A few Military Vehicles from the 2018 Show Season

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Some of you will know that modelling is just one of three hobbies I have and is the cheapest of the three! I spend my Winter nights in my observatory, photographing the planets and the night sky. In the Summer, I take my collection of 1/1 scale military vehicles to between 15 and 20 shows from April through to September/October. There are a surprising number of events around the country, so if you want to get some reference photos of some real MV's, there's a good chance there's an event near you. While there are many village fates and other local events that aren't advertised extensively, there are many events that are advertised on the Military Vehicle Trust website. The MVT have Area Branches all over the country who both organise events themselves or support local events and communities.

 

So moving along to the pictures, here's a few from the various events I've attended so far in 2018.

 

Yorkshire MVT Crank Up at York Castle - April 15th

This is a one day meet on the green next to the castle. The largest turnout we've had was 84 vehicles. There's a good selection of WW2 and post war vehicles that usually attend.

 

 

 

Yorkshire Air Museum "Against the Odds" - May 11~13th

My Follow Me Jeep along with the museum Halifax recreation.

 

 

 

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Blyth Battery Goes to War - May 19/20th

The battery on the Northumberland coast dates back to WW1. They have an annual open weekend in May that is free to attend and includes a battle on the beach.

 

 

 

 

"Lanc, Tank & Military Machines" East Kirkby Airfield, Lincs - May 26 & 28th

2018 saw my first visit to this event and it was very relaxed and enjoyable.

 

 

 

 

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Northallerton 1940's Day - June 10th

There were around two dozen vehicles on show, including a couple of traction engines. The high street was closed off to normal traffic allowing hundreds of members of the public to wander freely around the displays.

 

 

 

 

 

"Frontline" Sedgefield - June 16th

The Frontline show is a multi-period living history event. It makes an interesting comparison looking at military equipment across the centuries.

 

 

 

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Barnard Castle 1940's Weekend - June 23/24th

My Flying Control Dodge WC51.

 

 

 

Dodge WC7 Command Car and WC51 Weapon Carrier.

 

 

Hillman RAF staff car and M38A1 Jeep.

 

 

Bowes Railway & Springwell Village 1940's Weekend - June 30th / July 1st

All three of my toys together, Dodge WC51, and my two Jeeps.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Breighton Aerodrome Summer Fly-In - July 21st/22nd

The Summer Fly/Drive-In usually has a few military vehicles along with the aircraft and a selection of classic cars.

 

 

 

 

 

Croft Nostalgia - August 3~5th

My most recent show at Croft Circuit near Darlington.

 

 

The REME guys turned up with some big pieces of hardware.

 

 

 

 

The Croft show combines vintage motor racing with classic cars, trucks and busses and military vehicles.

 

 

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Ryhope Engines Museum - August 26/27th

 

This is the new location of the NE Military Vehicle Club show. They used to hold a rally at the Durham Light Infantry Museum, but the council closed it a couple of years ago to save money due to low foot fall. We missed the Ryhope show last year due to a holiday, so this was our first trip here.

 

 

 

 

 

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Beamish Museum "Dig for Victory" - August 30th ~ Sept 2nd

 

Beamish open air museum in Co Durham, is a well known award winning museum. The "Dig for Victory" event is unique in many ways from other 1940's events. Part of its appeal is that it is a four day show, set in a unique 350 acre site, which contains many original period buildings that have been painstakingly dismantled from their original locations, and rebuilt on site to preserve them. A big part of its appeal to me is the ability to drive singularly or in convoy around the site and display pretty much anywhere during each day. This gives the public the opportunity to see the vehicles in action and also to have many different photo opportunities at different locations.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Tanfield Railway 1940's Weekend - Sept 22nd & 23rd

 

After a 12 year break, the 1940's Weekend returned to Tanfield Railway!! It was great to have the event reinstated again. It was one of our first shows in 2005 when we got our first Jeep. Despite the odd shower, it was a great weekend with musical entertainment in Marley Hill carriage shed, Andrews House station and East Tanfield station.

 

 

 

 

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I thought Tanfield Railway was going to be my last event of the year, but ended up with another couple in November. On the 11th, I had both of my Jeeps on the drive for the two minutes silence, along with a picture of my granddad and his friends who were in the Royal Engineers during WW1. 

 

 

 

After that, I took the Ford GPW out for a drive to the local memorial in Washington village and had a chat with some of the veterans who were there.

 

 

 

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In early November, I was asked to attend another school who were learning about World War 1 and WW2 history. It was a surprise and very late in the year, when I thought my season was over. This brought the yearly total to twenty events attended. The school was in Spennymoor, a little South of Durham and about a 45 minute drive from home. It was a bright but cold day. I arrived during morning break and the kids had a good look at the all the vehicles on display. 

 

 

There were a few vehicles on display, including this local 1941 Dodge Command Car.

 

When break finished, we went indoors where I dressed up one of the teachers in flying kit, followed by my lecture on the 8th Air Force which took us up to lunchtime. 

 

Dodge WC52 Weapon Carrier

 

The kids ate in shifts while others were back out in the yard to look at the vehicles again. After lunch we went back indoors for a lecture/demo about World War 1 kit and equipment. It was rather chilly outside but an enjoyable day bringing history to life. "Jessie" returned to US markings for this last event of the year, having been in RAF colours since April.

 

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Now I'm into my winter maintenance, starting yesterday with a sticking starter pinion gear. The starter is at the bottom of the engine bay, under the batteries and voltage regulator.

 

 

 

Today was all the wheels off for re-greasing the bearings and checking the brake show thickness. Since the garage is a bit of a squeeze to work on the Jeeps when they are both in there, I pulled the Jeep onto the drive. It was dry, partially sunny and not too cold, so it wasn't too bad working outside. At least I had plenty of natural light.