Well today is my daughter's birthday, I won't
embarrass her by telling her age, but she is soon to be a young
grandmother. That will make me a Great Grandfather. I believe
that Jan. 18th is the day. Hard to believe that my
children's children are having babies. Anyway life goes on.
Looking over what I posted last year about
this time; we attended eight out of the twelve I posted.
S-Patrol (Los Angeles area) did the Desert Battle, Planes of
Fame in Chino, and the Ft. Mac event. I along with several
faithful troopers did the MVCC Camp Delta meet, participated in
the parades in Seaside, Monterey on the 4th of July
and the Veteran's day parade in Salinas.
The biggest event however was the MVPA
Convention at the Alameda County Fair Grounds that was held on
Aug.11th - 13th, where we garnered a first
prize for the best display.
I could not have accomplished this without the herculean
efforts from many supporters, especially those volunteers from
the "Eagle Field Foundation". Who were instrumental in bringing
the trucks (yes both T-8 and T-9) were there, sprouting Vickers
K guns on T-8 and twin 30's on T-9.
There are too many persons to mention and I would hate to miss
mentioning one. But thanks to all of you who helped in any way.
Now on to
other subject; there were several new books that came out in
2015 and 2016 that those interested in the LRDG might want to
add to their library. The first one is "Ghost Patrol" by John
Sadler, there is a lot of previously published information in
this book, delivered in a different manner.
The next title is "The Men Who Made the SAS - The History
of the Long Range Desert Group", by Gavin Mortimer. Gavin is a
prolific writer of books that deal with Special Forces. He is
currently working on another title about the LRDG that is
supposed to be out in March 2017.
The last title is "Operation Agreement" by John Sadler, I
enjoyed this much better than John's Ghost Patrol. I feel that
there was more research and was better written. This covers the
disastrous Tobruk Raid with the LRDG, S.I.G. and Commando Units
on the ground and the Royal Navy from the sea.
Here is a tentative schedule for 2017
1.As of this date the CHG as not scheduled
a Desert Battle, but if they do we will post the date. S-Patrol
http://www.chgww2.net/events/
2.April 18th - 23th
- MVCC "Camp Delta" - Has been moved to KOA Park at Petaluma,
Ca. as the one at Lodi has been sold and is going under a
renovation. We are hoping to return to that venue sometime in
the future. I have reserved a lodge and a camp site for the
vehicles. T - Patrolhttp://www.mvccnews.net/
There may be some last minute changes and I
will post them on the site and on Face Book.
One last thing; I before I leave
the scheduling; for the last several years, a friend that lives
in Australia has been trying to get me to bring the truck to the
New Zealand Consulate
General Office, at 2425 Olympic Boulevard Santa Monica,
CA. on ANZAC Day. Which is celebrated both in Australia and New
Zealand on April 25th each year. In the past our MVCC
meet always interfered but this year it looks like it might be
possible.
So after the MVCC Meet in
Petaluma, if I can arrange transportation of the truck, I'll
take it and my jeep there to celebrate ANZAC day. Hopefully
those Troopers that live in the L.A. Basin will join me with
their vehicles too.
Thanks for your support.
Jack, Kim, Rick and all of the
members of the LRDG Preservation Society
LRDG
Newsletter
Nov 30th
2015
Well there has been a lot of
activity this year with the LRDG Preservation Society year.
T-Patrol attended eight different venues and S-Patrol attended
at least four that I know of. (Two desert battles in
CaliforniaCity, Planes of Fame in Chino and Ft. MacArthur Days). S-Patrol always
has had a better attendance at their events as they have more
Troopers in the area. I usually have a few dedicated Troopers
that show up and support our efforts here in the northern part
of the state.
There have been some challenges this year also; our original
long time LRDG fitter and builder of T-8 (Rick) has had some
health challenges this past year. He was recently hospitalized
for a �gallstone attach�. What is more important is that his
memory and mental acuity is noticeably deteriorating. He
therefore has been unable physically to continue any work on the
T-9 Radio truck; so I had to make some tough decision. Either to
abandon the project completely; pay big bucks to have someone
else finish it, or lastly turn the project over to someone
interested enough to finish it.
So after much consideration I
decided that I did not currently have the financial ability to
pay someone to finish it and was abhorred to just abandon it; so
that left me with the last choice, to see if I could find
someone with enough interest and commiserate people with the
skills and funds to complete the project.
I
approached several over a period of several months that showed
interest but they were heavily involved in several other
projects and were unable to complete it in time for the MVPA
Convention, next Aug 11th-13th, which was
one of my conditions. I finally found just the �outfit�; that
has the people and finances to complete T-9.
Doug Boales is the President of
Eagle Field Foundation. Eagle Field is a former 1942 Army Air
Force Training base which is located in Firebaugh, Ca. which is
just south of Dos Palos, and Los Banos, California. Currently it
has the only original large wooden hanger from that era in the
United States. Doug primary
interest is in Post WW II Armour; he has worked in the past
closely with Jacques Littlefield and the LittlefieldMuseum and has extensive mechanical
abilities and talented people to assist him. If anyone would
like to assist him in the project I�m sure he would appreciate
any help. Let me know and I will see that you can contact him.
He has taken both trucks to
Eagle Field on the weekend of Nov 28th; to do some
much needed repairs and repaint T-8 in time for the
AprilTowerPark
event; and then finish T-9 in time for the MVPA Convention in
August 11-13th.
With all that said I would like
to strongly encourage others in California, Oregon,
Washington
and any other part of the world that has a LRDG, S.A.S and
P.P.A. style jeeps to plan on attending the convention. We have
already picked out a flat area for our display and will
hopefully setting up our largest desert display ever. And those
without vehicles are also invited to attend in appropriate LRDG
desert attire.
2.April 17th - 24th
� MVCC �CampDelta� � TowerPark, Lodi, Ca. I have reserved three camp sites and
there should be plenty of room for all of us. T - Patrol
http://www.mvccnews.net/
There may be some last minute changes and I
will post them on the site and /or on the Facebook site.
One last thing; I (we) would like to wish all of you a Merry
Christmas and a Happy & Prosperous New Year.
Thanks for your support.
Jack, Kim, Rick and all of the members of
the LRDG Preservation Society
LRDG Newsletter
Dec 13th
2014
I
cannot believe that another year has �galloped by�. I have been
real negligent in having posted to the web site the events of
this past year, but will see if we can get caught up.
Just like last year; there are several new books out that you
might be interested in adding to your library. The first one is
�Operation Salam� which was a 1942 WW II military operation
organized by the Abwehr under the command of the Hungarian
desert explorer Laszlo Almasy (pronounced Al Massie). The
mission was conceived in order to assist Panzer Army Africa by
delivering two German spies into British-held Egypt. Written by
authors Kuno Gross (author of several other books); Michael
Rolke (author of �Germans in the Sahara� about the
Sonderkommando Dora; and Andras Zboray (Desert Expedition
Organizer -http://www.fjexpeditions.com/ ). I have just started
reading it so can�t give you much information at this time.
The next has been recently released and is titled �The Eyes of
the Desert Rats� by David Syrett. David and I had some
correspondence several years ago when he was working on his book
and he sent me a copy of the unpublished manuscript with all of
the scratch outs and corrections. I read it then but I�m waiting
for my copy to arrive (I asked for it for Christmas). The sad
part is that David has passed away and his wife is the one that
got it published after his death.
Now for a tentative schedule of 2015
events:
1.March 14th � 16 � CHG Desert
Battle � California City or Stoddard Valley (TBA) S
Patrols
http://www.chgww2.net/events/
2.April 22nd - 26th
� MVCC �Camp Delta� � Tower Park, Lodi, Ca. I have reserved
three camp sites and there should be plenty of room for all of
us. T - Patrolhttp://www.mvccnews.net/
There may be some last minute changes and I
will post them on the site.
One last thing; I (we) would
like to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy &
Prosperous New Year.
Thanks for your support.
