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Upottery airfield 28/29 july - 101st guys and MV's wanted.....


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Great news Robin :clap: :yay: :yay: :clap:

 

We have been worried that the foul weather and low cloud would make life difficult for th pilot - well everyone involved - but Jack had assured me on Wednesday night that it would be there................................ and today THE SUN IS SHINNING and the weather forcast looks OK. Can't wait :-D

 

 

 

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OK FOLKS WE ARE WAITING FOR YOU SO IS ONE C/47 NOW SITTING FIRMLY ON THE CONCRETE OF UPOTTERY AIRFIELD.

 

LOTS TO DO, ALL HELP AND COOPERATION WELCOME. ROBIN SWAHT

 

 

Oh fantastic Robin! We will be on our way this afternoon - great news all round, can't wait.

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Rose - see you and the family at my place later. There will be 3 GMC's leaving from my place - any problems give me a shout on the mobile.

 

Safe journey!

 

Out.

 

Thanks Jack :-D

Richard has just left (not bad considering I said he should leave at about 9am :oops2:) I am going to give him a head start. Give the boys some lunch, then hopefully leave around midday.

 

SEE YA ALL THERE!!!!! :wave: :yay: :banana:

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hiya all

this is my 1st post

just got back from upottery ......WHAT A WASTE OF TIME

cost £10 to get in ..... A tener to see some model aircraft flying about :dunno:

left after hour 1/2 .....in disgust...

way over priced for what was there but

it was nice to see the C-47

anthony

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hiya all

this is my 1st post

just got back from upottery ......WHAT A WASTE OF TIME

cost £10 to get in ..... A tener to see some model aircraft flying about :dunno:

left after hour 1/2 .....in disgust...

way over priced for what was there but

it was nice to see the C-47

anthony

 

 

 

Hi Anthony,

Welcome to the forum;

Sorry to hear you didn't enjoy your day, whilst I cannot comment on this event, - I wasn;'t there,.........with the 'lead up', being detailed within these forum entries, I'm wondering what you expected. :dunno:

To only give ANY event only 1/2 an hour,................to me, seems a little rushed.

Most events start slow and build up,............the 'crack', kicks in and folks unwind,..........certasinly 'do's', I've attended, + the kettles go on for brew's, etc. :-)

 

Please accept these are MY thoughts,............and from a non attending, (this event) member of the forum

 

What vehicle do you have,.................always good to see pics, :-)

 

All the best,

 

Andy

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left after hour 1/2 .....in disgust...

 

anthony

 

 

Hi Anthony,

 

as Andy said, 1/2 hour is nowhere near enough to get the feel of a show, I've been to plenty of shows where nothings happened for a few hours before things get going, did you introduce yourself to the other forum members attending while you were there :dunno:

 

Anyway welcome to the forum, let's hope you hang around a bit longer than you did at Upottery ;-)

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thanks for your comments guys ,

1st, just a little correction i was there for hour 1/2 . ( 1hr 30 )

& had a nice cup of tea with cake ..!

it was the cost that was my main gripe ...£10. ...for what :dunno:

kemble was only £8 this yr ...

i was like a village fete ,

i feel sorry for the guys who did put a lot of effort into turning up & setting

there stuff up .....well done guys

went off to DUNKSWELL as it was only a few miles away

£2.00 gets you into the museum there ....WELL worth a look round if your'e in that of the country

anthony

 

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I made it, even if i only for one hour. Here are a couple of photos:

 

width=640 height=480http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4583.jpg[/img]

 

width=640 height=480http://i30.photobucket.com/albums/c309/Greatwartruck/DSCN4585.jpg[/img]

 

I spent most of my time talking to Jack and lots of other people that i knew from before. Jack was a very nice and personable guy. Quite normal really, despite what everyone else says about him.

 

The £10 entrance fee to get in does seem to be rather high for what was there, but i prefer to think of it as a donation to help save the runway.

 

I told Jack that i had learned to drive on the runway about 25 years ago, and even then it was virtually covered in burned out cars and car tyres. Nice to see it looking so good.

 

Although there was not a lot to see I must say that i really did enjoy the atmosphere there and could have stayed for a lot longer. However, that is probably because i knew so many people. If i did not know anybody i would have been quickly bored.

 

There we go, thats my opinion.

 

Tim (too)

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Just got back in with the children (R Cubed is still trundling back, hopefully he wont be too much longer)

My report of the show:-

If I had been visiting the show with the family and had to pay £10 each an adult then yes I would have been disappointed. Apparently on the ticket it does say that £10 will get you in for the 2 days, so why were they charging £10 today then? :dunno: I know the money goes to a good cause but personally £5 each would have got more bums on seats (this is only my view of course) As an exhibitor, brilliant time had by all :-D We camped next to Jack and his family (what a fantastic bunch they are eh? ;-)) Joris was just down the 'road' , we went out for a meal last night (Saturday) then had drinkies in Jacks tent, we wondered off to the bar (well OK I staggered, and thanks to Joris I didn't fall over! :beer:)

Today we went down to a memorial with the 101st guys and several trucks for a wreath laying, that was a very nice and special moment.

