Marmite!! Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 A guy in the darts team gave me a book the other week http://www.amazon.co.uk/World-Encyclopedia-Tanks-Armoured-Vehicles/dp/0754817415/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288612545&sr=1-7 Over 400 vehicles and 1200 wartime and modern identification photographs * Features A-Z catalogues and fact boxes for tanks, ARVs, tank destroyers, command versions, specialized tanks, armoured cars, armoured personnel carriers, self-propelled artillery and other AFVs * An illustrated history of the world's most important tanks and AFVs from the beginning of the 20th century to the present day Was well pleased with it & an excellent book on the face of it.. turned the pages to a vehicle I know well, the Fox CVR(W).. where it stated.. There are two side hatches,one on each side of the vehicle below the two-man turret. No there isn't.. they are storage bins.. if there authors can't get simple facts like that correct how can I have faith in the info about the other vehicles in the book that I know little about?? It seems they did little or no research on the vehicle & just presumed the doors to the bins were hatches for the crew.. wonder how many other vehicles in the book they just "Made Up" the info for from looking at reference photos without checking the facts.. I would recommend the book for photo reference but would take some of the facts with a pinch of salt.. you can get a copy on eBay for about £6.00 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AlienFTM Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Shock! Are you telling me the side bin and wheel are not attached to emergency exits like Ferret? I always assumed they were. In fact I have a vague memory of seeing into a Fox in Tidworth in 1976, looking in through an emergency exit. I must be wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted November 1, 2010 Author Share Posted November 1, 2010 Shock! Are you telling me the side bin and wheel are not attached to emergency exits like Ferret? I always assumed they were. In fact I have a vague memory of seeing into a Fox in Tidworth in 1976, looking in through an emergency exit. I must be wrong. There's NO spare wheel with the Fox..:-D the bins double up as floatation tanks too.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted November 1, 2010 Author Share Posted November 1, 2010 (edited) Oh dear... & here is Jack Livesey, one of the Authors:shocked: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cambridgeshire/8130351.stm A military historian who posed as a war hero has been exposed as a fantasist. Later Mr Livesey told us, through a solicitor, he had a letter from the Army confirming he had been in the Intelligence Corps for 20 years, but could not reveal the proof because of the Official Secrets Act. The Army has issued a further denial to his claims. http://www.arrse.co.uk/wiki/Jack_Livesey This was his life for the next twenty years, including five tours of duty in Cloud ******g Cuckoo Land, where he won the MM (Mong Medal, not the Military Medal), and the Peter Falk-lands War, where he served with the 2nd Battalion, the Martian Light Dragoons. He only has a replica set of medals, because his ex-wife threw away the originals - and presumably, erased all records of him ever having received them/served in a fighting unit at al http://www.cambridge-news.co.uk/Home/Fake-Falklands-war-hero-arrested-.htm Livesey presented himself as a historian and Falklands War veteran during his court case in 2004 for falsely claiming almost £30,000 in incapacity benefit. Edited November 1, 2010 by Marmite!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted November 1, 2010 Author Share Posted November 1, 2010 The only bit I can find about the other Author, George Forty is: About George Forty George Forty is a published author. A published credit of George Forty is Top Trumps: Tanks (Top Trumps). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 I think I recall his name from magazine articles. ...but, as you might expect, I could be wrong. The name rings a bell. Perhaps he's in my pub darts team where I always score a double top blindfold with my hands tied behind my back, or I remember him from my time driving custard cream air drops for the Flying Tigers. Just the facts, ma'am.... etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fv1609 Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 (edited) George Forty was once the Curator of the Tank Museum. PS I have his "The Scorpion Family" in front on me it does cover CVR(W)s, I can't see anything outrageous in that book. But I know nothing about the subject. It looks to be well researched & it ought to be as at the time of writing he would have been at Bovington. The acid test for any book for me is to look up: Humber Pig, Hornet/Malkara, Vigilant & Shorland. Books with misspellings like Vigilante, Shortland, Shoreland etc fail immediately! But simple things like dates of service for Malkara are usually way out, yet basic information like that can be found with a little effort. There are several books currently around that show a really a slapdash approach & it makes anything else in the book inevitably untrustworthy. That is why I have my own Shorland site where I can control the content. I would like to do it for Humbers as well but it would take so much time! Edited November 1, 2010 by fv1609 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