Jack, Kim, Rick and all of the
members of the LRDG Preservation Society
Dec 3rd
2013
Well
before I start into next�s year�s schedule, I would like to
mention several new books that have been recently relisted.
The first is titled �Swastika over the
Aegean� it is a photographic record of events that occurred in
and around the Dodecanese Islands in the autumn of 1943. Those
events resulted in the last decisive German victory of the
Second World War. The British & Dominion forces and their new
Italian allies were subjected to a resounding defeat; the 234
Infantry Brigade ceased to exist and key Aegean islands remained
under German occupation until the final Allied victory.
The Eastern Aegean was the setting for a series of German
air-sea landings, something not normally associated with the
Wehrmacht. German infantry carried out beach assaults and,
unusually, Fallschirmj�ger were deployed in their intended role
as paratroopers, more than two years after sustaining frightful
losses in Crete. Both sides relied on air and naval forces, as
well as conventional and unconventional ground forces. German
paratroopers were drawn from the Luftwaffe and Division
Brandenburg; the latter also fielded coastal raiders and assault
troops. The Allies had on call a battalion of The Parachute
Regiment, several infantry battalions, and Raiding Forces, which
included the Long Range Desert Group, Special Boat Squadron,
Commandos and Ieros Lohos (Greek Sacred Squadron).
This limited edition book is published in commemoration of the
70th anniversary of the battle for the Dodecanese and features
more than 500 images including; rare wartime documents, some 350
wartime photographs, and color photographs of the islands today.
The author is Anthony Rogers, who is no neophyte to the battles
in the Dodecanese Islands, his first book was the well received
�Churchill�s Folly� published in 2003.
The second is about earlier desert activities during WW
I. The title is �The Light Car Patrol 1916-19 �. Based on
Captain Claud Williams� memoir he tells, first-hand, what it was
like to be a Light Car Patrol commander during the First World
War, while Russell McGuirk�s commentary provides the historical
background to the formation of the Patrols and follows their
activities from the British raid on Siwa Oasis to desert
exploration and survey work and the Kufra Reconnaissance Scheme.
Lavishly illustrated with original photographs from Light Car
officers, this combined memoir and history provides a
fascinating and informative picture of an unsung hero of the
desert � the Model T Ford.
This title is available from Amazon at
$34.19.
Also in case you
didn�t know it the �LRDG� has made the big time, as there is now
a �Lego� version.
I also have a new supply of LRDG & New
Zealand shoulder flashes available for $15.00 per set plus $1.00
Postage in the U.S.
Now for next year�s events: as you can see
there are a number of events both in Southern California and in
Central California. Here�s hoping that you will take the
opportunity to join us at one of these events. You can always
e-mail me at lrdg@Prodigy.net for
the latest update on any event.
April
23rd � 27th � MVCC �Camp Delta� �
Tower Park, Lodi, Ca. I have reserved three camp sites and
there should be plenty of room all of us. T - Patrolhttp://www.mvccnews.net/
Nov. 11th � Veterans Day
Parade Salinas � T-12 Jeep
One last thing; I (we) would like to wish
all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy & Prosperous New Year.
Thanks for your support.
Jack, Kim, Rick and all of the members of
the LRDG Preservation Society
�Yes
Jerry there really is a Santa Claus�
(Or perhaps
something even greater)
On 10/23/11 one
of our life members Jerry Finney lost his older brother Jeff
after years of fighting various medical issues. Jerry loved his
brother and they were very close. Both shared an extreme
interest in everything military and both loved Historical
Re-enactment.
Jeff was not able to get out much
but treasured the moments he was able to go to an event. Jeff
loved everything military including sharing Jerry�s love for the
L.R.D.G.
In 2010 Jeff bought a jeep, a 1943
GPW. It was is in good shape and Jeff planned to work on it when
he could with guidance from Jerry and help from friends. Even
throughout the years of extreme illness the jeep was always a
spark in Jeff�s eye and he was very proud of it.
Now I don�t want to get into
Jerry�s family history to much, all that is really necessary to
understand this story is that over the years like in many
families issues arise, situations pop up, some members of our
families do seemingly ridiculous things we really don�t
understand and on some occasions bad feelings can ruin a close
family. No matter what took place Jerry and his brother remained
very close to the end.
When Jeff passed away the jeep
fell into the hands of In-laws. It became obvious right from the
start that they had no intension of passing the jeep to Jerry
but would go out of their way to make sure that he was never
able to obtain it. The jeep was advertised on Craig�s list and
would only be sold to an �out of state buyer�.
Without going into all the details
I believe you can start to get a picture of what was happening
and it was very plain to see that these Scrooge�s would do all
they could to make sure the jeep did not fall into Jerry�s hands
or anyone who new Jerry.
�Yes Jerry there really is a
Santa Clause� and I certainly believe something much greater was
at work here.
The jeep was listed for $13,000,
way over priced. They dropped the price once, twice four times
until it was down to $44500.00 and �SOLD� to a man who
knew absolutely nothing about what had gone on over the past few
months with Jerry and his brother�s jeep. Now I am not sure what
happened to the idea of only selling it out of state but
apparently there were no takers and they sold it to the first
person who had cash.
Now this person who had the
$4450.00 to spend on the jeep planned on flipping it really fast
and he did. The day after the first gentleman bought the jeep he
re-sold it to another gentleman.
On 9/21/12 Jerry got a phone call
from his good neighbor across the street informing Jerry to
�hurry up and get home you have to see the jeep I bought�.
When Jerry arrived home he could see that his neighbor was now
the lucky owner of a, you guessed it a 1943 GPW. Now
Jerry�s neighbor knowing that Jerry loved jeeps and all things
military could not wait to show it off to Jerry. Upon first
glance Jerry asked the year, �a 1943 GPW� the neighbor told him.
Jerry replied �man this looks just like my brothers old jeep�.
As Jerry began to inspect the jeep he soon realized that not
only did this jeep look like his brothers it is his brothers.
Jerry asked to see the pink slip and sure enough Scrooge�s name
was on the pink slip. Jerry almost fell over backwards as he
realized his brother�s jeep was, through some strange twist of
fate now parked across the street from Jerry�s own house. Jerry
began to tell the neighbor all about the twisted story and the
neighbor could not believe his ears. At the end of the
conversation Jerry asked his neighbor what his plans for the
jeep were �I am going to flip it� he said �I hope to make a few
thousand on the deal�. Jerry then asked �how much would he be
willing to sell it for�, $7500.00 the neighbor replied but if
you (Jerry) want to buy it I will lower my expectations and sell
it to you at a much better price as it should go to you Jerry�.
Jerry began a phone campaign and
within a day there was pretty much a �Buy the jeep back for
Jerry� telethon happening. Jerry was able to raise the cash
between himself and a few shall we say guardian angels and
within two weeks of his neighbor buying the jeep not knowing
anything at all about its sorted history, the jeep Jerry and his
brother worked on for a number of years, the jeep that a few
people with a problem swore would never get to Jerry, a jeep
which seemly refused to be sold to anyone except who it should
have went to in the first place is now you guessed it, in
Jerry�s garage and I know that Jerry�s brother is watching all
of this with the biggest smile anyone has ever seen.
Jerry has been one of my right
arms since forming S Patrol and a valued friend. He goes to
every event. I can�t think of anyone I know who deserves
something great like this to happen to more than Jerry.
On a more personal note:
seeing and hearing all that has happened in the way that it
happened leaves me to say only this in closing, Jerry for get
about Santa Claus you will always have your brother who�s spirit
I believe has made this happen for both of you and that there
must be a higher power some where even if we don�t always hear
or see it, it�s there and this story is proof of it�s existence.
Congratulations to you and
your brother may you drive your jeep in good health and good
fun.
