Introduction - Greetings from the USA!

[Pedantic_Potato]

Hello everyone! I'm Zeke Hocking. 

I am a twenty-something recent university graduate, in anthropology, that spends far too much time reading, researching, and learning about military history, particularly that of the UK in the time since, well, the USA declared its independence. I find the immediate post-Second World War period and the Cold War to be interesting from a collector and historical perspective due to all the twists and turns (large and small) that occurred as the British Empire was dismantled (?, I don't have a good single word to describe the process, hence my interest hah!) over the course of 50-odd years. TL;DR: Wars and conflicts of decolonization are a big part of my "jam," both for books, gear, and esoteric pieces of knowledge.

I also enjoy learning about, collecting, and shooting military surplus firearms in a manner that utilizes period tests and measurements to challenge the rifles, pistols, and my own skills using them. Having an accompanying interest in military equipment and clothing is neat because it allows me to look absurd at public shooting ranges and always have a topic of conversation other than the firearms themselves (I have the BritishMuzzleloaders channel to thank for that!). 

That all being said, this forum has let me expand my knowledge on these subjects quite a bit when I was not a registered user. Feel free to chat if you have any questions or comments (I am not actually pedantic in the sense of being an "expert;" while I have learned a lot, I also realize that my knowledge is dwarfed by the sheer enormity of the subjects that interest me.). 

I'm looking forward to my time on the forum.

[teletech]

Zeke, greetings. Nice to see a youngster taking an interest.  I'm just a bit south of you, down in CA.

 

[Tony B]

Yes you are very welcome..

[Pedantic_Potato]

Nice to make your acquaintance teletech and TonyB!

I've been lurking the last couple months just scrolling through older posts, but I guess I'll have to throw up one of my own with a bunch of small questions about British/Commonwealth kit. It's great to have everyone and their own individual expertise or familiarity with subjects on the Forum.

Happy Holidays! 

[Tony B]

Be sure the questions will be flying back as well. Most of us haveintrests outside just the vehicles, so there is a lot of help and infoavailable.  Heres one you may not know of. https://www.cios.org.je/news/2015/pt-boats-wreath-laying-ceremony/

[Rootes75]

Agreed, on this forum we as a group have huge wealth and interest in all things military. Be it vehicles or weapons, uniforms or conflicts.

[Pedantic_Potato]

I'll be sure to keep them coming and be prepared to answer those of others then! 

That was an informative read, TonyB; particularly since I had not previously heard of USN PT boats operating in that manner in the European Theatre. Thank you for that article! 

I guess another area I am interested in military history wise, aside from British Empire/Commonwealth conflicts, is the Asia-Pacific War of the Second World War. I've read about a few PT boat actions during that conflict, but I've only really scratched the surface. (My book wishlist has only gotten longer over time, despite telling myself otherwise... haha) 

[Tony B]

The book list could go on. One you should try and find is The Battle of The Narrow Seas by Peter Scott, him of the Slimbridge Wildfowl trust and artisit. He captined a Steam Gun Boat in the English Channel. The illustrations alone , done by him, are worth looking at.

[Pedantic_Potato]

36 minutes ago, Tony B said:

The book list could go on. One you should try and find is The Battle of The Narrow Seas by Peter Scott, him of the Slimbridge Wildfowl trust and artisit. He captined a Steam Gun Boat in the English Channel. The illustrations alone , done by him, are worth looking at.

Added to the book list! Thanks for the recommendation! Illustrations are always nice since top-down charts can only tell so much with swirling actions.