berni Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 we have got a few RLs in our 'posse' & a couple of ferrets, a few landrovers, k9's etc and the 1940's weekend at swindon & cricklade steam railway welcomed all ages of vehicles and all nationalities. there are some shows out there who are not 'snobby' .i know this is the exception as opposed to the rule but they do exist. we are very lucky in the fact that john & Mandy keedwell (who own a REO)organise many local events & are on so many committees that they try & steer towards 'multi cultural' shows. its a pity they can't be cloned although i'm sure mandy will say 1 JK is enough to cope with. all our Gloucestershire area events are 'multi cultural' and everyone is welcome, that is the way we organise & advertise. we have been on the end of the 'snobbery ' when we owned landrovers so know how i feels,it is always going to be there but there are so many other shows to go to that the few elite shouldn't matter. ta Berni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 Wish Gloucestershire was closer to Essex - thats a long (and expensive!!) haul in little Maud .... :-( :-( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Hayward Posted September 11, 2006 Share Posted September 11, 2006 There is WW2 snobery which many organisers make worse by saying 'pre 1945 MVs only, but on the other hand it is hard for them to include post war vehicles if they wish to promote a WW2 veterans parade, WW2 airfield memorial dedication or a War on the Line or Living History event. However I do feel a little miffed at being excluded and I am sure I am not the only one who drives a 'modern' MV but secretly wishes I had the time & money & storage space for a WW2 Jeep! Sadly some owners feel almost ashamed that their vehicles look ordinary, so feel the need to make their vehicles it to something else. I say resist the temptation and go for originality, which will be appreciated in the future! Imagine they had organised an MV show in 1946, all the veterans & public would have walked by the rows of Jeeps & Jimmys and been really interested in the WW1 vehicles. Its the same with our cars - where did all those ordinary saloon cars go that I remember on the roads in 1980? The EMLRA has said that GS Land Rovers with original seats are rarer now as so many were sold of and used for other purposes As for displaying post war vehicles, some in EMLRA have taken their Land Rovers and displayed them in a Northern Ireland context, complete with bricks & paint splashes. So come on all you post war owners of why can't we set up a National Service Living History Group, or similar for other small wars since 1945. Any BTW why is it that you never see a post war vehicle of the 1945 - 60 era being driven by anyone in post war Battledress? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 Probably because it does not look as "good" as the American stuff of the period, or it was still hot and itchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I always think that the guys who want to wear British BD for fun are amazing because it is horrible stuff. I suffered KF shirts and they still make me shudder - so...... I always remember the funny scene in Leslie Thomas's The Dearest And The Best when some dapper Americans encounter a British soldier in Devon and presume he's going to kick the Germans to death with the boots he has on.... This must be partly why the Yanks are so popular with re-enactors because the uniforms are so much more acceptable. Funnily enough an Afrika Korps re-enactor was telling me the other day that their uniforms were designed by Hugo Boss's dad and the cut was planned to make the wearer look taller. But British serge? never mind the quality, feel the width. This does not, of course, apply to the wearers. We know how good they were. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enigma Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I wear WW2 BD's. To avoid itching :argh: I wear a normal pair of pants and shirt underneath. I walked around like that in heat of 30 degrees centigrade with a Recce helmet on my head. BTW a helmet is better than a beret in heat, a Beret traps heat while the helmet ventilates.. Don't forget the US infantry had for most of the war woollen pants and shirt. Guess that's why so many re-enact Airborne or use HBT. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
berni Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 maud would be most welcome :-D berni Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 maud would be most welcome :-D berni Thanks Berni!! :lol: Maybe one day when I'm retired (year or so) and have the money for the fuel!! Or if the MVT get us a fuel tax reduction for our hobby - although that could be a looooooooong wait! Any BTW why is it that you never see a post war vehicle of the 1945 - 60 era being driven by anyone in post war Battledress? Can't speak for any one else but personally - even though little Maud's service life covers the period 1968 to 1998 - I don't wear appropriate uniform as, for me, it would have too many of the wrong sort of memories. You'll usually find me dressed all in black and with a polo shirt bearing my old regimental badge. Same goes for carrying weapons of any sort. (would you REALLY want a certified psycho wandering around tooled to the hilt - even if they are deacts????) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Hayward Posted September 12, 2006 Share Posted September 12, 2006 I agree that BD is itchy but that still doesn't explain why very few owners of 1945-1960 era vehicles wear 1949 pattern BD or even the all gren Combat Uniform that came into use just after it (before Camo Pattern). I can't remember seeing many Champs owners in uniform at Kemble. Many people now over 65 have fond memories of their National Service days, which could be the basis for a living history display, which would not be associated so much with being macho but with doing your bit for King / Queen and Country without complaining! