I broke the law……..

…….and pulled onto the Hard shoulder on the M25 at a few seconds before 11:00 in my 40 ton truck. I drive for a living and cannot always be parked somewhere quiet for the annual two minute silence, I have done this many times over the years and am always surprised when I am joined by motorists and HGV drivers alike.

Another insight into moving a Vulcan!

As someone in the Haulage industry, who has done more than his share of moving large loads on British and European roads I foresee many other problems in moving this item.
If it were a straightforward move then fair enough, but a Vulcan Fuselage and wings are huge, how far do they come apart for instance?, with all the small roads and low bridges in the area things will get tricky once off of the M60 to say the least. To enable a low loader in excess of 70 feet long and as yet an undetermined height ,street furniture & overhead obstructions must to be removed prior to the move, and replaced after, this at the buyers expense I might add!. you will not move it in one go, so at least two articulated low loaders plus a smaller vehicle will have to do the trip on the same day. Add to this crane hire, at a little over a £1500 for an average day of 8 hours on site, and road transport charges of at least £500 per vehicle per day and it will be a tidy sum. The prospect of making a move like this, and completing it on the same day are highly doubtful.
Oh boy! someone ought to speak to this chap ASAP., but dont phone me :p

More fitting for a memorial David.

While standing at attention
Looking straight ahead,
He thought about his comrades
The living and the dead.

When the wreath was laid
A moment of silence began,
In honor of the fallen
Who he shall never see again.

As he gazed around him
At the Veterans standing there,
He noticed that the numbers have dwindled
Compared to those that stood last year.

He fears that when they are gone
Their memories to will fade,
People will forget to say a prayer
And a wreath will not be laid.

He bowed his head and closed his eyes
He prayed a special prayer,
That long after they are gone
People will gather to honor them there!
By: Yvonne Legge

Or this?

The war was finally over
All the fighting now is done,
With help from our Allies
The war had been won.

Homeward bound we now go
Our fallen comrades we leave behind,
But we shall meet another day
In another place and time.

They are gone but not forgotten
They are in our hearts and mind,
They will always be a part of us
Until the end of time.

Never again do we wish to see
The horrors that we witnessed there,
Just thinking about those terrible things
Fills our eyes with tears.

Let every day be Remembrance Day
Show those brave men that you care,
And thank them for their courage
And the hardships they had to bare.
So if you see a veteran

Please take the time to say,
“I would like to thank you , Sir.”
That would make his day.

By: Yvonne Legge

Basil Embrey.
Charles ‘Pick’ Pickard.
Guy Gibson.
Leonard Cheshire.
Witold ‘Lanny’ Lanowski.

I think it’s safe to say that every airfield had a dump of some sorts.
In the early 1980’s I was invited along to Stansted to help excavate the quite large dump left behind by the departing USAAF in 1945. It was full of bits and pieces of battle damaged parts removed from B-26 Marauders while Stansted was used as a repair fascility for the 9th AAF. Notetable finds were panels with flak and bullet damage, along with items such as armoured glass from the tail gun positions, kitbags full of leather flying clothing and a complete Indian motorcycle in a crate were also found, although where they ended up I dont know. Now as far as I am aware only part of the dump was excavated, I know for a fact that the huge trench that was dug for the dumping of material like this extended for a good way further but was left undug. When you drive down the westbound part of the new A120 at a point roughly opposite the Control Tower of Stansted airport, you are indeed very close to the remains of the wartime dump.
At the moment I am investigating the whereabouts of the dump at Hunsdon airfield, although enough bits and pieces of aircraft and other items have been found behind former dispersal points on the airfield, such as RAF and NAAFI stamped cutlery and crockery are also in evidence
The stuff is out there, it’s just finding it thats the problem!.

…..an artificial limb over a Prisoner of War camp where Squadron Leader Nethershot-Athing DFC and two Dangly bits was languishing after being shot down by the huns secret radial engined fighter called the Wishenwashenflippenflappen and losing a leg , Slickbladder was on his way to drop the damn thing when…….

My favourite phrase:
“we know how hard it is to get an army across the channel, the last little Corporal who tried it came a cropper”
“Dont threaten or dictate to us until you are marching up Whitehall, and even then we wont listen”
Wonderful stuff!

With my wife of 27 years no explanation is needed.
When we met she knew that I was interested in certain types of aircraft, after a year or so she had figured out that that interest did not neccesary mean aircraft that flew, aircraft in holes in the ground fitted the bill rather nicely !. After joining the Essex Aviation Group in 1979 after a visit to Duxford, she got used to me slipping off on a Sunday to help out in the Museum cleaning items from digs, then onto the digs themselves where occasionaly she would accompany me. She found out that Aviation History was not so much of a Hobby but a disease that seemed to snare its victims without mercy.
She seems comfortable with the fact that while I am with aircraft / wrecks or bits of aircraft / old airfields / then I’m not down the pub spending money that could be put to better use, her logic is that I am less likely to meet and run off with another lady while I am mucking about with aircraft/ wrecks or bits of aircraft/ old airfields 😀 .
Friends.
Not a problem, they know what I am like, some probably shake their heads in amazement , but humour me :p
Work mates, and colleagues:
A bit tricky, most who know me realise that there is not a sport on this earth I have the remotest interest in, aviation history is not a concept the type of people I work with can get their brain cells around, if the topic of conversation is not football related then they have great difficulty in speaking coherently, if you do happen to get into the “what did you do at the weekend” topic, then I just smile and say that I spent the weekend tinkering with my Land Rover, that in itself is enough to deter them from probing deeper! 😉 .