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Mark Ellis

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  1. Mark Ellis
    Just to put the cat amongst the Pigeons. FV421 and FV431 - and an SP FV434 FV421 with registration 00 CA 24 and 00 CA 29 FV431 with registration 06 EB 03, and P1, and 06 EB 01 marked as W1 FV434 01SP12 FV421 There is no 00 CA 2X in MERLIN, so cast before 1st January 1984. FV431 FV434 SP
  2. Mark Ellis
    The exhaust on the FV437 comes out in the rear right corner, with the silencer being a flat box across the back of the roof
  3. Mark Ellis
    Just as a side note - Stalwart 23EK50 (with the plain corrugated sides) is chassis number PV10. It spent a couple of years as the Diver's support vehicle with REME at Instow. Seen here in The Fleet Lagoon whilst a Chieftain tracks across from Chesil beach to Wyke Regis Bridging camp. I'm presuming that the bubbles are from the back of the Chieftain
  4. Mark Ellis
    On MERLIN, these are the only 06EB, suggesting that the FV437 had all been cast by 1st January 1984
  5. Mark Ellis
    I forgot about this one. About the FV437 from 13 minutes in https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060035228 They never consider issuing wheel scotches with the Stalwart. In this video below, the Mk 1 has sunk down in soft soil. Using two snatch blocks, the mark 2 winches it out. But the mark 2 has been anchored using Heras fencing feet between the second and third wheel Linda chapman winch recovery.mp4
  6. Mark Ellis
    I was in the Army cadets when I was a kid. The local recruitment sergeant used to bring films up for us to watch. One night he showed us a film about back line support :- RCT, ACC, REME, etc. On the film was a Stalwart towing a Centurion on a gravel track. I'd love to find that clip again. FYI @Tarland from 2022
  7. Mark Ellis
    I had wondered if they had a second 437 there, as they have at least 2 432 and 3 Stalwarts. 07ER56, 57 and 58 were pretty fresh out of Coventry when this was filmed. I'll drop BAE archives an email, and see if they have anything on the 437 He says that the engine is mounted centrally, so I guess it's right behind the commander.
  8. Mark Ellis
    Why gift them. Why not let the government take the money and pass it to the vehicle sellers?
  9. Mark Ellis
    Many thanks for this, @wally dugan I'll ring the Museum on the 7th, and see what info I can extract. I note that the one at the museum has 3 lifting eyes on each side - compared to the one in Thailand having 2 on the sides
  10. Mark Ellis
    The RE museum doesn't open again until 7th January, and from my experience they won't be very helpful - but I will try. I've asked on my old regiment if anyone can nip along and grab some photos, as I know some of the lads still live around the area. https://www.re-museum.co.uk/visit-us/ Some years ago I gave IWM a list of Stalwart and Sapper related films that they hold on their catalogue - that really need digitising. Had an email back about how the film has to be converted first at x thousand pound before being digitised. Was amazed when they did Mudlark. British Film Industry (BFI) appear to also have some of the same films in their archive, also still on film. A lot of training films that SKC / SSVC made were all passed to BFI, which will probably never see the light of day.
  11. Mark Ellis
    Of course, there may have been more than one prototype FV437 - which means it would be different anyway
  12. Mark Ellis
    There's a number of Prototype vehicles that have been given to these "Civilian" military museums, and volunteers have caused more harm than good. The Stalwart went through 3 changes before they settled on the production marine propulsion design. I'd wondered if the round bits were inside the rectangular outlets. I'll see if someone can pop over and get some close up photos of the vehicle. Perhaps @wally dugan has something on the development of the FV437. I'd presumed that the rectangular box around the top was part of a shallow crew area. The winch comes out the front right at the bottom, so not sure where the winch is housed, but the REME 432 had a winch in the middle of the personnel area Stalwart PV2, with the outlet on the side of the hull Prototype Revised Water deflector board trial vehicle - 02SP43 at Beverly 02SP43 at Aldershot museum, after a volunteer apparently removed "the wrong" splashboard
  13. Mark Ellis
    A video would be good as well if possible. Many thanks
  14. Mark Ellis
    @Tarland, the 437 is indeed sat at the RE museum, looking in a very sorry state with a Ranger Anti personnel mine dispenser sat on top of it. It was put up against the CET as the pathfinder vehicle, but with the CET having a big bucket on the front of it - it was decided that the CET was far superior for moving earth banks at the river edge. So the 437 was dropped. I'd be interested to know what marine propulsion units are in it if anyone finds out.
