Military Vehicle Shows

I do like some of the WW2 hardware that is still around! A few years ago a guy called Colin Brookes used to organise a Military vehicle rally in Heybridge Basin every January. This brought some interesting equipment into the village, broke the mains water pipes and shook the old cottages, but how often do you get an American Half-track parked outside your local pub?

Colin moved to New Zealand and the Rally stopped until 2005, then a local guy (Jack Scott) asked if I could do some PR to get the Basin Rally up and running again and now held in January again, it will be a regular event getting larger each year. Although Jack and myself are the key contacts/organizers for the BAD ('Basin Armoured Division'), we do get a lot of input from the Essex MVT (its their winter rally), the Basin pubs and 'machine gun Rick', who's help we couldn't do with out! The 2008 show certainly was the biggest so far with 40 vehicles and cracking clear winter weather, click on the link for a few photos. Lets hope we have the same weather for the 2009 Rally on January 11th.

The Basin Rally led me onto helping with a new Vintage vehicle rally at the Museum of Power in Langford (supported by Maldons Combined Services Museum) and also the Essex Military Vehicle trust on there annual show now near Upminster.

Check the MVT website for further details.

The Scorpian Tank pictured on this site is available for events in the local area in return for a donation to its running costs, at 8 miles to a gallon you can see why! Contact me if you require further details.

On the new hardware front, I still try to get to MOD shows when possible as my work has crossed into the military market many times in the last 20 years. Usual joys of not being able to discuss most military projects, but contact me if you have anything old or new you would like my input on.

A common request from vehicle restorers is for power cables cut and crimped to the correct length, not unusual you may think, but I seem to be the only person round here with reels of 25, 35 & 50 sq mm cable in stock with the relevant crimps to make leads to size!

Also worth highlighting the Battery Brain, useful device to not only protect your battery and insure you can start your vehicle, but also has a version that can be used as an immobiliser to stop anyone making off with your restored pride and joy!

A simple system I have done for a few Landrovers is to install a reliable back up power system for persons going off round the World. This is a split charger and gel battery to give a reserve of power for comms or guidence equipment and can also be used for emergency starts if the cranking battery is flattened.

A few former squaddies have had this, it seems that students have a gap year and fly to an exotic location for 12 months, ex soldiers spend a year just driving there and back for fun!!

As the main UK agent for Mercura, I can obviously supply lightbars, beacons and siren products and do have equipment to hire out for film work as well.

Funnily enough the Clive Owen film 'Children of men' that I worked on the Police cars for had the Alvis tanks pictured above, supplied by Andrew at the Alvis Fighting Vehicle Society.

If anybody has a Whites M3 scout car, please get in touch as I would like one for myself.

And now a bit about Military Boats

MTB102

I have to include a bit about MTBs (motor torpedo boats), MGBs (motor gun boats) & CMBs (coastal motor boats). Above is MTB102, one of few MTBs still in original condition and she even carried Winston Churchill, but keeping these boats going is not cheap! For a brief history on 102 and the restoration plus contact details please click on the picture.

MTB, MGB and CMBs have been connected with the Blackwater since the First World war, I think Nanola is the only MGB still in the Estuary (if she still is?!) that looks the right shape even though she is now a pleasure craft. You can see remains and houseboat conversions dotted around the shorelines and the 'Defender' (moored in the Basin) is obviously the modern day equivalent, but their is something about the Whaleback MGBs that you can tell their purpose even without the weapons fitted.

My Grandfather served on one off Africa and had memorable stories of her service. If anybody has photos of MTB, MGB or CMB in the Blackwater , please get in touch.

Since writing the above last week I have been sent a disc of a film originally made when Osea was HMS Osea around the First World war with lines of single torpedo CMB's waiting for launch in their storage sheds. I'll try and pull off some stills for the website. It really is an amazing bit of film and shows how important Osea was as a Navy base and the large scale of the operation.

As you come down Basin road you can recognise the wooden houses currently standing as the barracks originally on the Island in the film.

Regarding another local landmark; the Defender, it will be in the Basin for a while yet. After speaking to the owners, we hope to be able to something with her for our next Basin Armoured Division Rally in January 2009. For a few internal photos, have a look on the Defender page.

For those still wondering what is going to happen to her long term, the only clue I can offer is she will possibly be on the Thames!

Half Track outside the Jolly Sailor, Heybridge Basin for 2005 Rally

Tiger tank crew having a cuppa at the 2008 War & Peace show in Kent

Former 'Sapper' Tony Morgan finding a familiar old beast at the MVT 07 show, inset his days with his own in 1950's as used in Africa.

