Newsletters

We are more than half way through 2007… and I have been negligent in supplying photos of recent events that we have attended. I will correct that with this newsletter and bring them up to date.

We did go to our MVCC club event at Tower Park in mid April, following that we went to Bakersfield (it was a new event for us). Called “History of Heroes” and held at Kern County Museum, it was a very nice affair with re-enactors from every war that the United States was involved in. We were also visited by some LRDG enthusiast that we had not met before; Bill Irwin from Lucerne Valley, Ca. and Javier G. Villalobos , who came all the way from Ensenada, Mexico just to meet us (and see the truck).

Another notable that visited us at this event was author Steve Pressfield. Those of you that don’t recognize the name may be more familiar with some of his works. He wrote, “The Legend of Bagger Vance”; “Gates of Fire” and five other historical fiction novels. His latest fictional work “Killing Rommel” is based on the LRDG and he wanted to visit us, view the truck and discuss a number of aspects of how the LRDG patrols would work behind the lines. I have been privileged to read an advanced copy and it is so true to life I went back to my LRDG roster just to make sure his main character was not actually in the LRDG. Be sure to look for its release in April 2008. Here is his web site, click on the book to read an interview about the book. http://www.stevenpressfield.com/

I then did a few local events with the jeep. Mid May I hung out with some WW II bombers at the Monterey Airport. Rick’s mom was not doing well and he was dealing with her health issues. She unfortunately passed away on June 1st. I attended the Marine Corps BBQ with George Escobedo on June 9th and quickly followed that with a “small” Flag Day parade on June 14th in San Ardo, Ca. with Ray Mayeri, who is really a Popski fan, but likes to ride in the jeep. My wife and I left for Western Mediterranean cruise on July 1st with family and then spent an additional week in Spain on a couch tour and finished up at the War & Peace Show, spending sometime with the "Desert Raiders".

The War & Peace Show was enjoyable (as always) but the weather was against us and it rained just about every day. The tracked vehicles were about the only things that were moving on a regular basis because of all the mud. There were three LRDG vet’s that showed up during the event. Jimmy Patch from Y Patrol, Les Sullivan from the LRS and Ron Maitland-Flanagan who was with the S.B.S. I just love talking to them, even though all of these are in their eighties they have excellent memories. I regret not taking my tape recorder. When we got back I joined a small group from the MVCC for a small parade in Carmel Valley, it was not much bigger than the San Ardo parade but it was local, as always I had a good time showing off the jeep.

Well that pretty much brings you up to date, well not quite. The week of Aug. 13th through 19th there is a bevy of Automobile events happening on the Monterey Peninsula. The Monterey Historic Auto Races, the Pebble Beach Concours and several other events involving high price collector and performance cars. One of the smaller events on Friday of that week is the “Pacific Grove Concours Auto Rally. Since they won’t let me participate in the Pebble Beach Concours I decided to take the jeep to the Pacific Grove Concours “Auto Rally”. They don’t seem to be as particular as those PB Concours folks. Besides they do a drive around at the end of the static display through Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Carmel then back to Pacific Grove. There are a lot of spectators waiting as the cars pass in review. Needless to say we had the best Military Vehicle there (never mind that it was the only one) we got lots of great comments both at the static display and when we on the drive. Ray Mayeri went with me. Did I mention that he like to ride in the jeep?

1. Sept. 1^st - America Remembers – J & S Surplus Moss Landing – Jeep only http://www.surplusinc.com/whatsnew.htm

2. Sept. 7^th - 9^th - Cherry’s Jubilee - Monterey, Ca. Truck and Jeep http://www.svmh.com/foundation/events.asp

3. Sept. 24^th – Eastern Road Trip until Oct. 25^th

4. Nov. 11^th – Veteran’s Day – San Jose Parade?

5. Nov. 22^nd - Thanksgiving Day

6. Dec. 25^th - Christmas Day

The above is what we have scheduled for the rest of the year. I am however working on a planned schedule for 2008. One event for sure will be the MVPA Convention in Portland, OR. August 13^th – 17^th.

With so many things going on, I forgot this: In 2005 while on our England trip to the W & P show I received an e-mail inquiring about a “desert find” that had a name attached. The name was “A. Boys #21906 “. The finder was inquiring as to if this person was ever in or associated with the LRDG. Since all my research was in the U.S. I responded with cc’s to all of the other know LRDG researchers (Brendan O’Carroll and Jonathan Pittaway), explaining that although the name sounded familiar to me I would not be able to verify it until I returned home. However the other LRDG researchers did confirm that “Alf Boys” was indeed attached to the LRDG.