  15. Mark Ellis
    @Tarland that's brilliant. Many thanks for uploading those. Could you show how the pin is secured in please? I'm guessing the little bar on the pin is for pulling the pin out with. Thanks for this
  16. Mark Ellis
    Just found this from 2004, which means it's out of date now Defence Analytical Services Agency (DASA) DASA is part of the UK MoD, providing professional statistical and analytical services to customers across the MoD, and, as it says in its motto, “information with insight”. The Agency has around 160 staff spread over five sites in the south – Bath, Bristol, Gloucester, Portsmouth and Upavon (near Swindon), and on two sites in London. This is because our staff work alongside their major customers. DASA staff are also part of the Government Statistical Service (GSS), the corporate professional grouping to which they all belong. DASA is working towards releasing all its key publications under the National Statistics programme. Defence Analytical Services Agency Ministry of Defence Room 1/124 St Christopher House Southwark Street London SE1 0TD Tel: 020 7305 2193 Web: www.dasa.mod.uk/
  17. Mark Ellis
    They changed the water carriers from dedicated water trucks to trailer mounted, because if the truck engine goes then you've lost your water - but if it's a trailer then anything can tow it.
  18. Mark Ellis
    Oh, ok. So I guess you bought it from Withams, and they gave you this sheet? Or does the top line mean it was printed off by Withams? I'd love to get my hands on the full MS list. There's an ex Budge chap who has an old hard drive, which has an MS Dos file of stock - but the drive appears to be damaged
  19. Mark Ellis
    Would you have any of that list for stalwarts - registrations 23EK, 24EK, 60EP88, 60EP89, 61EP00 07ER, 08ER, 09ER, 10ER 16ET, 17ET. 18ET. 19ET, 20ET 89ET, 90ET, 91ET at all please?
  20. Mark Ellis
    I emailed the FOI to cio-foi@mod.uk Their address is MOD Information Rights Team Ground floor, zone D Main Building Whitehall London SW1A 2HB They passed it to Defence Equipment and Support Secretariat #2043 Maple 0a Ministry of Defence Abbey Wood With the email - DESSEC-PolSecLE-JSC-WPNS@mod.gov.uk I did email DESDESA-General-Enquiries@mod.gov.uk in June, and never had an acknowledgement let alone a response - but think that's because of what is currently going on at Abbey Wood.. I did ask a dear friend in the field "Hi, Would you know - Is there a department of the Government that's responsible for military vehicle sales to other countries - that keeps records?" And received the response "That is actually the area that ____ is working in now – it’s DESA. The problem they often complain about is the various previous “versions” of DESA and lose of records. ____ is surprisingly knowledgeable himself because of working in the military vehicle area for many years." So technically, I've asked DESA
  21. Mark Ellis
    I had this FOI response in November 2020, when I first started delving in to the history, post service
  22. Mark Ellis
    All those MS numbers ones are ex BAOR, which were given new numbers before Budge shipped them back from Germany in 1993. Military Surplus more like. I did an FOI to MOD on the MS numbers, and they have no records or knowledge of what MS stands for
  23. Mark Ellis
    @snort does it show any Stalwarts, even in the background? I'm looking for photo evidence of the Austrian Stalwarts at Budge. Richard Beddall sold them to Tony Budge in 1988. Amongst the photos from the 90s, after Budge had bought hundreds of Stalwarts back from Germany - this photo shows some Swedish Stalwarts, with their FOCO cranes. Richard sold his remaining Swedish ones to Tony at the same time as the Austrian ones. The Austrian ones, like the two German Mark 2, had combined side and indicator lights on the side of the cab, rather than the rubies on the front of the cab. Many thanks
  24. Mark Ellis
    No, I've not had much time to look at archived pages, but will do. But I think this link has quite a few from inside, but I'd like to see earlier photos. I'm presuming they're all after 93. Been watching all the Christmas specials amongst the browsing 😉 I've found a couple of forums that I've never seen before, they're WW2 forums that have links to defunct photo shares of Budge. One has a person who has a number of old Budge sales brochures, so something might come from that.
  25. Mark Ellis
    Many thanks, Clive. I've been directed to this website, where there are a few photos which must have been taken after 1993 due to all the ex BAOR Stalwarts there. Sadly, can't see the odd ones enough to know which ones they are https://www.warrelics.eu/forum/after-battle/budge-collection-retford-long-ago-far-away-24267/
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