NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 14 SEPTEMBER 2009
Welcome to this week’s newsletter with an update on new items this week on Miliblog
After last week’s busy week, we raided the collection and concentrated on two main areas that are always popular. 15 photos of Land Rovers and over 20 photos of Diamond T 980 M20 Prime Movers ! Lovely ! So the question for the day is which category should the Dizzy T M20 go in ? It’s from the US and it’s wartime, so that should be easy. But I hear you say, it seved with the British Forces in WW2 ……. and it was fitted with a Rolls Royce engine and served well into the 1950′s and 1960′s !!!! Well not an easy question, but we decided to put all the M20′s under US WW2 Heavyweight vehicles. So that’s where you will find the YZ registed ones. Anyone know if the Dizzy T below is still at Heybeck Garage in Dewsbury, West Yorkshire ?
The Landies are mainly in RAF service and I really like to see what else is going on in the photo, don’t you ? Have a look at the photos below with the old VC-10 aircraft in the backgound. Maybe taken at RAF Brize Norton ? Finally, a nice photo of a Austin Metro Van in RAF colours to show the military uses all sorts of vehicles, even a humble Metro Van.
So back to the albums for a good mixed bag selection next week including some tanks !
Cheerio !
Simon
Diamond T980 M20 Prime Mover (CSU 578)
Diamond T980 M20 Prime Mover
Diamond T980 M20 Prime Mover (CGL 205)
Diamond T980 M20 Prime Mover (27 YZ 43)
Land Rover S3 Lightweight (93 KA 70)
Land Rover 110 Defender (79 KE 14)
Austin Mini Metro Van (18 KD 34)
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 7 SEPTEMBER 2009
Hi and welcome to this week’s newsletter !
Well I am sorry to say not many new photos on this week as work has been very busy. However we have been going through the albums to find some nice ones to be scanned in over the next few weeks. Also we have been able to buy some more photos from a number of sellers across the world, which we hope to bring to you soon.
So what do you have this week then ? To start with some nice Albion CX22S Gun Tractors, some preserved and some at work in the 1950′s. Does anyone know if the Amusements company in Salford and Oldham is still in business ? I’ve added a couple of them below. Next we have a rare Dennis Max 6 Tonner in RAF colours. Introduced in 1944, it had a diesel 4 cylinder engine developing 77 bhp mated to a five-speed gearbox. Finally some more of our old favourites, the AEC Matador Gun Tractors have been added.
Well back to the spreadsheet for work !
Cheerio !
Simon
Albion CX22S 6x4 Heavy Artillery Tractor (FRJ 179)
Albion CX22S 6x4 Heavy Artillery Tractor (SVS 988)
Dennis Max Mk2 6Ton 4x2 GS (VPO 558)
NEW THIS WEEK – MONDAY 31 AUGUST 2009
Hi there and welcome once again to the Miliblog newsletter of what’s new this week.
Well we have been pretty busy this week with lots of new stuff to whet your appetite with military vehicles and more items form the 1940′s Home Front. On the outskirts of Wolverhampton, a city in the Midlands of the UK, is Bantock Park which includes a lovely old house called Bantock House. Owned by Wolverhampton Council, it is a marvellous museum of all sorts of items from the local area. Every year they hold a 1940′s theme month and one of the highlights is the 1940′s weekend. Miliblog was there and you can see a full report with lots of photos on our ‘Shows’ tab. Have a look as it really was an atmospheric event with a few wartime vehicles and people dressed up in 1940′s clothes.
A few years ago I worked with a chap called Norman who had been in the Army and done his National Service. He’d lent me some photos to copy of the vehicles he had and these can now be found under ‘Original Postwar Photos’ then ‘British National Service’ and then ‘Norman Yeomans Collection’ . Very interesting and although they were taken with a basic camera at the time, with the clarity not upto what we get now, they still give a good insight into early postwar vehicles and surroundings in Germany 1946.
Staying with the British Army National Service days, we have some more Scammell Explorer heavy breakdowns for you along with some nice Thornycroft ‘Big Ben’ 10 Tonners. I’ve put a sample below for you to see. Similarly, we have now added some more 1960′s/1970′s German items with some Unimog S404′s as well as a few other types too.
We have a nice shot of a captured Goering’s Mercedes being loaded onto a lorry to go to who knows ! I wonder what became of it ? Does anyone know ? Also we have a shot of a captured ‘super-tank’ as it was labelled. Again another photo that’s well worth some more investigation. Whay price would you put on this pile of Goliath mini-tanks that this US Army soldier is checking over ?
Finally, our website designer has changed the software for the Forum on Miliblog to make it more user friendly. We’ve already got our first posting there thanks to Hugo and would love to hear from you anywhere in the world with your comments on our little website and even with what things you would like to see on Miliblog.
Have a great week !
Cheerio !
Simon
Three 1940s Glamourpusses, Bantock Park 1940s Show, 2009
Royal Tank Regiment Chaps
Norman Yeomans by Cab of Karrier K6 3Ton, Germany 1946
Thornycroft SM-GRN6 Big Ben 10Ton 6x4 Tractor (04 BJ 37)
Goerings Car Captured By British Troops
US Sergeant With German Super Tank
US Troops Captured Pile of Goliath Remote Controlled Explosive Devices
Broadcast on BBC 1 television channel for five days commencing Monday, September 7th 2009 to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the outbreak of World War 2.
Forces sweetheart Katherine Jenkins is joined by Michael Aspel to celebrate the heroes of the Home Front in a special week of programmes to commemorate the week 70 years ago that Britain went to war with Nazi Germany.
Epidode 1
On January 20, 1943, a German plane dropped a bomb on a south London school in broad daylight, killing 38 children and six teachers. The programme talks to some of the survivors and pays tribute to the ordinary men and women who helped save their lives. Also, antiques expert Tim Wonnacott searches for the everyday wartime objects that have become collectables.
Link To – The Week We Went To War – Episode 1
Epidode 2
Twenty-one-year-old student and MasterChef contestant Ben Ellison spends a month living on wartime rations and the programme pays tribute to a Home Front hero, Thomas Hopper Alderson, who won Britain’s first George Cross when he saved 11 lives after a German air raid on Bridlington, North Yorkshire. Antiques expert Tim Wonnacott continues his search for the everyday wartime objects that have become collectables.
Link To – The Week We Went To War – Episode 2
Episode 3
The programme looks at one of the worst nights of the Blitz, and pays tribute to the ordinary British people who helped save St Paul’s Cathedral. Plus, antiques expert Tim Wonnacott continues his search for the everyday wartime objects that have become collectables.
Link To – The Week We Went To War – Episode 3
Episode 4
Witnesses tell of the worst civilian tragedy on the Home Front – the Bethnal Green Tube Disaster, in which 173 people were crushed to death in a crowd fleeing an air raid that never happened. Plus, the moving stories of two couples whose love letters to each other throughout the war prove that the pen really is mightier than the sword, and antiques expert Tim Wonnacott continues his search for the everyday wartime objects that have become collectables.
Link To – The Week We Went To War – Episode 4
Episode 5
The programme looks at the story of one of the most unexpected and intensive bombing raids in Britain, when the town of Clydebank in Scotland was virtually wiped off the map. Plus, antiques expert Tim Wonnacott continues his search for the everyday wartime objects that have become collectables.
Link To – The Week We Went To War – Episode 5
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.