There were a number of e-mails back and forth and the last I had heard one of the family members was going to get back to me with more information on Alf. However that never happened. So I finally decided to post this along with the web site of the items found. http://www.confluence.org/confluence.php?visitid=11677

Be sure you look in all four compass directions of the “find”. Then you can imagine as to how these items found their way to this location. Unfortunately Alf passed away in 2001 so we will never know.

Thanks for your support!
Jack and Rick
LRDG Preservation Society

Well another year has passed… We have attended many events this past year and enjoyed them all but now it is now time to look and plan another exciting schedule for this year; before to much of the year disappears. I continued to work on occasion, it makes me enjoy all the activities and my free time all that much more.

The jeep is back at Rick’s again for the winter. The new engine has been working fine but the new parts that he installed for the clutch failed after 300 miles (a throw out bearing seemed to be the problem). While he has it, he is going to go through the transmission to make sure all is in order. I hope to have it back in town in time for the many spring events that are already are looming on the horizon.

Unfortunately there are a number of the spring events that happen on be scheduled on the same weekend, this will put a crimp our selections. Since Easter is early in April this year the Pacific Grove Good Old Days event (which is usually on the 1^st weekend of April) is now scheduled on the same weekend of the MVCC Tower Park meet. So they (Pacific Grove) will have to do without us this year. I have also keep in touch with a reenactment group located in Reno. They have done a "desert battle" the last few years but hadn’t let me know about it far enough in advance to include it in our schedule. Well this year they let me know far enough in advance but it is also on the same weekend as the Tower Park meet. Hopefully they will pick another weekend that will not conflict with that event next year.

Scott, with my input of information, continues to increase the size of the web site and consequently I continue to have many interesting inter-net contacts. Most have increased my knowledge of the LRDG and units who were attached to them during the North African campaign. A number of them have been "linked" on our Link Page.

Speaking of our link page be sure to check out "What Price Glory", I had the opportunity to visit Jerry Lee’s warehouse recently and was really surprised at all of his WW II British uniforms and equipment, a lot of it is original but he also has some wonderful reproductions. Take sometime and visit his web site, you might find something that you can’t live without. http://www.whatpriceglory.com/

Below is pretty much my schedule as I see it for the rest of the year. I have included some of their web addresses if you want to see their sites. If you know of an event that you think we might like to attend please send me the information or provide a web site.

April 18^th - 22^nd - MVCC Tower Park, Lodi Ca. with Truck & Jeep.
April 21st - Pacific Grove Good Old Days Parade - conflicts with MVCC meet
April 19^th, 20^th, & 21^st - Desert Battle - Reno - conflicts with MVCC meet
April 28^th & 29^th - History of Heroes - Kern County Museum, Bakersfield - with Truck & Jeep http://www.historyofheroes.com/
May 11^th - 14^th - Collins Foundation at Monterey Airport , Jeep only. http://www.collingsfoundation.org/menu.htm
May 14^th - 16^th - Collins Foundation at Hollister Airport , Jeep only.
May 20^th - Castroville Artichoke Parade, Jeep only. http://www.artichoke-festival.org/
May 25^th, 26^th, & 27^th Watsonville Fly-In, Jeep only http://www.watsonvilleflyin.org/
June 9^th - Marine Corp. League - Toro Park Salinas, Jeep only
June 28^th - July 8^th - Mediterranean Cruise/ Italy
July 4^th - Rick will have the truck in one of the Oregon parades. I’ll be out of the country this 4^th.
July 8^th - 14^th - Coach Tour of Spain
July 15^th - 22^nd - Great Britain - War & Peace Show
Aug. 10^th - 12^th - Days of Wine & Roads - Napa, Ca.
Aug. 25^th - 26^th - Santa Maria Fly-In ? http://www.smmof.org/events_sched.html
Sept. 7^th - 9^th - Cherry’s Jubilee - Monterey, Ca. Truck and Jeep http://www.svmh.com/foundation/events.asp
Sept. 12^th -16^th - Reno Air Races ? http://www.airrace.org/indexJS.php
Oct. 13^th - Marina Air-Faire? http://www.marina-airfaire.com/
Nov. 11^th - Veterans Day ?
Nov. 22^nd - Thanksgiving Day
Dec. 25^th - Christmas Day

Best Regards
Jack and Rick
LRDG Preservation Society

We have had a wonderful and very busy spring and summer. Between working a few days, there were a number of Military Vehicle events the we attended. We had an opportunity to visit the Jock Littlefield Tank Museum in Portola Valley, so that was Donna’s Mother’s Day present (she went too). Rick brought the jeep down from Yreka, and was supposed to tour the Museum too but it seems that bay area traffic had other ideas. Shortly after the tour ended he showed up, so I bought him lunch and then headed off to Monterey with the Jeep in tow (new engine included).