Kim
LRDG Newsletter
Dec. 15th
2012
Well if
you find yourself on this page you must have read the touching
story of Jerry and his brother�s jeep (see above or below � not
sure where the web master put it). Although Jerry is a LRDG
Preservation Society Life Member, I have only had the pleasure
of his company three times in the last three years. I remember
the first time when he was still �Jerry the German� at Marching
Thru History in Oct. 2009 when we won him over from �the Dark
Side� to the LRDG Preservation Society. He just couldn�t stop
talking about the LRDG and his fascination with them. Then the
Desert Battle in April 2010 and again at the Marching Thru
History Event in Oct. 2011. He has this way of putting on either
British or Australian accent that is most uncanny. I have always
wished that I could do that. It�s nice to see that things do
work out and I am looking forward to seeing his jeep at one of
our joint events in the near future.
Another
LRDGPS member Dan Piedimonte has all but completed his jeep,
with just a few details to finish it up. I think he is waiting
for a set of K-guns that Kim is working on, other than that from
what I understand it is California Registered and ready to hit
the road (so to speak).
He has done
it up as a G-Patrol version, something that I am sure Capt.
Alastair Timpson would have been proud to ride in. If you don�t
know who Capt. Alastair Timpson is, then you are not a true fan
of the LRDG.
With all the
flurry of vehicle construction going on, I would like to report
that Ricks has indicated to me that he plans to have the T-9
(Radio) truck completed for the MVPA Portland Convention in
July. Now this vehicle was to have been completed for the 2008
Convention but the death of his Mom and subsequent events over
her estate had set him back. But he has assured me that this is
his top priority. As all of the parts are there, assembly is all
that is required.
I have been
conspiring with Kim on our 2013 LRDGPS events schedule; there is
quite a list, hope that we can attend most if not all of them.
April 6th �
Riverside Air Show � I have suggested this for S-Patrol as
it is a one day event, much too far for us to attend for the
one day. S-Patrol
http://www.riversideca.gov/airshow/default.asp
April 17th � 21st
� MVCC �Camp Delta� � Tower Park, Lodi, Ca. I have reserved
four camp sites and there should be plenty of room all of
us. T-Patrol
http://www.mvccnews.net/
Oct. � Marching Thru History �
Rumor has it is that this will be reinstated this year at a
new location; date TBA.
http://wwwmarchingthruhistory.com
Nov. 11th �
Veterans Day Parade Salinas � T-12
Nov. 26th � Yreka
Parade � T-8
We are also planning a LRDGPS
member�s weekend only; looking at either June or early Sept.
would like member input. Also in October we will be expecting a
visit from our member Grant (Thomo) Thomson; I currently do not
have the dates of his arrival.
One last thing; I (we) would like
to wish all of you a Merry Christmas and a Happy & Prosperous
New Year.
Thanks for
your support.
Jack, Kim &
Rick
LRDG Newsletter
Aug 8th 2012
Well 2012
is almost two-thirds over. There are still a number of
events before we finish out 2012. On a personal note my
health has been much better. Now some of the prescription drugs that I used to
dispense in my professional career seem to be now working well on me. One of the jeeps that I was
involved in �brokering� sold to one of our own LRDGPS Life Members. Unfortunately it is
being shipped out of the country to Canada; so we won�t see it in one of our local
Patrols. Since it is an early 1941 slat grill, I am not sure if he is going to keep it original or
convert it to a LRDG configuration. Well see when it gets delivered in Canada what he plans
to do with it. We can hope that he will send some photos. He
is no novice to Military Vehicle restoration as he already
has a Bren Carrier plus a CMP truck that I know of.
We had a small presence at the
CHG Desert Battle back in March, but they were on foot as I had my son here from New
Hampshire and Kim couldn�t make it either, so none of the
vehicles were present. I did make the Good Old Days Pacific
Grove Parade on April 14th; with my local LRDGPS Trooper
John Dick and his wife Jackie as my crew. Rick made it down for the MVCC
�Camp Delta� meet in Lodi (with the truck) and I was there with the jeep. John Dick
was again part of my crew and Kevin came all the way from Arizona to be part of Rick�s
crew. The �Brass in the Grass� event was canceled by the
promoters. S- Patrol had a good event at the Chino � Planes
of Flame in mid Mayand picked up another Life Member (Dan
Piedimonte) who has just recently bought a jeep and plans to
do it up as a LRDG vehicle � Patrol to be determined.
For photos and After Action
Report on this event see
http://www.lrdg.org/LRDG-Photo-gallery(recent).htm I was out of the country for all of
the May 19/20 events; we were invited to Cancun by my Brother-in-law and I just
couldn�t say no. I also missed the Marine BBQ as I was at my
Grandsons graduation in New Hampshire and gone most of June.
I managed to redeem myself by doing two parades (locally)
one in Seaside, Ca. on July 1st and the second on July 4th
in Monterey, Ca.; again supported by my local Life Member;
�Gunner John Dick�. Both of these parades had been cancelled
last year.
While I was attending the parades, S-Patrol was preparing
for the Fort MacArthur Days. Again from the many photos and
the After Action Report it was another success; and another Life Member was added (Don
Roof).
http://www.lrdg.org/LRDG-Photo-gallery(recent).htm On the International level;
back in March (remember that is there Autumn down under) there was an event in Matamata,
New Zealand where there were at least two LRDG vehicles present; the S-5 Radio
Truck is owned by Ross Hopkins (Hamilton, NZ) The LRDG jeep is owned by Brett
Curtis from ------------ ; and that is Brendan O�Carroll (author of The Kiwi
Scorpions) as the Bren gunner. Then about two weeks later at
the Corowa, Australia event one of our LRDG Life Members (Hartley Stevens) � I actually
think it was his son took their R-2 truck (15 cwt). Note that he is wearing his
LRDGPS patch on his uniform. For the rest of the year I have
listed below the proposed events that we plan to participate in. I�ll work with Kim on
the schedule for 2013 and post it soon.
1. August 18th -
Pacific Grove, Ca - Concourse Auto Rally �T� Patrol 2. August 24th � 26th � CHG Italian
Battle � Holcomb Valley � Kim will be doing a PPA impression for this event 3. Sept. 12th � 16th � Monterey, Ca.
Cherries Jubilee �T� Patrol Truck & Jeep
http://www.cherrysjubilee.org/information_friends.html 4. Oct. � Marching Thru History -
CANCELLED
http://www.marchingthruhistory.com/ 5. Nov. 11th � Veteran�s Day Parade �
Somewhere 6.
Nov. 15th � 19th � Big Reno Gun Show
http://www.bigrenoshow.com/future- events/fall-show.html 7. Nov. 24th � Crossroads of the West
Gun Show � �S� Patrol
Thanks for your
support.
Jack, Rick & Kim
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society Dec. 2nd 2011
This year has had it�s �up�s
and down�s�, both personally and with the Preservation
Society. There were several events that the �truck� did not
make it as the �tow vehicle� developed problems and Rick;
either had to do a turn around or make infield repairs and
subsequently missed the event.
On a personal level; I have had
several health issues develop since May of this year, I have
been working with the Doctors on them and have tried not to
let it interfere with the LRDGPS events. However a visit to
the Emergency Room negated my attending the Desert Battle in
September. I was able to attend the Marching Thur History
event later the month.
We had a visit from our Life Member
Grant Thomson (and his family) from New Zealand late Sept until
mid Oct. They joined us at the Marching Thur History event,
covered Disney Land , San Diego Zoo, the Grand Canyon, Las Vegas
, Monterey and San Francisco before they went back to New
Zealand .
I am currently involved in
�brokering� for sale a couple of local jeeps. If anyone is
interested let me know at
lrdg@Prodigy.net and I�ll forward photos and
specific information as to price etc.
Below is a tentative schedule
for 2012 which is starting a little earlier than in the
past. � These are not all set in stone and there may be
other events that come up during the year that we may decide
to attend; notice there is a �bevy of events� on the weekend
of May 19th � 20th. I haven�t decided
which to attend so I have listed them all.
1.Jan, 23rd � Feb. 16th
� Hawaii � Personal Vacation Jack
2.March 18th � 19th
� CHG Desert Battle at Stoddard Valley � Barstow Area �S� &
�T� Patrol
http://www.chgww2.net/desert
23.Nov. 24th �
Crossroads of the West Gun Show � �S� Patrol
Thanks for your support.
