Congratulations once again to everyone at Bantock House Museum for another brilliant 1940′s Weekend. Held over the weekend of September 5th/6th at the Bantock House Museum, in Bantock Park in Wolverhampton, the event was part of the museum’s 1940′s month. There are various events going on during the month including a Make Do and Mend event, a 1940′s Room set up and a 1940′s Dance at the House on September 26th. Visit the link below for further information. The enthusiasm of all the team there is brilliant and there are many displays of wartime items within the Museum, including newspapers etc
Although only a small event in comparison to others, the atmosphere here is really electric, where you can feel the enthusiasm of all taking part. Some may even say a wartime spirit prevailed ! Led by Helen Steatham, the Curator and Manager at Bantock House Museum along with Jane James, the Education Officer, the event has been going for quite a few years, at least five to my knowledge.
There are many displays of the various aspects of the homelife during the Second World War, from rug making from worn out old clothes, to a display of Wren’s, the women’s branch of the Royal Navy. Another had a display of Home Guard equipment, or Dad’s Army or even LDV’s as they were first known as. LDV stood for Local Defence Volunteers. Most I understood are run by small groups of enthusiasts that come together for the event.
Another area ran by two very enthusiastic ladies, with one looking really smart in a WAAF’s uniform, was the 1940′s Room, where you could dress up in 1940′s clothes and have your photograph taken in a replica of a 1940′s dining room. We have an example below, where the three ladies were really enjoying themselves dressing up with wigs as well as the clothes and accessories of the time.
The Museum cafe was doing a roaring trade and many took advantage of the nice sunny afternoon to sit outside and enjoy a cup of tea and some nice cake. There were many live performances singing 1940′s songs and also a mid-afternoon sing-a-long of wartime hits took place. Many of the visitors were from the wartime era themselves and really entered into the spirit of things by dressing up in wartime civilian clothing. On the Saturday afternoon, a much younger generation were dressed as Land Army girls and had a fun time dancing to wartime music that was being played over the speakers.
On the vehicles front, we saw a nice Willys MB Jeep and Harley Davidson WL750 with sidecar on the Saturday and then a Dodge Weapons Carrier with two more Willys MB Jeeps on the Sunday. One of the Jeeps was an early Willys Script Jeep converted to an SAS jeep used in North Africa, complete with jerrycans, machine guns etc. With so many people attending, it was difficult to get a clear shot.
There were also a few re-enactment chaps there showing uniforms and equipment of German, British and US paratroopers. At least three of them were camping out on Saturday night armed with a bottle or two of bourbon whisky to keep the night cold air out, as they told me.
So to sum up, a super friendly event that is highly recommended. Usually held on the first weekend in September, pop it down in your diary for next year. I know this year the event on the Sunday, in particular was so popular, that by mid-afternoon the Museum carpark was so full, that cars were being turned away to find alternative parking in the roads nearby. Have a look at the photos below to see what a great event it was.
This posting is in memory of a good work friend and colleague, Norman Yeomans of Stafford. Norman was the stores manager at the catering company I worked for and was known affectionately by all as ‘Norman the Storeman’. His joke was that he loaded up the food and drink onto the lorries to go to the various corporate hospitality events, to give them ‘a ride around the country’. We got talking about army things one day and the next day he brought in an album of photos showing his time doing National Service in the Army in Germany 1946. I was able to take copies of them and although they aren’t fantastically clear photos, I thought you may like to see them nevertheless. Sadly, Norman passed away a few months after I’d left the company, after a short illness.
These are for you Norman, old friend.
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 24 AUGUST 2009
Well welcome once again to Miliblog and this weeks’ newsletter.
Miliblog have just returned from a fantastic day out at the Severnside MVT Area’s 3 day show at Kemble Airport not far from Cirencester in Gloucestershire. Based on an ex-RAF airfield and next to Kemble Airport, the location is excellent with lots of grass and ex-runways to have a drive around on. My wife packed me off early with sandwiches and a flask of coffee and after two hours we arrived. Our digital camera had a memory card that was still full of stuff from previous shows and so I bought a new 4gb card that would give me loads of capacity for the show with hundreds of vehicles promised. First shot was to be a nice Jeep in the carpark, so I switched on the camera and…..nothing ! A faulty memory card and dispite a call to the shop I’d bought it from, I’m sad to say that I couldn’t take one photograh at all ! I’m soory to the ATC lads who were manning the entrance from the carpark because they learnt a few new Ango-Saxon words that day ! It was like being on a waiting list for a top restaurant all year to finally turn up and you’d forgotten your knife and fork !
Still we enjoyed a fantastic day out on the first day of the show, The weather was good and halfway through the day were treated to an airshow from an all-black Hawker Hunter, and the guy certainly knew how to fly ! Even with 1950′s technology, the rate of climb looked amazing ! Met some great people there including Mick Dent who, with his charming assistant, was running the MVT Clubshop. If you’re reading this Mick, I hope you find a photo of some of the vehicles you’ve owned over the years. Lots of great vehicles and uniforms there including three SAS Pink Panther Landies, an unusual AEC Militant with an Office Body that had the sides extended out, which was quite amazing. Not all a disaster though as we managed to buy from one of the stalls some really nice photos, which I’ll be sharing with you soon. In fact I’ve shown three of them below. Really a highly recommended show and we will be back there next year with a camera that works !!!