If you go down to the woods today........!

This was one of the tanks at the Museum of Power show, near Maldon, 2006. Believe it or not it is a cadillac, click on the link to the left for more info on these machines.

One of the bigger toys at the Museum of Power show 06

Don't see many Thorneycroft Antar still on the road, these mighty monsters were part of the early generation of Tank transporters, have a look on the Antar link for more details.

If you've got an Alvis made tank, then you need to know Andrew Baker! He runs the Alvis fighting vehicle society and has not only loads of spares but plenty of knowledge about what can go wrong, click on the Alvis link for details.

If you don't have the time or money for a vehicle, why not contact Pauline Andrews, she runs Handbags and Gladrags which supply vintage and nostalgia clothing. Paulines phone number is 01268 591160, mobile 0773 826 2316.

Nanola

Nanola, been around the Blackwater for a few years, but not to certain where she is now. I took this photo about 15 years ago (with a disc camera, sorry about the quality!!) after she had moved from the Basin to Mersea quarters.

MTB wreck; the Platonia

And here you can see the more common condition of ex navy ships, a lot of MTBs had the Merlin engines removed for other applications and the boats then torched. The Platonia above was converted into a pleasure craft before she broke her back and her remains can now only just be seen opposite the Salcotte Mill.

Modern fast attack vessal

'Defender' moored in Heybridge Basin, a modern day fast attack vessal. More photos on the Defender webpage.

Maldon MTBs

A few people have been in touch about the 2 MTBs that were moored at the end of the Maldon Prom through the 1950s/60s. This picture taken by Maldon resident; Neil Sexton, in the 1960s has kindly been forwarded by David Brown from the Essex branch of the Small ships society. They think they may be ' D type Fairmiles ' and were moored there for the Chelmsford Sea Scouts.

Anybody with further info, please contact us!

A few Green machine photos

2005 Basin Armoured Division Rally

The 2005 Basin Rally, as the first rally in years it had a good turn out with vehicles ranging from 101s and armoured pigs to tanks and diamond T recovery vehicles

Tank driver lost in pub

I took this at one of Colin Brookes old Heybridge Basin military rallies, must be 15 years ago, after the rally had finished and everybody was in the Jolly Sailor! Colin recently informed me this was one of his ex French Army AMX 5s, Colin runs a web site with a few of his restorations, click on his link to the left.

Hellcat

Hellcat Tank at MVT 07 Upminster show

Firepower

My middle son; 'Nice guy Eddie' letting off a round on a field gun at the Fire Power museum in London, good museum for kids with lots of interaction

German stormtroopers in Upminster

The German camp at the 2007 MVT show in Upminster. WW2 German hardware is a lot harder to find as most of it was destroyed after the war, but their seems to be a few interesting bits turning up from Russia.

Essex Military Vehicle Trust Jeeps

A selection of Jeeps from this 2007 Ulting Military show

King challenger transporter

Modern military hardware can still be big! Especially if you have to move the already large Challenger 2 tanks.

Veterans medal

Basin local Gladys Coulson receiving her veterans badge from John Whittingdale MP at the Museum of Power 07 show in Langford

RAF Bradwell bay memorial

The memorial at former airbase RAF Bradwell Bay, just down the Blackwater from Heybridge Basin. Worth a mention as Bradwell paid a major part in the Battle of Britain and just in the Maldon area alone over 100 planes came down between 1939 to 1945. Look out for Stephen Nunns new book covering the these crashes.

Interesting looking at the post war photo from the link, it's supposed to be 1945, but if you zoom in to the 2km view, RAF Bradwell Bay does not appear on them. Early airbrushing to hide the fighter post or the wrong year on the map?

Bradwell control tower

The control tower at former RAF Bradwell bay is still intact and has been turned into a residential property. Its one restoration you can't take to a show! Have a look on the links for the history of the airstrip, also look on Roy Calverts page for a crash landed Lancaster at Bradwell called 'Taipo', looking at the amount of holes in it you can see why Roy gets a mention.

Maldon causeway from a Tank

This photo was taken from the gun turret of a Scorpion tank as we headed up the Causeway to the Maldon Combined services Museum. It certainly turns a few heads, more so if your stuck behind us when we stop in a garage for petrol.

Nazi camp at the 2008 War & Peace show

The German section of the annual War & Peace show.

This show truly is a spectacular military event! Anything a military enthusiast would want to see or buy is there ranging from tanks cruising around to decommissioned GPMGs for sale.

Well done to Rex and his team on the 2008 show.

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