Jack, Rick & Kim
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society,
Oct 2010
I am currently
working on next
year�s events
schedule. We had
some last minute
changes in our
August
attendance. I
passed on the
Pacific Grove
Auto
Rally because
the MVCC had
been invited to
the �Rolex
Motorsport
Event� at
Laguna Seca
raceway.
I spent several
weeks; between
my European
River Cruise and
the War & Peace
Show, trying to
round up members
to bring their
vehicles to that
event as we only
had a short time
to arraign the
event. We ended
up with a total
of nine
vehicles, which
was a pretty
good turn out of
local members.
Earlier in the
year we attended
the CHG Desert
Battle, MVCC
Tower Park,
the American
Historical Truck
Society truck
show, the Marine
Corps League
BBQ, and the
Seaside 4th
of July Parade �
which we took 1st
prize in the MV
category. Look
for photos of
those events
here
http://www.lrdg.org/LRDG-Photo-gallery(new).htm
.
We had the
�S-Patrol� (Southern
California)
unit represent
us at the Ft.
MacArthur event
which was a new
event for the
LRDGPS;
unfortunately
Rick and I were
in
England
at the time
attending the
War & Peace
Show. Be sure to
read Kim�s Ft.
MacArthur �After
Action Report�
also under �New
Photos�.
Kim has also
concluded his
article on the
Breda �gas gun�;
which they used
at this years
Marching Thru
History event;
so be sure to
check out the
�LRDG
tool box�
section.
In August &
Sept. we did
back to back
events here in
Monterey
with both the
truck and jeep
in attendance �
the first was
held at Leguna
Seca and the
second in Sept.
was Cherry�s
Jubilee
which we have
done several
years in a row.
Some photos of
both events are
also included.
It has not been
all peaches and
cream this year
as we lost a
good friend (Ray
Mayeri) who was
a constant
supporter of the
LRDGPS, and our
good friend
George Sicre had
to have surgery
for a
brain tumor
(currently
convalescing and
doing well).
Below is a
tentative
schedule for the
rest of 2010 and
all of 2011 �
these are not
all set in stone
and there may be
other events
that come up
that we may
decide to
attend:
Sept. � Date
TBA �
Monterey ,
Ca.
Cherries
Jubilee
Oct. � Date
TBA �
Prado Park ,
Chino , Ca.
� Marching
Thru History
Thanks for your
support!
Jack, Rick, and
Kim
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society,
July 2010
"In
Memory to Ray Mayeri -
April 20th 1951 to June 28th 2010"
I have lost a strong
supporter, friend and life member of the LRDG
Preservation Society.....
Ray Mayeri pass away suddenly on June 28th.
He had undergone some
surgery for sleep apnea on the morning of the 21st. I
received an e-mail from him on the 23rd and he said he was pain
free and doing nicely. He was looking forward to our next outing
which was July 4th. I called him the other day to make sure he
was coming and didn't get a response. Now I know why. His nephew
called today with the bad news. At this point in time I, nor the
family, know the cause of his death.
Ray was also a big "Popski" fan. He was a writer by trade and
had written a screen play on Popski's WW II activities. As soon
as he was moved into his remodeled home (which is almost done)
he was going to see if he could get someone to produce it.
Attached are a couple of photos of Ray when he attended some
events with me.
I will truly miss him and all the support he gave me and the
Society.
Jack
Below is a
tentative
schedule of
spring and
summer
activities:
Thanks for your support!
Jack and Rick
LRDG Preservation Society
It seems like
every one of my
newsletters
starts off with
�We had a great
last year�. Well
this update is a
little later
than usual but I
can say that
2009 was one of
those great
years too. And
we are all
looking forward
to 2010 being as
good as or
greater than the
last few years
have been.
In the last
update I told
all about the
Chino �Marching
Thru History
Event� and all
though it was a
terrific event
and everyone of
our group had a
wonderful time
participating; I
personally have
been
disappointed in
the fact that we
have never
received our
award for �Best
Vehicles� at the
event; although
I have been
promised many
times in the
last 5 months
that it was on
its way.
Not much
happened after
the Marching
Thru History
Event, however I
did take the
jeep to a local
�Bantam� show in
Carmel Valley .
It was there I
was able to see
a perfect
recreation of
the first
prototype Bantam
and one of the
production
models. For
those who may
not know, Bantam
was one of the
first company�s
to submit a
vehicle to the
U.S. Army
for
consideration as
their � ton
truck. Of the
approximately
3000 that the
Bantam company
produced many of
them saw
military
service. There
are many
documents in my
LRDG archives
where �jeeps�
are referred to
as Bantams, even
though they were
actually
referring to the
Willy�s (or
Ford) Jeeps. I
know of no
Bantam�s that
were used by the
LRDG or S.A.S.
but do have
photos that show
them in use in
North Africa
and
Russia .
If you are
interested in
seeing photos of
these unique
vehicles, drop
me an e-mail.
Now for some
�really� good
news; about Dec.
15th,
I received an
e-mail from a
friend in the
East Bay area,
wishing me a
Merry Christmas,
and �Oh buy the
way I would like
to sell my
S.A.S. jeep�. I
have been aware
of this vehicle
for some time as
it was offered
to me about 3
years ago by a
collector from
Wisconsin
. Well I knew
that Kim Calvert
was actively
looking for a
jeep to convert
to LRDG
configuration
and thought that
I might put the
two of them
together. After
many, many
e-mails back and
forth we (all
three of us)
came to terms.
Kim and I have
bought the
vehicle (50-50).
So now the
LRDGPS has three
vehicles in its
stable. Some
photos below; I
picked it up on
Jan 16th
and will be
delivering it to
Kim (he gets to
keep it in his
garage) on Feb.
19th.
Now with three
vehicles, one in
Northern Ca.,
one in Central
Ca. and the
third in
Southern Ca. we
should be
capable of
attending more
events
throughout the
state.
Below is a
tentative
schedule of
spring and
summer
activities:
I have included
some web sites
to those events
that list them,
so you can
further explore
the event.
Regarding the
California
Historical Group
Desert Battle,
we are planning
to attend with
both jeeps and
the truck and as
many LRDGPS
Troopers we can
muster. So
please let me
know if you plan
to attend.
Likewise the
Fort MacArthur
event in
San Pedro, Ca.
will be another
big event.
Be sure to visit
the new section
�LRDG Tool Box�;
see how Kim is
making a Breda
gas gun. If you
have made, or
converted
something that
would be of
interest to the
LRDGPS submit it
to me for
consideration.
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation SocietyOct. 22nd 2009
After Hours Report
Although not listed in the
previous newsletter, Rick had
taken the truck to Indian Mary
which is a
Southern Oregon Military
Vehicle Club event, held at the
end of May. My first event of
the summer was the
Morgan Hill 4th
of July parade with the Jeep.
Ray Mayeri was my gunner. Mean
while Rick had help organize the
first July 4th parade
in Yreka and after the parade
participated in a static
display. Then he drove over to
Tulelake to participate in the
Shasta Salute to America where
he spent the rest of the day.
I followed up the
Morgan Hill parade with
the Seaside Parade of Champions
on July 5th, in which
we took second prize ($75.00) in
the MV category. I still haven�t
found out who took the first
prize.
On August 14th,
during all the car events here
on the
Monterey Peninsula
(Concourse, Historic Car Races
etc.); I went to the
Pacific Grove Auto
Rally. All of my gunners were
out of town so when Marc Goldman
from the MVCC showed up taking
photos , I �shanghaied� him into
being my gunner on the drive
around
Pacific Grove, Pebble
Beach &
Carmel.
As the third week of Sept.
rolled around, Rick brought the
truck down to Monterey for the
Cherries Jubilee event. This is
a charity event that brings over
500 vehicles to the Peninsula .
