introduction reason for joining

[alan turner (RIP)]

Hello to all

 

My name Is ALan Turner age per my profile but don't feel it, never been in forces,overweight, bad eyesight and very flat feet, but always been interested in vehicles miliatry and commercial and anything basically mechanical. Married for 32 years to Margaret who I drag around mil museums, she doesnt mind her late dad served with 2nd Manchesters from about 1923 to 1947, lucky to get out of Dunkirk in 1940. Two lads Martin 29 and Keith 26, both with letters after their names.

After 28 years with Nat West took early retirement package in 2001 and then joined RA Museum Firepower in the old Woolwich Arsenal grounds took to both as family history shows over 100 years within the Arsenal and 2 counts of artillerymen. Hold the record for the number of yards driven around the site in their 1942 Chevvy quad, solo or full train, and am the only driver they had to slalom round the lampposts in either condition.I know Richard Farrant has had some dealings with the old girl in the past. Met Pat and Lizzie Ware when they moved onto the site.

I also met a couple of guys, after I left the museum as paid staff, who were mebers of the Royal Arsenal Woolwich Historical Society, they introduced me to their site Archive which contains handbooks, maps, plans,artefacts and thousand of OHMS envelopes containing Negatives of everthing photographed after WW2, bulidings,people and things with wheels and tracks. So since 2002 we have been gaining images from these either by backlight the neg and using a digital still camera or scanning, The results are passable and have recently been shown to David Fletcher at Bovvi and Simon Dunstan for a future project. There are about 20,000 vehicle images only 2500 of which are in the Arsenal.

ever seen images of Humber pigs under construction c1952, refurbing Centurions, 1st 50 built at Woolwich and 50 at Leeds, FV432 wooden mockup and pilot models,02DA17-22 overhead exhausts no air con or boxes at side, first proper mk1 civilian regiustered at Sidcup 1964, Chieftains, and early Challnegers.

 

This is probably too long but I shall try and place some of these images in the relevant headings

 

Live long and prosper (can you do that with military vehicles?)

[Snapper]

Welcome to the Friendly Forum,

 

I've had the pleasure of meeting Mark Smith and interviewed him for HMVF.

 

I am a picture librarian by profession. You're doing a job I would love. I am working in an archive of 15-20,000,000 images dating from the turn of the century - and we have a management who only care about Peter Andre and Jordan. What Katie did next will never appeal to me. But it pays the bills.

 

Have fun.

 

MB

[Grasshopper]

I had a go at bump starting the Chev at a firepower show one year while my friend Mike towed it with his Ward La France. It had the full train on the back too.

[private mw]

hi and welcome :coffee:

[Richard Farrant]

Hello Alan and welcome to the forum. I thought your name was familiar, then realised when you mentioned Firepower. I did in fact deal with a lot of the museum's vehicles, when they were at the Rotunda, getting them ready for the move to the Arsenal, that was a good few years ago now. The Sexton was the biggest challenge...

 

regards, Richard

[Tony B]

Welcome Alan! Just down road from me. I started visiting Firepower in the Rotunda days.

[Chrisg]

Welcome Alan

[alan turner (RIP)]

Thanks for all the words of welcome.

 

Snapper, Mark Smith is a decent chap, but the one to get to know is PAul Evans Librarian, Archivist, researcher and general factotum, it was him that I logged all the photo albums for. many are by officers during WW1 and official ones going back to 1857, items for WW2turn up from time to time.

 

Ah Grasshopper it was me at the wheel of the quad when the bump start was attempted backwards, never explained to staff how tow rope was cast asunder. I had asked one of the other drivers, who still works at the museum to put a charge through the battery that week, but someone had blown the chargers fuse, poss squaddies with idle hands.

 

Richard, down in Ashford, although we have never met your name carries a lot of weight with me for knowledge and mechanical expertise, sadly Les never taught any of us to drive tracked items, mainly cos the site owners had spent so much money laying nice paviours all over the place, would have loved to try both the Abbott and Sexton around the area, sadly the Arsenal tank testing track built in 1952 disappeared under the spine road through Thamesmead towards Erith near the roundabout that leads to Morrisons and Argos beyond HMP Bellmarsh. I would also have loved to be able to drive the Morris Bofors SP which seems to have a complete engine and gearbox. By the Way do you know any of the History of the quad as we drivers could never get any info to pass onto passengers from the museum registrar on the subject, although his knowledge of items held is second to none.

 

Long winded as usual

 

alan

[fv1609]

Alan, just hoping at some stage you might share the pictures of the Humbers Pigs under construction. There would quite a few on here keen to see those, although I would query the date c1952.

 

I've never been able to quantify the number of individual Pigs made by ROF(N), ROF(W) & Sankey. Pig body serial numbers indicate that more were made by Sankey than ROF. But I don't know if archives exist that would show the numbers of ROF ones or even the ERMs of the 1-Ton chassis that were used.

[Tony B]

Will be around in the next couple of weeks rewiring the K3 so hope to see you (Even if the quad has a disieil engine:shake:)

[Richard Farrant]

Richard, down in Ashford, although we have never met your name carries a lot of weight with me for knowledge and mechanical expertise, sadly Les never taught any of us to drive tracked items, mainly cos the site owners had spent so much money laying nice paviours all over the place, would have loved to try both the Abbott and Sexton around the area, sadly the Arsenal tank testing track built in 1952 disappeared under the spine road through Thamesmead towards Erith near the roundabout that leads to Morrisons and Argos beyond HMP Bellmarsh. I would also have loved to be able to drive the Morris Bofors SP which seems to have a complete engine and gearbox. By the Way do you know any of the History of the quad as we drivers could never get any info to pass onto passengers from the museum registrar on the subject, although his knowledge of items held is second to none.

 

 

 

Hi Alan,

 

Thank you for your kind words. I got to know Les well, did you know his predecessor, Stan?

 

The Morris C9/B Bofors came to Ashford for work to be done as it had been standing in the open at the Rotunda for years and suffered. At that time it was in sand colour. We did a lot of work on it, and it drove well, but it went back to standing outside, as the Firepower was was still only an idea then. Others we had in were Honest John launcher, and supply truck, BV202, Stalwart, Auster, etc. The C9 Bofors was restored by another party prior to the opening of Firepower, I believe the gun was incorrect originally and this was changed.

 

Now the Chev Quad..........my recollections of this was when it turned up at the Workshops on a truck, as an Apprentice project, I think it might have been started by the Colchester Workshop and then passed on. It might have come originally, from Muckleborough as the result of a swap. There are a number of things that are incorrect on it, as you may know. My feeling is that it had been a garage breakdown truck, due to changes in the rear bodywork. If you would like to know more, please email me, details at bottom.

 

regards, Richard