take an HGV over 50 years of age or at 65 if they want?

Civi rear cross members were also fitted to some Series Land Rovers by the Army in 1990's because they ran out of military ones after production ended and anyway who would have cared about what it looked like as long as it was back on the road.

Ted and co, Thanks for all your replies. You have done a marvellous job clarifying the subject. I'll have to dig out a few photos of WW2 RAF vehicles to post here. NB - Have you thought about putting an article together for the MVT Windscreen or even here on HMVF?

I saw this and thought of Clive Elliott who has one of these Malkara firing Pigs. I have never seen a photo of one in 'action' http://www.servicepals.com/index.cfm/pcms/site.gallery.view_image/imageID/12934/

I have just had a look at the 44 Pattern pouch and it has ZA33126 printed on the reverse if that's anything to go by.

Thanks Robert, I can't say I have heard of an 88 set but I used to use an Larkspur A41 in 1970's but for the life of me I cannot remember them being in webbing. Perhaps the A40 was different from A41 thats why?

When I got my Lightweight a few years ago I found two bits of 58 webbing in it and both bits appear to be radio bags. Can anyone say what radios they were for? The first is the same size as a 58 webbing ammo pouch but has a hole in the flap and on the right as you look at it, is an open ended side 'pocket' of the same length (for a small aerial?). The other bag is 1 ft long, 9 inches wide and 5.25 inches deep. Strangely it has four long straps that go right round the outside to tighten it and other smaller straps that may connect it to a carrying frame. I have not found anything like them on the web. Thanks in advance [/url]

Thanks for your reply - most interesting. So get your Army paints out if you have a WW2 RAF vehicle!

Over the last 30 years I have seen a fair number of WW2 MV's painted in RAF blue and I have often wondered how accurate they are in that colour. When you study war time photos of the RAF in the UK you will see that from very early in the war RAF vehicles from staff cars to fuel bowsers were painted in disruptive camo that I believe was green & brown and that as the war progressed colours changed to match the Army with black disruptive paint over brown (?) and later mickey mouse type camouflage. I have not found a photo of RAF blue & yellow cab roof either in WW2 though I did see a colour photo of an all yellow Beaverette used as crash rescue on a Bomber Command airfield circa 1944 (for use by firemen in asbestos suits to get in close) So why is it that MV owners paint their 1942-45 era RAF vehicles blue and why for that matter does the film industry do the same! Is getting an award more preferable than accuracy? Finally can anyone say for sure when RAF blue was first used-1918? And when did it make a comeback after WW2?

If anyone has any wartime photos of RN vehicles I would be great if they could post them here for all to see.

I presume '58 webbing was developed in 1958 but did it have to wait for Battledress to disappear in the early 1960's before it came in to use or was there a time when it was worn in place of WW2 style webbing with brown '49 Battledress? Any photos anyone?

It's telt in Scotland too!:-D

Regarding RN vehicles I have always had an interest in these as their vehicles are not commonly covered by MV books & magazines or by MV owners - so this link may be of help. There are quite a few from Alan Brock that have never been seen before, if you scroll down http://www.mapleleafup.org/forums/showthread.php?t=5064&highlight=Royal+Navy+vehicles In passing it would seem that RN vehicles that were used in and around the UK docks, that were originally painted gray remained so for some years after the order to change to camo.

So how come two days later two people turn up with a completed application in hand, pay the £25 and drive on in?

We went down to W&P for the weekend, arrived at 9.30am on Saturday and found the two people in the queue in front of me at the vehicle check in were allowed in (on payment of the £25) on the basis that somehow they didn't have time to book by 1st July! Now don't get me wrong the more MV's the merrier but I know a few people in MV movement who didn't go but could have if they had only know, as they were not sure their vehicle would be ready by the booking cut off date or because of their changing work shifts. So my message is don't bother booking, just turn up and pay then and if the weather is crap (or your MV is not well) and you don't go, you won't have wasted your money. NB - I didn't get a program again when booking in this year, as I was told they were all gone, so missed the LR 60th anniversary - yet later saw a W&P person selling them near the trade stands. I felt like demanding one for free!

Jonny, I'm up for a LW event in the arena on Saturday evening in my LW

What does everyone do with their old motor insurance policies, after they have expired and the new policy schedule & certificate has been received? Is there any point in keeping them? Could someone try to make a claim on you a few years after the event claiming that they have only just got round to it or only just found you? I think the legal limit is actually 7 years. Obviously I know I have not had any accidents in my MV but in view of the above should I keep them to defend myself from any unwanted / false accusations?

Bazz, WaS the incident you mention in Germany in the 1980's? I remember a similar type of accident when on exercise one autumn during the annual BAOR exercises.