Rick was running late so I did
Friday morning Poker Run without
him; pair of 10�s was the best I
could do. On Friday night we
�cruised down Alvarado Street �
� Rick arrived by that time and
accompanied us. We always get a
lot of attention when driving in
among the 50�s and 60�s
automobiles. On Saturday we
spent the day at the Laguna Seca
Race tract and we got both
vehicles on the tract for three
laps a piece. I couldn�t hear it
but they told me that the
announcer mentioned that it
isn�t very often that you see
vehicles with machine guns going
around the race tract.
For
the big �Grand
Finale �of this year we
tried something different.
There are two events in
Southern California that
I had been considering. One is
at Ft. MacArthur located in
San Pedro, Ca. and the
other was the Marching Thru
History Event in
Chino , Ca. The Ft.
MacArthur event is in July; the
Chino event in October, when I
really started to consider them,
in April, I felt that there was
not enough time to prepare for
the Ft. MacArthur event with so
many local events in our
schedule. So Chino got the nod.
I
had made a new contact (Kim
Calvert) in the Chino area who
was a �BIG� help in putting it
together. He went to a number of
their meetings and helped select
our location. If you have never
been to one of these events it
is a real eye opener. When they
say Living History, that�s what
they mean. They had Roman�s,
Revolutionary War, Civil War, WW
I and WW II plus many others
that I can�t remember.
It
had been such a long time since
we displayed the truck and jeep
in Southern California, I put
out the word to any and all that
wanted to be apart of the
display. Several contacts from
the old Great Western Gun Show
days showed some interest. (One
came from Colorado ).
So
on Oct. 1st we left
Monterey , Rick, George
Escobedo, and I; planning for a
late arrival at the park in
Chino . We had commitments from
eight others that would be there
Friday to help us set up the
camp site. We had a few minor
problems; overheating at the
grapevine on
Interstate 5, and I did
loose my way in the dark (that
damn sun compass doesn�t work
after dark). But we finally got
there about 10PM. Set up a
temporary LRDG camp site for the
night.
Friday
morning �troopers� started
showing up for duty. One no
show (lost in the desert I
guess) from
Texas ; it was a long way
to come.
My thanks to
all who helped, in Alphabetical
order:
1.John Billinger �
Simi Valley , Ca.
2.Kim Calvert �
Anaheim , Ca.
3.Chris Cone -
Loveland, Co.
4.Tony Cone �
Glendale , Ca.
5.George Escobedo �
San Jose , Ca.
6.
William Irwin �
Lucerne Valley , Ca.
7.George Sicre -
Palm Desert , Ca.
8.John Tiley �
Half Moon Bay , Ca.
Special
thanks go to John Tiley and his
friend Elizabeth who manned the
booth, which provided
information about the LRDG
Preservation Society and
conducted sales of an assortment
of merchandise including
T-shirts, books, & badges.
Be sure to
checkout the photos of the
event.
There is a
lot of pressure to do the Ft.
MacArthur show next year. I
understand that it will be the
weekend after the
4th of July
and we will give it serious
consideration.
The only
thing left for this year is
Veteran�s Day and I haven�t
decided which of the many
parades to attend.
I�ll soon
start on next year�s schedule of
events a get it posted as I have
something concrete. If you have
an event in your area and would
like us to attend, send me
information on the event and if
it is possible we will consider
it.
If you need any other LRDG
references check with me first
as I still have copies of �Kiwi
Scorpions�; Bearded Brigands &
The Barce Raid available.
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society June 19th 2009
Although it does not show on the website there has been a lot of activities going on with the Society. Unfortunately the War and Peace show is out this year as Uncle Sam got to me first, hopefully I�ll be able to afford to go next year. We missed the P.G. Good Old Days parade as we were in Tulsa at that time. We did make the MVCC meet at Tower Park and the Castroville Parade; although the MVCC meet was well attended we were the only MV in the Castroville Parade this year.
Update on some near term events are; we are planning to participate in the Morgan Hill 4th of July parade and we are signed up for the Seaside �Parade of Champions� on July 5th. Unfortunately the Monterey 4th parade has limited their parade to just two military vehicles, so most of the locals are boycotting their parade. We figured that we would go where we are most appreciated.
Now one of the premier events this year that we are planning to attend is the �Marching thru History� event in Chino , Ca. on Oct. 3rd & 4th. Here is their web site with all the particulars of the event; http://www.marchingthruhistory.com/
if you care to see all that is going on be sure to hit their web site.
Now this event is in the heart of the Los Angeles area so I expect all of those that have been bugging me to come southern California will be there. In fact I would like those that would like attend to help with set up and man the display to contact me as I need to let the director of the event know how many people we will have in the display area. Rick and I will be camping on the site along with others (I hope).
2009 Summer and Fall Activities:
July 4th � Sat - Parade - Morgan Hill , Ca. - Jeep & Truck
July 5th � Sun - Parade - Seaside , Ca. - Jeep & Truck
July 16th � Rats to Riches � Downtown Monterey 4:00PM Local car show
Aug. 1st & 2nd - Monterey Celtic Games - Toro Park ?
Oct. 3rd & 4th � Marching through History � Chino , Ca. Jeep & Truck
Oct. 16th � 18th � Desert Battle location TBA ?
Oct. 17th � Rats to Riches � Downtown Monterey 4:00PM Local car show
Now with that all done, I need to get caught up on some other things that I have been neglecting.
I have been remiss in reporting that Jonathan Pittaway has released his Second Edition of �LRDG Rhodesian�. It actually was released in Dec. 2008. I received my copy sometime in April or May. Now when I say Second Edition you are probably saying �I have the first edition why do I need the second?� Well the reason is; it is a complete new book, with many more photographs (previously unpublished). I sure would like to know where he got them all and would love to get copies. It also has added information on German units; complete LRDG Rhodesia medal citations and many stories by LRDG veterans. He was also kind enough to add a spread about the LRDG Preservation Society (about 8 pages as I recall). My only complaint is that he won�t let me sell in the U.S. so you have to order direct from him at his web sitehttp://www.dandy.co.za or his e-mail address agencies@iafrica.com
I know that I am running long with this Newsletter, but have one more thing to add. The book �Incident at Jebel Sherif� is also being released sometime this month. This is a collaboration of three authors; Brendan O�Carroll ; Kuno Gross & Roberto Chiarvetto. These three gentlemen actually went to the site, along with a New Zealand film crew too study and study the battle area where Capt. Clayton and several others were captured and Moore and three of his companions started their historic trek out of the desert. Books are available direct from Kuno at his web site: http://www.jebelsherif.org/
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society Dec. 26th, 2008
Here we are fast approaching 2009. In my book 2008 was a great year for the LRDG Preservation Society. I all started with our �Killing Rommel� video in the desert in January, July 4th parade in Ashland , OR . followed by our successful participation in the MVPA Convention in August and finally finishing up with Rick�s participation in the Yreka Christmas Parade.
It is going to be tough to follow up with another year as good as that; but we will do our best to try! We continue to be contacted by LRDG family members in search of information (we have provided both photos and information to a number of them) and are continuing to be contacted by LRDG Preservation Society supporters from around the world. They show their support by buying the LRDG books, T-shirts, cap badges and shoulder flashings that we have listed on the site.
One other thing that I have done this year was to join the �Living History Worldwide� organization. It is the fastest growing Living History and Re-enactment Network in the world. Check out their web site here http://www.livinghistoryworldwide.com/ . It doesn�t cost anything to join and you can then join �My Friends� and �My Group� � which is the LRDG Preservation Society. I have added some photos and a Lily Marlene song to �My Page�. If you want to join up and have any problem let me know.
On a personal note; we just finished up remodeling our home (well almost), the only thing that needs to be finished is the outside painting. It was a rather extensive job, and took about six month to complete; we were living in it while the construction was going on. We are still happily married, but it was a test of both our patient and endurance. For those that have been here; you won�t recognize the place. I have done my personal best with my own �financial stimulus package �to keep the economy going in these tough times.