We did three Military Vehicle events with the jeep in quick succession. A friend (George Sicre) came up from Palm Desert to join up with me. The first was a static display with the Collins Foundation Bombers (B-17; B-24 & B-25) in Monterey on May 18^th. Then the Castroville Artichoke Parade on May 21^st, which was interesting, as we did it in the rain. It was coming down pretty good buy the time the parade ended. Then we went to the Watsonville Fly-In on Sat. the 28^th, the weather was much better, with sunny skies and a better drive in the open jeep.

We had a few days to rest up before we left on the May 31^st to head back to Pennsylvania for my 50^th High School reunion. I know most of you didn’t know that I was that old.…Had a good time visiting with some of my high school classmates but what really surprised me was that all of my old girlfriends…. "got old". Got home on the June 7^th and had just enough time to get over the "jet lag", make sure that the jeep was full of gas and headed off for the "Marine Corps League Barbecue" on June 10^th.

We then had my son and his family visiting from June 21^st until July 3^rd. I couldn't convince them to stay for the Monterey 4^th of July parade. But we did manage to get them all in the Seaside Parade of Champions on July 1^st. We took both 1^st and 2^nd place in the Military Vehicle class. Then did the Monterey Parade (without the grand kids and Rick). Rick had to get back to Yreka for a parade there and he wanted to have a big 4^th of July barbecue for Scott Miller (our web master) who was leaving for Kuwait for four years.

I have added some interesting items to the display, got a line for some reproduction Model 36 Mills bombs and case. These are excellent for display or you re-enactors. They should show up in some of the current photos. Here is the e-mail for the contact for the gentleman (Robert Lawrence) who makes them. (bcbob@netrover.com) They are not cheap but look and feel just like the real thing.

Now here are the events for August and the rest of the year.

1. Aug. 3^rd - 16^th - Oregon & Washington Trip

2. Aug. 11^th - 13^th - Reno Area - Desert Battle - Rick with the Truck

3. Aug. 25^th - 27^th - Santa Maria Air Show - Jack with the Jeep

4. Sept. 2^nd - Labor Day Parade , Marina, Ca. - Jack with the Jeep

5. Sept. 8^th - 10^th - Cherries Jubilee - Monterey - Both vehicles

6. Sept 16^th - Oct 16^th - East Coast Trip

7. Oct. 14^th - 15^th - Travis Air Show - Rick with Truck?

8. Nov. 16^th - 20^th - Big Reno Gun Show

9. Nov. 23^rd - Thanksgiving

10. Dec. 25^th - Christmas

Best Regards
Jack and Rick
LRDG Preservation Society

Well I have been home since March 12 and all this month I have been trying to find the best way to report on the wonderful experiences I had in New Zealand. I won’t bore you with the day to day events but would like to cover some of the special highlights.

I was not aware but several of the members of the NZLRDG Association had heard that I was coming to NZ and wanted to meet me and I also didn’t think that I would be able to see the LRDG Memorial which is located on a "closed" active NZ S.A.S. training base. But through the efforts of Wayne Holah, who is the Archivist and Historian for the NZ SAS and the LRDG, I was able to do both. He had arranged a Sunday meeting at the base, there I was able to meet with Basil Greenstreet (President), Ian Judge (Secretary) and Tom Ritchie (Member) of the NZLRDG Association. We had a private tour of the SAS Museum, got to see the Memorial and even had lunch at the S.A.S. Now for the kicker…. the three LRDG members presented me with a "special" LRDG plaque (see photos). For those that know me, I was really speechless and very honored. We did some other memorable things while we were in Auckland also. Noted LRDG Author Brendan O’Carroll had arranged two special barbecues for us. The first was with wife and family at their home. Brendan brought out all his LRDG photos and made me "drool" with envy. The second one was with a number of his friends (they collect badges and assorted other things). I have never seen so many original LRDG badges, shoulder flashes and other thinks in one place at the same time. They are really a bunch of very, "very", nice people. And Donna and I enjoyed the food and friendship they showed to us. One of my other contacts was Paul Burgess (son of LRDG trooper Wally Burgess, see the Trooper Section) . Paul ended up being our "tour" guide to Tirau. I had wanted to go there because that is the name of T-8 and wanted to see what the original T-8 was named for. Tirau is about 90 minutes south east of Auckland and we passed through the towns of Hamilton and Cambridge before arriving. It is a small town of about 800 people, we had lunch there and walked up and down the main street looking into the shops. Took some photos and then returned to Auckland. I also found out what the name stands for. It is a Maori word and "Ti" means "cabbage tree" and "rau" means "many", so it is the place of "many cabbage trees". Just thought that you would want to know.