croc Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 I can think of other well known military books with a reputation for being less than accurate. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted November 1, 2010 Author Share Posted November 1, 2010 George Forty was once the Curator of the Tank Museum. Can't find anything negative about Lt. Col. George Forty, his reputation seems intact.. Lt. Col. George Forty CBE FMA is a leading authority on land warfare in the twentieth century. A former tank officer - he had command of a tank in the Korean War, and was wounded in battle - he established his reputation as Curator of the Tank Museum at Bovington, which he brought to be one of the world's leading military museums. Unlike Mr. Livesey's http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/8133050.stm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Publish your own then! :cool2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marmite!! Posted November 1, 2010 Author Share Posted November 1, 2010 Publish your own then! :cool2: There's enough people out there giving out mis-information without me butting in :whistle: People should be sure of their facts before putting pen to paper..:cool2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snapper Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Thank heavens for photography....no lies there, ever..:cool2: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Thank heavens for photography....no lies there, ever..:cool2: :shocked::shocked::shocked::shocked::shocked: One thing about thsi place. Get a fact wrong an the knives come out! (In the nicest POSSIBLE way) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Grundy Posted November 1, 2010 Share Posted November 1, 2010 Thank heavens for photography....no lies there, ever..:cool2: I am afraid that photographs do get modified to make them look better. That chap in the Great War who was on the Polar expeditions did it, but I forget his name at the moment..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 (edited) Bob Grundy but I forget his name at the moment..... Do you mean Frank Hurley the photographer on Shakleton's Endurance expedition? personally I trust photos more than I trust opinions of authors or even written records -it's more difficult to forge a photo convincingly -but it can be done, there are several notable forgeries of WW2 german stuff Steve Edited November 2, 2010 by steveo578 spelling Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
steveo578 Posted November 2, 2010 Share Posted November 2, 2010 Tony B Get a fact wrong an the knives come out! Yes it's like been given the comfortable chair by the Spanish Inquistition:D Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Degsy Posted November 3, 2010 Share Posted November 3, 2010 Thank heavens for photography....no lies there, ever..:cool2: The photo's may be okay but the captions some of the authors attach to some of them are laughable or would be but for the fact that they can be so misleading. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Not always the Authour, by the time things have been through proof reading editing, then the printers.... also a lot of other collabaroators, relying on stock shots of vehicles and other authors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretfixer Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Thank heavens for photography....no lies there, ever..:cool2: Yes, just like Newspapers. What they print is ALWAYS the truth! isnt it?.................:shocked: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ferretfixer Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Not always the Authour, by the time things have been through proof reading editing, then the printers.... also a lot of other collabaroators, relying on stock shots of vehicles and other authors. Now, now, Tony. I have just proof read your post & can conform that it's AUTHORS & COLLABORATORS. See me after school please.....................:-D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woa2 Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Yes, just like Newspapers. What they print is ALWAYS the truth! isnt it?.................:shocked: When I was Editing 'Windscreen' I checked out a story in the Daily Telegraph about the discovery of an Armoured Jeep and quantities of Ammunition in Windsor. The story gave the CID man's name and I contacted him to check out the details. The truth was a few bullets were found in a pond (site was a US camp in 1944) and a local resident "thought" there was a jeep buried there, but nothing was found. Moral - Never let the truth get in the way of a good story Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 :red: Now, now, Tony. I have just proof read your post & can conform that it's AUTHORS & COLLABORATORS. See me after school please.....................:-D :red: Iwill rite one undred timz..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike65 Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Do you mean Frank Hurley the photographer on Shakleton's Endurance expedition? personally I trust photos more than I trust opinions of authors or even written records -it's more difficult to forge a photo convincingly -but it can be done, there are several notable forgeries of WW2 german stuff Steve Editing photos used to be alot harder in the good old days of emulsions, chemicals and dark rooms. These days far more simple, pixels are far more ready to be manipulated. Here is a quick 60 second example. In fact it took much longer to type this post. We could even caption it "Flypast by formation of Avro Lancasters at Duxford 5 September 2010" Who knows give it a few years and people may believe it actually happened. Mike PS: This goes against my photography ethics.I like to take pictures of exactly what was there and other than cropping, resizing and removal of dust I like to get it right when I take the picture. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony B Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Yeah, 35mm you learnt to compose in the viewfinder very quickly. And thought about pictures with a maximum of about 36 at a time. Now its just press button take umpteen and dump the unwanted.I was taught keep all of them so you can learn from your mistakes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArtistsRifles Posted November 4, 2010 Share Posted November 4, 2010 Off-topic l know - but - if only......... To see 3 Lancs in formation in the skies again would be a wonderful thing..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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