We added a large double car garage to the north side of the house (we had a standard double car garage on the south side). This will be the home of the jeep and associated LRDG �stuff� along with my 1964 Porsche. I am sure that when the truck is here for a local event that it will fit in it nicely too.
Below is an outline of some planned personal and LRDG spring and summer events. I have included both the War & Peace Show and the MVPA Convention but not sure either or both of those are financially possible this year. Unless you are one of those that might like to sponsor us.
Tentative summer activities:
June � date TBA � Marine Corps Barbeque � Toro Park Monterey.
July 4th � Parade TBA � somewhere.
July 22nd � 26th � War and Peace Show England ?
Aug. 5th � 9th MVPA Convention - Evansville , IN.?
Aug. 14th � 16th � Monterey Historic.
Thanks for your support! Jack
and Rick
LRDG Preservation
Society
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society August 20th, 2008
Well the
MVPA
Convention
is over;
there
were a
few
disappointments
and few
surprises.
The
disappointments
started
before
we even
got
there as
the
second
truck
(T-9
Wireless)
was not
at the
stage of
completion
where it
could be
taken to
the
convention.
There
was just
not
enough
time to
complete
it. One
of the
major
problems
was that
the
paint
that
Rick had
ordered
three
weeks
prior
never
showed
up.
We
departed
Rick�s
(Yreka)
on the
12th,
spent
the
night in
Salem
about 60
miles
South of
Portland.
Leaving
Salem
about
8:30 AM
to avoid
some of
the rush
hour
traffic
we
arrive
at the
Expo
Center
at 10
AM.
I
couldn�t
believe
my eyes,
as the
Expo
Center
had been
opened
at 8 AM
and it
was
already
crowded
with
military
vehicles.
I check
in with
Steve
Greenberg
and
found
our
location
in the
hall. I
had
e-mailed
Steve as
soon as
I knew
that T-9
would
not be
at the
convention.
We opted
for a
walled
corner
space in
the back
of the
hall.
I had
hoped
for
additional
help for
setting
up the
display
but had
to rely
on my
usual
trusty
LRDG
Troopers;
George
Escobedo
and
George
Sicre.
My wife
had the
responsibility
of
setting
up the
�Palm
Trees�
and the
�Story
Board�.
Once we
had the
�sand�
(painter�s
drop
cloths)
in
place, I
placed
the
vehicles
where I
wanted
and
started
adding
accessories.
One of
the
accessories
that I
haven�t
used
before
was
�Roger�.
Roger is
a
manikin
that has
been
with me
since
1984;
taking
up
space. I
thought
that it
was
about
time
that he
did
something
to
justify
his
existence.
At first
I
thought
that he
would
look
good at
the
tailgate
of the
truck
working
on
�lunch�
but as
the
display
took
shape
and I
put up
the
theodolite,
I
decided
that he
looked
much
better
there.
In fact
he
reminds
me of
�Nick
Wilder�
with his
light
colored
hair.
I had an
opportunity
to renew
some old
acquaintances�
from the
1996
Convention
and meet
more
nice
folks
from all
over.
Even
meet the
son of a
LRDG
trooper
(verified
by my
records).
We had a
nice
long
chat and
have
already
contacted
him for
more
information
about
his
father.
Friday
was the
vehicle
judging
and I
let Rick
deal
with
that as
he had
the
answers
for all
the
mechanical
questions.
I mainly
answered
questions
about
the
display
and
George
Sicre
was also
an
excellent
docent.
Saturday
was the
last day
and was
opened
to the
public,
so we
had
another
rash of
admires.
That
night
was the
�Awards�
banquet,
which
seemed
to drag
on
forever
until
they
started
presenting
the
awards.
Rick
must
have had
all the
right
answers
for T-8
took
First
Place in
the 1 �
ton
Motor
Pool
Ready
classification.
Then
more
waiting
as they
went
through
all the
other
period
and
weight
categories.
Then
finally
(drum
roll
please)
the
�Best
Display�
goes to
the LRDG
Preservation
Society.
There
was one
more
final
surprise.
The Host
club
Military
Vehicle
Collectors
Club of
Oregon
had
their
own
award
for the
Best
over all
vehicles
and
display.
We got
that
too!!!
So all
in all
it was
worth
all the
hard
work and
effort.
2008
Fall &
Winter
Proposed
Activities:
Sept
2nd
�
Clinton
Long
from
the
England
Desert
Raider
Group
will
be
here
for
a
visit.
Sept
5th
& 6th
�
Cherry�s
Jubilee
�
Monterey
Sept.
7th
-
Proposed
Jock
Littlefield
Museum
Tour
Sept.
21st
� 27th
�
MVCC
Camp
Delta
Meet
�
Lodi
, Ca.
Sept.
27th
� 28th
�
Salinas
Air
Show?
Sept.
27th
� 28th
�
Reno
Air
Races?
Oct.
23rd
� 26th
�
Camp
Gridley
?
Nov.
11th
�
Veterans
Day
Parade
-
Somewhere
Nov.
27th
�
Thanksgiving
-
Home
Dec.
26th
�
Christmas
-
Home
Jan.
1st
�
New
Years
-
Ricks
(Scott
is
coming
too)
Thanks for your support! Jack
and Rick
LRDG Preservation
Society
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society January 20, 2008
Well I am not sure just
where to start; here we
are two-thirds through
January and I already
have logged more than
2000 miles on LRDG
activities since Dec. 27th.
It was relatively quite
during the last quarter
of 2007; we took part in
the Sept 1st
J & S �America
Remembers� event and
Cherries Jubilee event
the following week.
After that Donna and I
started our Eastern road
trip by trailing the
jeep north to Rick�s for
some servicing and
continued on to see our
daughter Andrea in
Seattle. After spending
a few days with her we
then really went east.
Every year after
Christmas, Donna and I
celebrate New Years Eve
with Rick and a number
of his friends at his
home in Yreka. He had
completed the work on
the jeep so when we came
home I brought it home
on Jan. 3rd.
In the last newsletter I
had mentioned the author
Steve Pressfield and his
upcoming fictional book,
�Killing Rommel�. We
have kept in close
contact and back in Oct.
he asked me if we (along
with the vehicles) would
be willing to
participate in a video
promoting his new book,
which is supposed to be
released in late May or
early June. He spent
time with the publisher
in New York trying to
get them to �spring� for
the cost of production
(which was
considerable), when they
were reluctant; he
decided to do it
himself. So he spent
Nov. and Dec. getting it
all set up for a January
14th & 15th
shoot (see
photos).
Rick departed Yreka on
Friday Jan. 11th;
and I left on Sat. Jan.
12th, with my
trusty �Trooper� George
Escobedo traveling with
me. We rendezvoused up
with Rick at Santa Nella
on Interstate 5 at noon
on the 12th.
After a quick lunch we
continued heading south,
our destination was
Dumont Dunes, which is
about 45 miles North of
Baker, Ca. off of
Interstate 15 (towards
Las Vegas). We spent the
night in Barstow, Ca.
with a planed arrival at
Dumont Dunes around 9:30
AM on Sunday the 13th.
We had some minor delays
and also hooked up with
another �Trooper� George
Sicre; finally arriving
at noon.
What I was expecting
when we got there and
what was reality was two
different things. I had
expected four people,
Steve Pressfield, the
director; Nick Vitale,
Cameraman; Phil Arfman
and a sound person. What
was there was the above,
plus 17 other assorted
personal.
After we had a quick
lunch, we started to
unloaded the vehicles
and make up our
campsite, while they
went to scout for
locations. Nothing much
else exciting happened
that day. They told us
when they would arrive
the next day, so that we
would be ready. Rick
made Scampi with pasta
for dinner; the only
problem was that the
weather got very cold
during the night.
The next morning
everyone showed up at
7:30 AM, we had a quick
catered breakfast and
then we all moved to the
first location. There we
spent the morning
watching them take and
retake a number of
dialogs of Steve talking
about the LRDG & S.A.S.