Well done to the organizers tho I know its hard to get a show right first time but all the cubes had a fantastic time.

Oh a big thanks for the C-47, what a sight that was to see, it was open today and you could climb in and take a look around so big :clap: to those who helped with bringing it in.

 

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Hi all just got back from upottery droped off my truck at jacks and annes and home now getting ready for another week away in my other truck...Well ok the show i have to say there was not as much there as you would of expected , however i would of happily of paid £10 just to gone on c47 with the history of that plane involed ie its was the first time that plane had been back to that airfield since D-day 1944 so i feel it was a very special time maybe a one off and well worth the time and effort to go..Plus i met some great people.. joris and his good lady plus the cubes and many more...and the meal in that lovely pub in upottery was great...i personally had a lovely time , heres a pic from inside the C47 ....See you all soon....Lawson

 

width=640 height=480http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa281/Lawson67/C47upottery.jpg[/img]

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Hi Anthony, thanks you have done a great job of killing all my enthusiasms for putting on any more events, I unlike you and the management of Dunkeswell museum grew up at Upottery I saw the field built some of it on my grandmothers poultry farm, I saw the 439th Troop Carrier group arrive and for just a few months they completely dominated the area

All my working life I found myself wondering what really took place so when I retired I made it my business to research the inside history, I was horrified to discover that sixty eight men had been killed on that perilous journey across to France over the two D-Day missions and we as a community had not recognized their sacrifice.

With a great deal of support from members of the local community and with the help of dedicated men who had incidentally helped to set up the Dunkeswell museum in the first place we managed to have a memorial plaque installed on a sentry box. Not much I agree for all the men that are named on that plaque and the possible hundreds who were to die later fighting for our freedom.

Time has passed but for me seeing Major Cecil Petty's plane sat on the runway of the old Upottery airfield after sixty three years and four failed attempts was a victory, so was the genuine pleasure of the 101st reenactment Guys.

I understand every one that attended the evening entertainment in the barns enjoyed themselves.

My grateful thanks goes to Jack and his family for the wonderful support he gave me personally and other members of the South West Airfield Heritage Trust.

I know just what it must cost to keep these wonderful old war horses on the road and with out their presence it would not be possible to stage events, but to be fair at the same time with out venues there would be no where to show off your pride and joys. To everyone who brought vehicles to Upottery this weekend I wish to express my sincere thanks on behalf of the South West Airfields Heritage Trust.

Anthony as you feel you were so badly robbed if you would please send me your address I will personally repay your entrance fee.

As I think you may have closed Upottery airfield for future WWII events I would just like to say this private "If we were on a parade ground I would Have you doubling on the spot in full kit for fifteen minutes." Cpl Bob Gilbert

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Hi all just got back from upottery droped off my truck at jacks and annes and home now getting ready for another week away in my other truck...Well ok the show i have to say there was not as much there as you would of expected , however i would of happily of paid £10 just to gone on c47 with the history of that plane involed ie its was the first time that plane had been back to that airfield since D-day 1944 so i feel it was a very special time maybe a one off and well worth the time and effort to go..Plus i met some great people.. joris and his good lady plus the cubes and many more...and the meal in that lovely pub in upottery was great...i personally had a lovely time , heres a pic from inside the C47 ....See you all soon....Lawson

 

 

Hi there Lawson, brilliant to meet you over the weekend. Have a safe week hun and see you soon. Now is that going to be in August, October or early next year!!! :rofl: :rofl:

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Robin Gilbert i personally would like to thank you for all your time and effort in helping to putting together this very rare occasion , as without your efforts i would not of been able to take this picture taken at dusk on upotterys main runway...what a beautiful and special moment this was for me....one that will stay with me forever......i felt like i had just steped back in time...truly a very special and rare occasion.............Thankyou Robin............Lawson

 

 

width=640 height=480http://i199.photobucket.com/albums/aa281/Lawson67/DSC00497.jpg[/img]

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Hi Robin,

I could not make the event but please don't be put off doing another one just because one person didn't enjoy it after giving it a whole 1hr 30 Min's. It looks like the MV owners and re-enactors enjoyed themself anyway and i look forward to see more pictures of the show.

Maybe when Mr Anthony Wade decides to put a show on you can go judge his show, he will then see what it takes to organise a show and the hard work that goes into it.

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