Coming Up Events:

Aug. 10^th - 21^st - Oregon & Washington Trip (Tentative dates)

Aug. 19^th - 20^th - Santa Rosa - Pacific Coast Air Show ?

Aug. 26^th - 28^th - Santa Maria Air Show ?

Sept. 8^th - 10^th - Cherries Jubilee

Sept 11^th - Oct 11^th - East Coast Trip

Oct. 14^th - 15^th - Travis Air Show

Nov. 16^th - 20^th - Big Reno Gun Show

Best Regards
Jack and Rick
LRDG Preservation Society

This will be a quick update, as there have been some minor changes and date confirmations in our schedule. Rick now has the Jeep and the plan is to have a new rebuilt engine installed and running for April 8^th Good Old Days Parade and Tower Park. We have finalized our travel plans to Australia and New Zealand, leaving on Feb 4^th and returning on March 12^th. We will have a few days free in Auckland and plan to meet up with Brendan O’Carroll (noted author of "The Kiwi Scorpions", "Bearded Brigand’s" and "Barce Raid") and some of his friends for a barbecue. I also want to visit the town of Tirau which is close to Auckland. For those that don’t get the connections, the name of T-8 is "Tirau II, and I would like to visit the town and region where the original Tirau was named. Now for the "bad news". I had been working on a 2006 War & Peace Tour for the MVCC (and anyone else that wanted to go), we had a great schedule put together by John Norris (he has several articles in the current Dec. 2005 issue of "Militaria International Magazine"), and the Tour Company had put together the necessary flight and hotel arraignments. The dead line for signing up was Jan. 1^st, we needed a minimum of 25 to make it happen and due to poor response (only 8 were interested) the trip has been canceled.

Feb. 4^th - March 12^th - Australia & New Zealand Trip

March 27^th - April 6^th - Tulsa Gun Show Trip

April 8^th - Good Old Days Parade, Pacific Grove, Ca.

April 16^th thru 22^nd- Tower Park, Lodi, Ca.

May 20^th - Santa Cruz Armed Forced Day Parade

May 21^st - Castroville Parade

May 26^th thru 28^th - Watsonville Fly-In

June 1^st - 7^th - Pennsylvania Trip

June 10^th - Marine Corps League Barbecue (Static Display)

June 15^th , 16^th & 17^th - Olema Ranch

July 4^th - Parade Place TBA

Some more bad news arrived while writing this update… I have received news that the following people have passed away. Pamela Matthews, wife of Lt. Col. Vladimir Peniakoff passed away on Dec 5th. Sergeant Eric Hamilton Brooks, Royal Corps Signals, who served with the LRDG, S.A.S. and finally with P.P.A. and "Micky Coombs" one of the original members of Y Patrol as passed away on Jan 17^th.

PS. I ordered my 2006 Calendar from the "Desert Raiders" and the photos of the vehicles are superb. You might want to do the same.

Best Regards
Jack and Rick
LRDG Preservation Society

Well we have had an interesting first five month of 2005. The Shot Show in Las Vegas in January, and a trip to Hawaii in March. Although the Military Vehicle events didn’t start until April and it has been non stop since then. We did the Pacific Grove Good Old Days parade in early April and then our MVCC Annual meet at Tower Park, April 19^th - 24^th. John Doel, son of LRDG Trooper Lloyd G. Doel and his wife Jeannie stopped by and managed to get a ride in both the truck and the jeep. I am trying to get John to add his father’s biography to the Trooper Section.