We took the stage after
lunch. We did the same
thing over again the
next day at the second
location. They wrapped
it up about 3:00 Pm that
day. We decided to break
camp and move up to Date
Ranch about 20 miles
north to see if we could
get some �oasis style�
photos. We did succeed
the following day and
left our perspective way
on Wed the 16th.
I know that this
paragraph doesn�t sound
like much fun but we all
had a blast. I can�t
wait to see the footage.
I will let you know when
it gets posted on the
Internet. Posted
above!
5.
June � TBA � Marine
Corps League Barbecue �
Toro Park, Monterey
6.
July 4th �
Parade � TBA
7.
Aug. 13th �
17th � MVPA
Convention Portland, Or.
For the last event (the
Convention) I would like
as many supporters as
possible to plan to
attend. We are planning
a large display with two
LRDG trucks the LRDG
jeep and possible a
S.A.S. jeep. We will be
looking for a lot of
help with set up and
tending a retail table.
Please contact me if you
plan to attend and can
help.
Thanks for your support! Jack
and Rick
LRDG Preservation
Society
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society August 2007
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?
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
13th � 17th.
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
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society February 2007
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 1st
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 18th
- 22nd
- MVCC Tower
Park, Lodi Ca.
with Truck &
Jeep.
April 21st -
Pacific Grove
Good Old Days
Parade -
conflicts with
MVCC meet
April 19th,
20th,
& 21st
- Desert Battle
-
Reno -
conflicts with
MVCC meet
Best Regards Jack
and Rick
LRDG Preservation
Society
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society August 2006
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 18th.
Then the Castroville Artichoke
Parade on May 21st, 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 28th, 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 31st
to head back to Pennsylvania for my
50th 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 7th
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 10th.
We then had my son and his family
visiting from June 21st
until July 3rd. I
couldn't convince them to stay for
the Monterey 4th of July
parade. But we did manage to get
them all in the Seaside Parade of
Champions on July 1st. We
took both 1st and 2nd
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 4th 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. 3rd -
16th - Oregon &
Washington Trip
2. Aug. 11th -
13th - Reno Area
- Desert Battle - Rick with
the Truck
3. Aug. 25th -
27th - Santa
Maria Air Show - Jack with
the Jeep
4. Sept. 2nd -
Labor Day Parade , Marina,
Ca. - Jack with the Jeep
7. Oct. 14th -
15th - Travis Air
Show - Rick with Truck?
8. Nov. 16th -
20th - Big Reno
Gun Show
9. Nov. 23rd -
Thanksgiving
10. Dec. 25th -
Christmas
Best Regards Jack
and Rick
LRDG Preservation
Society
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society April 2006
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. 10th - 21st
- Oregon & Washington Trip
(Tentative dates)
Aug. 19th - 20th
- Santa Rosa - Pacific Coast
Air Show ?
Aug. 26th - 28th
- Santa Maria Air Show ?
Sept. 8th - 10th
- Cherries Jubilee
Sept 11th - Oct
11th - East Coast
Trip
Oct. 14th - 15th
- Travis Air Show
Nov. 16th - 20th
- Big Reno Gun Show
Best Regards Jack
and Rick
LRDG Preservation
Society
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society January, 23rd 2006
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 8th
Good Old Days Parade and Tower
Park. We have finalized our
travel plans to Australia and
New Zealand, leaving on Feb 4th
and returning on March 12th.
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. 1st,
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. 4th -
March 12th -
Australia & New Zealand
Trip
March 27th -
April 6th -
Tulsa Gun Show Trip
April 8th -
Good Old Days Parade,
Pacific Grove, Ca.
April 16th
thru 22nd-
Tower Park, Lodi, Ca.
May 20th -
Santa Cruz Armed Forced
Day Parade
May 21st -
Castroville Parade
May 26th thru
28th -
Watsonville Fly-In
June 1st - 7th
- Pennsylvania Trip
June 10th -
Marine Corps League
Barbecue (Static
Display)
June 15th ,
16th & 17th
- Olema Ranch
July 4th -
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 17th.
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
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society June 2005
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 19th - 24th.
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 15th .Then we
spent May 25th 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 27th.
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.
Best Regards Jack
and Rick
LRDG Preservation
Society
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society Jan. 2005
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).
May - Date to be announced - Ca. Historical Group - Desert Battle
May 14th - Castroville Artichoke Festival Parade
May 20th - 22nd - Planes of Fame, Chino, Ca.
May 21st - Armed Forces Day ?
May 28th - May 30th - Antique Air Show,
Watsonville, Ca.
May 31st - Memorial Day
June 27th - July 26th - Ireland - England tour.
July 16th - 17th - Monterey Gun Show - Monterey
Fairgrounds
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.
Best Regards Jack
and Rick
LRDG Preservation
Society
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society Jan. 2005
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".
Best Regards Jack
and Rick
LRDG Preservation
Society
Tentative Event Schedule
Nov. 6th-13th - Veterans Day Parade
(11th) Las Vegas, NV
Nov. 25th - Thanksgiving
Dec. 4th - MVCC South Bay Christmas Party - See web site as above.
Dec. 25th - Christmas
Jan. 1st, 2005 - New Years - Rick's
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.
April 17th-24th - MVCC Tower Park (Camp Delta) meet: see web site as
above.
May - I would like to attend the Watsonville Fly-In at the end of the
month.
June 16th-19th - MVCC 8th Casa de Fruta meet Hollister, Ca.
June 27th - July 7th - Ireland Tour with Seamus Kennedy
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.
Some of this years remaining events that we hope to attend are below.
Best Regards Jack Valenti
LRDG Preservation
Society
Oct. 15th thru 17th - American LeMans Series -
Laguna Seca Monterey
Nov. 6th thru 13th - Veterans Day Parade (11th)
Las Vegas, NV.
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society December 2003
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 6th Casa meet, the two July 4th
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.
Dec. 29th thru Jan. 4th �
Rick�s New Year�s Party.
Jan. 20th thru Jan. 27th �
Donna and I will be in Hawaii
Jan. 25th San Jose Vietnamese News Year
Parade
Feb. 8th thru 15th - Shot
Show in Las Vegas
Feb. 19th thru 23rd � Rick�s
for Feb. Birthday Bash
March 30th � Riverside Air Faire
March 30th thru April 7th �
Wanenmacher�s Tulsa Arms Show, Tulsa, Ok.
May � Date to be announced � Ca. Historical Group �
Desert Battle
May 15th - Armed Forces Day
May 19th thru May 20th �
Planes of Fame, Chino, Ca.
May 28th thru May 30th �
Antique Air Show, Watsonville, Ca.
May 31st � Memorial Day
June 2nd to June 10th � 60th
Anniversary of D Day Invasion, Normandy, France
June 17th thru June 20th � 7th
Annual MVCC Casa de Fruta Meet
June 24th thru June 26th �
MVPA Convention, Mobile, Alabama
July 1st thru July 5th �
Rick�s for 4th of July Parade�s
July 6th thru July 9th �
Seattle, WA. We will be visiting our daughter Andrea
July 10th thru July 17th �
Donna and I will be on an Alaskan Cruise
Finally
Wishing all of you Happy Holidays. We hope to see you
at one of the events next year.
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society August 2003
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 5th. 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 � ton Trucks class was
not even mentioned at the awards banquet. Oh well you can�t win them
all.
Up coming events:
August 16th � Livermore, CA. � Operation:
Welcome Home
August 29th � 31st �
Pleasanton, CA. - Scottish Games
August 30th � Marina, CA. -Labor Day
Parade
September 4th - 7th � Surplus
City, Oroville, CA.
September 4th - 7th �
Monterey, CA. - Leguna Seca LeMans Race
September 11th � 15th � Reno,
NV. - Air Races
September 11th - 15th �
Monterey, CA. � Cherries Jubilee � Classic Cars
September 16th to Oct.? � Eastern trip
October 2nd - 4th -Woodson
Bridge � Corning, CA.