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrewroberts.1953 Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Hello As british army has been in effect at war since long before 1900, it does seem a bit odd that people are only interested in 39/45. Next year being the 25 years since the Falklands war, the requsts for vehicles of that period are being made. I have last weekend attened an event at a military base, only 50/60 British vehicles were invited. I have been to other events were the organisers have asked for only vehicles of a certain period, or nation. I have with others taken part in events for post 45 British veterans, and this has been great fun. We always try and have the right clothing. We have the green combat suits for vehicles of that period. But when all is said, it's a wide church. If someone wants to put on 49 pattern BD and drive a series 3 rover, or soldier 90 PDM and drive a 43 jeep whats the problem? Well I bet this starts a few replys! Andy and Trish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted September 13, 2006 Author Share Posted September 13, 2006 So come on all you post war owners of why can't we set up a National Service Living History Group, or similar for other small wars since 1945. That is a wonderful idea - can something be done about it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Well volunteered Jack!!! (just remember when you're setting up events that little Maud has a cost-effective radius of about 50 miles from her home in East Tilbury, Essex!!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack Posted September 13, 2006 Author Share Posted September 13, 2006 Well volunteered Jack!!! (just remember when you're setting up events that little Maud has a cost-effective radius of about 50 miles from her home in East Tilbury, Essex!!) How strange is that! I was just thinking that I don't have a lot to do these days :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 See how we look after you and prevent you from succumbing to the mind-numbing tedium of boredom!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Does this mean Maud would be free for an alternative Southend seafront cruise, then? There was a bloke there last Saturday with a "Ferrari" which we reckon was a panel kit built on a Calibra or something similar. Hats off to him, it looked great. My son, who is 14, wants us to do re-enacting with our Iltis. Plenty of Flektarn about. Easy peasy. But I am 47, getting flabby and am a shrinking 5ft 8 and a bit. He is about half my body weight and not much shorter. I think my Iltis looks just as good (joke) with me wearing whatever I like. I agree with the notion you should wear what you like. He also likes guns - not the best of interests for a father to pass on to a son - but he is entirely non violent and is not Walter Mitty - thankfully. I was a soldier. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I don't need to relive it, I never did anything interesting but there were some scary moments I've been trying nigh on thirty years to forget that would make places like Deepcut seem like Butlins - but that was then. Move on. The plain fact is tossers come in all shapes, sizes and colours. It only seems worse when they dress up to be even bigger tossers. I have met some brilliant re-enactor/living history people. Gentlemen and ladies to a tee. More power to them. It's easy, give the planks a wide birth. You know who they are. I don't think it is wrong to name and shame in a proactive way. They might get the message. I think I mentioned once in a separate post how one re-enactor of a British airborne unit once demanded money from me to take his picture. I've never seen his group since. Oh dear, how sad, never mind. KEEP SMILING. For my money the hobby needs these colourful types. They live in a parallel universe of sorts and give what we do some depth. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 13, 2006 Share Posted September 13, 2006 Does this mean Maud would be free for an alternative Southend seafront cruise, then? There was a bloke there last Saturday with a "Ferrari" which we reckon was a panel kit built on a Calibra or something similar. Hats off to him, it looked great. More than liklely - once I get the damned headlights working again - I hate vehicle electrics - and the first to issues with little maud have been - electrics :-( I remember the old Southend cruises with the custom jobs and the big American jobs rumbling along - those were the days!! :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rapier rob Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 As a vehicle owner I actually prefer british post war rather than WW2 stuff, and yes there is a bit of snobbery about what vehicle you have. Mind you, I don't mind that when I'm passing a Dodge on the motorway and he's doing 40 mph while I'm cruising at 70 after a show. :-D As the organiser at the Gunpowder Mills Show, I don't mind what you bring, everything is treated equally, we are just glad to see you :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted September 19, 2006 Share Posted September 19, 2006 As a vehicle owner I actually prefer british post war rather than WW2 stuff, and yes there is a bit of snobbery about what vehicle you have. Mind you, I don't mind that when I'm passing a Dodge on the motorway and he's doing 40 mph while I'm cruising at 70 after a show. :-D As the organiser at the Gunpowder Mills Show, I don't mind what you bring, everything is treated equally, we are just glad to see you :-) Wish sometimes my post war vehicle would cruise along at 70 - around 35 is usually more the mark!!! Mind you - with the steering maybe I'm safer at 35!!! :-) :-o Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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