The month of May was also exceptionally busy, the Castroville Artichoke Festival Parade (where we won a prize), on the 15^th.Then we spent May 25^th with a B-17 and B-24 from the Collins Foundation at the Monterey Airport and finished up with the month at the Watsonville Air Show on the 27^th.

I have been driving the jeep to the local events, and it has been a little cool in the mornings, but I have a nice "David Sterling" style coat that keeps me warm and cozy. I have gotten a number of double takes when on the highway, especially if I have the Twin K’s still mounted. The jeep has been running just fine, it uses a little oil, but I check it often and keep a quart of Penrite Oil on board just in case I need any on the road.

There are several other LRDG web site available on the inter-net, they have links on our "link" page. One that I would like to highly recommend that you visit is http://blindkat.hegewisch.net/lrdg/lrdg.html. The site is owned by and designed by Tobias Gibson and although Toby has no direct connection with the LRDG (just like me) he has a great interest in the unit and all of it’s activities and it’s history. Lately he has spent a lot of time and effort in improving his sight, and although I don’t want you to forget about the LRDG Preservation Society site, his is well worth exploring.

My wife (Donna) and I are all set to head off to Ireland and England the end of June and through most of July. Now if the Airlines will cooperate and don’t go on strike everything will be fine. I have listed some of the events during the rest of the year that we hope to attend, some with the vehicles.

That finishes up 2005, although some events may come up that I am not currently aware off, if we are able to attend we will surly try. So I hope to see you at one of the events. To all those that have ordered T-shirts, cap badges, books etc. Thanks the money helps us continue with this project.

We had a few disappointments with the 2004 year end activities. We did participate in the L.V. Veteran's Day Parade but without the truck. It is a long story but Rick ended up flying in to Vegas for the parade. We did have the Jeep and manage a post parade photo and machine gun shoot with the Lewis gun.

The other disappointment was that we were unable to get to Rick's this year for his New Years event. The weather was the main reason as it snowed (and snowed, and snowed). So Donna and I spent New Years eve together and shared a bottle of Champagne.

This past year I had started the "Trooper Section", which has been well received but I am having difficulty getting others to submit information so that it can be expanded. So for those LRDG family members out there please submit biographical information about your relative that served with this unit along with several photos and we will gladly add them to this section. Please e-mail me if you have any questions.

This year I am going to add a "LRDG Model Page", I constantly receive photos from modelers who make fantastic pieces in 1/35 scale and submit them to me for my enjoyment. I thought that it was time to share them with the rest of the world. To the modelers, if you see your model posted without your name let me know as I have deleted many of your e-mails but kept the photos.

To make sure everyone understands, I say that I have started the "Trooper Section" and am going to add a "Model Page", I could do none of it without Scott Miller our web master. I get many e-mails complimenting our web site, they give me all the credit, and although I do provide him with all the information posted, he does the hard work. "Thanks Scott".

I am now diligently working on our 2005 schedule and there have been some major changes since the last newsletter update. The New Zealand trip as been postponed until 2006 (pressure from the misses). I did tell her that I was going next year (2006) with or without her. Instead of that, we will be taking a short trip to Hawaii in March with my Sister-in-law & Brother-in-law and then a longer trip to Ireland and England in June/July. We will be taking a tour through Northern Ireland with Seamus Kennedy (a Irish Ballad Singer) then will be spending additional time in Dublin. After which I want to spend time with the "Desert Raiders" in Norfolk right before we head off to the War & Peace Show.

I would also like to return to the Pacific Grove Good Old Days parade. We did that several years ago but in the past few years it conflicted with other events. I am not sure but I don't think there will a conflict this year, so have included it in our schedule. There have been several local gun shows (in Monterey) and I have talked to the show promoter and he indicated that he would love for us to display our vehicles at his event. Unfortunately for his next two shows I will be elsewhere but have included them in our calendar, just in case there are changes in my plans. I will again list more events than we will possible make (but would like to make).

That takes us more than halfway through the year, I have some other events past July but if I post them now I get lazy and won't update the letter in a timely manner. So I hope to see you at one of our events. To all those that have ordered T-shirts, cap badges, books etc. Thanks the money helps us continue with this project.

Well, all I can say is that this year has moved by exceptionally fast. I had very good intentions of updating the Newsletter before I left for the East Coast to visit family, but I just ran out of time. So I am now working on this update on the East Coast. Aren't computers and the Internet wonderful things?