New photos this week have been a few Leyland Daf Refuellers of the RAF and Royal Navy, some Scammell Explorers, including one from Central Garage in Kyle in Scotland. Does anyone know if it’s still there ?Also a Land Rover S2 109 Station Wagon belonging to the Commanding Officer of the 44 Division. We have ten more videos to share including a brilliant original wartime one on the theory of Reconnaissance which shows Daimlers Dingos and Humber Armoured Cars. See if you agree with the method and wonder, like me, what the enemy forces are doing while it’s going on ! Still it’s very enjoyable to watch, including the command of ‘Driver, Advance !’
With over 3,300 photos on Miliblog, it’s so difficult to categorise them to ensure you all can find the items you are looking for. A soldier standing by a car for example. Since it was during the lates 1950′s and show the car and the driver, we’ve listed it under Orginal Post War Photos and then British National Service. Then the tab for Army. There are sub-sections, and more sub-sub-sections for most of the categories on Miliblog, otherwise it would be difficult to split down all the items.
Finally just received the latest edition of Windscreen. the club magazine of the Military Vehicle Trust. It is superb as ever and if you are into MV’s and in the UK then I highly recommend you join. The club details are posted on the Links page under Military Vehicle Clubs.
Have a great week !
Cheerio !
Simon
TA Detachment of Austin Champs for The Coronation 1953
Ford C15 and WOT2 15cwts in North Africa
AEC Matador Dorchester Armoured Command Vehicle
Scammell Explorer 10Ton Recovery Tractor (SJS 920 M)
Land Rover S2 109 Station Wagon (25 CL 51)
Humber Armoured Car, The Theory of Reconnaissance (WW2 Training Film)
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 17 AUGUST 2009
Hello again and welcome to this week’s newsletter on Miliblog.
Looks like another quiet week with many away on holiday or even out and about in their military vehicles. There’s nothing better on a warm sunny day than a drive round with the top down and wind in your hair !
Last week we featured a superb SAS Pink Panther Landy from the Kington Show. Like many things in life, we often assume everyone knows the same as we do ourselves, but the thought occurred to me if you all knew why these SAS Landies were painted pink. Back in the 1970′s a crashed ex-RAF Mosquito aircraft was discovered in the desert in North Africa. Made with a wooden frame, the canvas over the years had been blown away revealing the wood which had been painted in a pink preservative paint, which used to be very common in woodworking. Although the plane could be seen from the ground, the shade of pink had weathered slightly to blend in with the desert sand and so couldn’t be seen from aircraft. Hence the SAS Landies patroling the desert were painted this shade of dirty pink. Also in the 1970′s, and showing my age, was a television cartoon character called ‘The Pink Panther’ and so the Landies adopted this name.
I’m sorry to say we’ve been a bit lazy this week and not added many photos at all ! However one we have added is one of my favourites as it was sent to me back in 1998 from Beverley Madege, who’s Bedford RL was the love of her life. I think whatever military vehicle we own, we all feel really passionate about it and have great fun with them, that is until they go wrong !
So have a great week and soon coming is the Severnside MVT branch’s show at Kemble over the weekend of August 29-31, which miliblog will be visiting.
Cheerio !
Simon
Bedford RL 3 Ton Home Office (SXF 288)(Courtesy of Beverley Madege)
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 10 AUGUST 2009
Hi there again and welcome to this week’s newsletter.
A bit late this week as I’ve been catching up on stuff to put on in the future months. Only a few more photos this week but neverless some nice ones including the Bedford RL Light Recovery shown below. Don’t forget that the search tab at the top not only searches registration numbers of vehicles but also the vehicle types as well, such as Bedford QL etc.
This week Miliblog ventured out for th whole day down to sunny and beautiful contryside of Herefordshire to the town of Kington for their annual Vintage Show. Please visit our show report for more details, but to say it was well worth the drive to see the green machines as well as many other old classic cars, trucks and tractors. Highly recommended for next August.
I’ve had an email from Brian who asks why can does he see photos showing twice on the lastest images tab ? Had I made errors and listed them twice ? Well no Brian, not exactly. Where I’ve taken a photo of an Austin Champ for example at a show, I’ve added it to the show report to show what vehicles were there and then since we didn’t have a photo of that individual Champ in the Austin Champ section, it’s been added. Next time we see that particular Champ ata show, we’ll just add it to the show report. Below are a couple of samples from the show including a superb SAS Pink Panther Landy.
So back to the albums and find some nice goodies for the next few weeks !
Have a great week !
Cheerio !
Simon
Bedford RL 3Ton 4x4 Wrecker (00 DL 97)
Austin Champ (ORE 145 F)(83 BE 29)
Land Rover S2 109 SAS Pink Panther (10 FG 57)
Daimler Mk1 Armoured Car – External Details (WW2 Training Film)
Daimler Mk1 Armoured Car – External Details (WW2 Training Film)
Daimler Mk1 Armoured Car – Engine & Transmission (WW2 Training Film)
Humber Armoured Car, The Theory of Reconnaissance (WW2 Training Film)
Humber Armoured Car (WW2 Training Film)
Humber Armoured Car – Engine & Transmission (WW2 Training Film)
1942 Dingo Scout Car – Driving and Walkaround