I am currently working on next year's schedule of events, so if there is somewhere you think we should be, let me know and I will try to fit it in our tight schedule. We usually try to make all the events sponsored by the MVCC and you can check out their web site at "http://www.mvccnews.net/UpcomingEvents.htm". I am also working on several out of country trips for 2005. One to New Zealand & Australia and another later in the year for Ireland & England I will keep you posted as I get more information.

One of the other items that I wanted to mention with this up date is another newer book, I believe that I mentioned it some time in the past but would like to give it another plug.

The title is "Churchill's Folly: Leros and the Aegean - The Last Great British Defeat of World War Two" ISBN # 0304361518. Anthony Rogers, whom I met on my last visit to the UK in 2003, wrote it. Tony has really done his homework on this work and it deserves reading by any LRDG student. As it covers a little know area of their activities. It was because of this action that the New Zealand contingent was removed from the LRDG rolls. The unit lost more men (killed & captured) in this short campaign than in the two and one-half years of all their desert battles. The book is available in both hardbound edition and has recently been released in a paper back edition. I don't have any for sale from the web site but it is available from any good book store (Barnes & Noble or Border's) in the U.S. I have also seen it available from Amazon.com. You can see the Amazon.com review at this address: http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/0304361518/qid=1096403004/sr=1-2/ref=sr_1_2/104-4484424-7784724?v=glance&s=books

I am expecting a big group of LRDG supporters at the Las Vegas Veteran's Day parade this year. I have been contacted by a number of old friends (and new) asking if there is room for them in the parade. Like I keep telling them all .... It is a big truck and we can always make room for one more plus we will have the Jeep this year. My only request is that if you do come please dress in appropriate "desert attire".

Jan, Feb or March - I am working on a trip (for 6 weeks) to New Zealand, & Australia. I do not have the exact dates at this time but will post them as soon as I have my travel itinerary.

We are fast approaching the mid point for 2004. We have been able to do only half of the events on the previous listing. We did go to Rick's for New Years and his Feb Birthday Bash, and Donna and I did get in the Hawaii and Tulsa trips.

The MVCC Tower Park event we also attended, with a surprise for Rick. I had purchased in Nov of 2003, a little brother for T-8, a 1942 Ford jeep that is in the LRDG format, we managed to keep it a secret from him for 6 months and believe me it wasn't easy. Almost let the cat out of the bag several occasions. What seemed to cause more excitement was the trailer that I bought to haul the jeep on.

Rick also had a surprise for me, he has quietly been working on a large hauler truck. It started out as a stock truck (20000 lb. GVW), the cab has been painted a proper sand color (he calls the truck Sandy) and he has installed a large military bed capable of holding T-8. His plan is to install a dump mechanism and winch. I am not quite sure how it will work but when completed he will be able to haul T-8 on it and then pull the trailer with the "wireless truck" on it. I can be "tail end Charlie" and follow with my vehicle and the jeep on its trailer.

Some other good and exciting news is that we now have a "sponsor". Not a big one but a sponsor none the less. It is the "Penrite Oil Co. Ltd." They specialize in high performance, full-bodied lubricants for "Veteran", vintage and classic cars and motor cycles. I have already replaced the oil products in the jeep with their oil and lubricant products. I have also supplied Rick with product to use when he services T-8. They are distributed world wide but my U.S. contact has been Harvey Shepard at Garden City Classics, PO. Box 1848, Evans, Ga. 30809, Phone number 706-855-2902 and his e-mail address is gardencityclassics@earthlink.net. They carry a full line of products that do not seem to be any more expensive than other similar products available on the market, and these are designed for our older vehicles. If you decide to contact them please indicate that you read about them on our web site.

Well another year is coming to a close. And as the holiday season is upon us, I can look back on the many memorial events that we have attended this year. Do check out the event photo page.

We opened the year with festivities at Rick’s New Years party, which we plan to attend again this year. Then there was the last Big Bear meet, Castroville parade (which was a new event for us), the 6^th Casa meet, the two July 4^th parades, the Convention in Alameda, the Operation Welcome Home parade in Livermore, and we then finished up with the Veteran’s day parade in Las Vegas. Unfortunately the next day post parade machinegun shoot in Las Vegas was rained out, so I guess that means we will have to go back next year (oh darn).

Regrettably there were many other venues that we would liked to have attended but couldn’t because of our busy schedule. And that will most likely happen again this coming year.

We also managed trips to Tulsa in April, to Hawaii in June with some of our children and grandchildren, another to England in July covering the War & Peace Show and finally our road trip back East.

Below I have listed some up coming events for the first 7 months of next year, showing most of the events and trips that we have planned, not all of them will include the LRDG truck and I also know that we will not be able to attend them all.

Wishing all of you Happy Holidays. We hope to see you at one of the events next year.

There is a flurry of activities coming up later this month (August) and in September. And as is the usual case we will not be able to attend all that we would like. I am currently recovering from arthroscopic shoulder surgery. With my right arm in a sling for about 6 weeks then some rehab for another 6 weeks, I won’t be much help whenever we do attend an event.

It has been a great summer and Donna and I enjoyed our trip to England and the time spent with the “Desert Raider’s” and some former LRDG members. I envy them because they are located closer together and can support each other with all their LRDG & S.A.S. projects. Be sure to read their updated newsletter that has been posted recently. It tells all that they are doing. We were sorry to hear that Adrian Brown had sold his LRDG Chevy. But were glad that it found a really good home. We did have a chance to visit with him one of the days.

Now don’t get me wrong about “support” I get all kinds of kind and encouraging words from lots of folks located in the U.S. and all over the world. And George Escobedo has always been ready to help with parades and events and he did donate his No. 11 Radio for our next truck (which is progressing). Plus our Arizona contingent (Kevin & Don) shows up when I least expect it. And lets not forget our “Web Master” Scott Miller who does such a wonderful job with these pages. But it would be nice if at least once or twice a year we could have a dozen LRDG troopers in the camp with a few more vehicles. And that is a possibility too, a new LRDG enthusiast wants to do a S.A.S. or LRDG Jeep and he lives in the Central Valley. Plus there is another contact that would like to work up a CAD program and see about making a few more “Bagnold sun Compasses”. We will see how thinks proceed.

We had won a $100.00 Prize in the City of Seaside Parade of Champions on July 5^th. But we did not win any recognition at the MVPA Convention. We are not quite sure why, as it has won the last two times we have gone to Convention and are not sure if they have changed their judging standards or methods. The 1 and ½ ton Trucks class was not even mentioned at the awards banquet. Oh well you can’t win them all.

September 11^th - 15^th – Monterey, CA. – Cherries Jubilee – Classic Cars

A few short notes on the above events. We will be attending the Livermore – Operation: Welcome Home, which is honoring the troops that served in Iraq. We are supposed to care the guest of honor. Rick Leventhall, a reporter for FOX News Channel that did extensive war reporting from Iraq.

Will attend the Leguna Seca event as they are looking for Military Vehicles for static display.

Not sure if we will attend the Cherries Jubilee or the Reno Air Show. My guess at this time is Reno, as Donna wants to make another trip back East to see the grandkids.

Not sure about October events as it would depend when we would get back from the East.

I am continuing to find and read anything that I can about the LRDG and it’s history. The latest is one I just happened to stumble on at Boarders. The title is “The Lost Oasis” by Saul Kelly. It really covers what went on in North Africa during the early days of desert explorations, and continues through WW II. There are some interesting photos of Count Ladislaus de Almasy and a chapter that covers the story of his behind the English line activities and insertion of two German spies into Egypt. It makes for quite interesting reading.

Since we are on the subject of “interesting”. All the people that every see the LRDG truck for the first time, their first comments out of their mouth is “The Rat Patrol”. For those to young to remember, this was a TV series that was popular for a two-year period from 1966 to 1968. They had a total of 58 episodes before it ceased production. The episodes were filmed in Spain rather than in the deserts of North Africa (or even the U.S.). The story line was based on a unit of four main characters (three U.S. GI’s and a Brit) in two Jeeps. They were given impossible missions behind the German and Italian lines in North Africa (Sound familiar?). I have also embarked on a mission, though not impossible.

I have found that there are a number of their episodes available on VHS video and have managed to obtain 28 episodes on 7 tapes. It is amazing the destruction that four guys in jeeps can do to the bad guys, destroying Tanks, Halftracks and any number of other military installations with a couple of 50 cal. machine guns and a few hand grenades. They make for interesting watching although at time they are a little hokey and the story lines are far fetched. I plan to show a few of the episodes at our next military vehicle meets. The guys will get a kick out of them.

Below is an updated tentative schedule for the rest of the year. Dates and places with a question mark are still not definite and subject to change. And we may add others that we become aware off.

Newsletter: Book Review - "Bearded Brigands"
LRDG Preservation Society
December 2002