October 11th � Hollister, CA. - Air
Faire.
November 11th � Las Vegas, NV. -Veteran�s
Day Parade
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.
May attend the Scottish Games or Marina Parade
depending other factors.
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.
We are definitely planning to attend the Las Vegas
Parade in November.
Newsletter for LRDG Preservation Society June 2003
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.
July 23rd -thru 26th - Wed.
arrival at MVPA Convention Alameda, Ca
Newsletter: Book Review - "Bearded Brigands"
LRDG Preservation Society December 2002
When I started the LRDG Preservation Society, I never
realized that it would have so much worldwide interest. There were a few
locals (with in the state of California) that had expressed an interest. But
once we had the truck and began taking it to shows in California, Nevada,
Oregon and Washington there was many more that shared their admiration of
the LRDG and what we were trying to do, which was to promote knowledge of
the group and the important part that they played in World War II. I must
admit that it has been an interesting and exciting ten-year learning
process.
What has also been an extremely important
part of the Society is our web page, which without the able development and
constant updates by Scott Miller (the web master) it would still be stuck in
the sand. The web page is a continuing source of contacts throughout the
world. And has been our primary media for spreading the word about the LRDG.
Another useful media has been the new books
and articles that continue to appear in print. This brings me to the start
of another book review. The first one that I ever did for the web page was
Brendan O�Carroll�s, �The Kiwi Scorpion�s. Prior to that I think the last
one that I did was in high school and that was along time ago.
The latest book out about the LRDG is
titled �Bearded Brigands�. It is based on the diaries of Frank Jopling and
was organized and edited by Brendan O�Carroll. In the beginning the Long
Range Patrol (as the LRDG was originally know) was a secret unit and the
members were not to take photos or keep diaries. Fortunately for all of us
they all didn�t follow the rules. And Trooper Jopling was one of the biggest
rule breakers, as he did both take pictures and kept a very detailed diary.
In this book Brendan starts with a short
history of the LRDG, for the first time reader who might not have the
reference that you and I might have. Then there are a few pages about Frank
Joplin. Then Frank�s diary starts with a Sept. 5th 1940 entry.
I am not quite sure what I expected but
what ever it was, I sure underestimated the contents of this book. Frank
must have been writing whenever he wasn�t doing his military duties and then
some. He goes into details as to what they had for breakfast, lunch and
dinner. He gives distances traveled and goes into a lot of detail that I
would never have expected in a diary.
He did such a fine job that he was made the
official historian for the unit. His work continued until his capture after
the Barce Raid (Sept. 25th). Unfortunately the journal that he
kept after his capture was lost. But you will have to read the book to find
out how.
Now if you take a peek at my list of books
on the �Reference page�, you can see that I have read a large number of
books that dealt directly with the LRDG and some that just had some
reference to the LRDG. But this is one of the best for details of everyday
LRDG life. Did I say there is 129 photos, some of which I had never seen
before.
Tentative schedule of events for this year.
LRDG Preservation Society May 2002
Well it’s time to update the web page newsletter. We attended the MVCC Big Bear
meet at Waterford, Ca. Some of our supporters from Arizona were unable to make it, and we
missed seeing them. Dennis Deck is back in California and he showed up on Sat. afternoon.
The truck ran like a top, we took it on about a fifty-mile jaunt. The weather was much
nicer this year than it was last year.
We are making plans to attend the Armed Forces Day at Fort Lewis, Washington on May 18th.
I am awaiting final details from the coordinator. I plan to go up to Rick’s earlier
in the week, and help him get things ready. Rick wants to leave for Washington on Thursday
morning so we have plenty of time to get there. I don’t have any details yet so I
don’t know exactly where we will be on the base but I am sure that since it will be
open to the public there will be plenty of signage and directions.
There is a small contingent of LRDG enthusiasts in that area, led by Perry Montgomery
that have offered to help with the set up and standing guard with the truck as needed. We
are looking forward to spending some time with them and getting to know them better.
We have been invited to the San Francisco Memorial Day event at the Presidio on Monday
May 27th. But as of right now both Rick and I are busy and most likely will not
be able to attend. It sounds like a great event. Maybe we will be able to attend next
year.
We will be at the Casa event, June 13th through the 16th, as I am
in charge. We will not attend the Silverado Concourse; the National in Texas or the Palo
Alto Concourse and the next event will be July 4th. I think Rick is trying to
get us a spot in the Mt. Shasta Parade, which is close to Yreka.
On other news, the “Desert Raiders”, that’s the group of LRDG guys in
England have lent us their “Bagnold Sun Compass”. And it is currently being
duplicated. We can’t begin to thank them enough for putting their trust in us, and
letting this valuable instrument out of their control. We hope to have it back to them as
soon as the foundry is finished with it.
Newsletter:
LRDG Preservation Society December 2001
Well we now have our first Veteran’s Day and San Francisco parade under our
belt. I had not heard from the parade organizer and was beginning to worry. We did have
alternate plans to participate in the San Jose parade. But about 3 weeks before the San
Francisco parade, he called me on the phone and we talked for 30 or 40 minutes and he
definitely wanted us to be in his parade. So he sent a parade package along with some
parking passes and we were all set.
The truck (much to the displeasure of my wife) has been living at our house since the
"Casa" meet. So Rick came down and was here by Saturday afternoon, we loaded the
truck and headed for George’s place (to spend the night) in San Jose. We had our crew
of three (Rick, George and myself) plus a WW II veteran (Rick’s brother-in-law) Ed.
Edwards who served in the CIB area during WW II.
Under a dark cloudy sky, threatening rain, we unloaded the truck and dressed it up near
City Hall and drove it to Second and Howard and were early for the 1:00 o’clock
start. We were number 36 in a long parade. The parade started on time and we paraded up
Market (from 2nd to 8th street) turned up Hyde and passed the
judging stand at City Hall in front of an estimated crowd of 50,000. We received lots of
applause, salutes and thumbs up from the crowd. Although it looked like it was going to
rain any minute during the parade, it never did.
We undressed and loaded the truck on the trailer in record time and the parade was
still in progress at 3:30 PM. We grabbed a bit to eat and were on our way. I have since
been informed that we took a first place in the "Antique Car" category and we
will be receiving a plaque in 3 or 4 weeks.
I have been a little slow on up dating the events page, because I have
been busy going to events. Since the death of Maj. Gen. David Lloyd Owen (April 5th), we
have participated in a number of exciting events.
1. April 9th we attended Pacific Grove Good Old Day’s parade where
the truck and the LRDG troopers are well received. Then we had a “tail gate”
party for all those military participants. We always tell everyone that the LRDG was the
originator of the “tail gate” party and have the photos to prove it.
2. April 12th to 14th we attended our MVCC club meet at Waterford Ca.
(what we call Big Bear as it is held at the Big Bear RV park there). That was not good
event as the weather was against us and it rained, but in true LRDG fashion we did stay
thru the 14th.
3. Then on June 9th we took the truck to the “American Truck
Historical Society’s” show at the Reno, Nevada Hilton. There were over 500
trucks of various sizes that participated. Only about a dozen military trucks and we had a
lot of favorable comments on our truck.
4. We missed several of our MVCC club meets, due to some conflicts (I went
to Hawaii for 2 weeks & Rick was busy trying to make a living). But this past week
(June 12th to the 24th) one of the Confederate Air Forces B-17’s was at the Medford,
Oregon airport and the Southern Oregon Military Vehicle Collectors Club had a static
display in conjunction. And since Rick belongs to this group we were there, again getting
favorable comments although we did have to compete with the B-17, which was a lot bigger.
Now I had a few new experiences with that event.
1. I got to (read had to) drive our 1942 “Camp White” Chevrolet
to and from that event. And this took me back some 45 years ago when I was driving my
fathers 1946 Chevrolet. I did a lot of “double clutching” going over the
mountains and back.
2. Rick and I got to ride in the B-17. Which was very exciting. But I
decided that I never want to be a bombardier in one. I’ll stick with United.
3. We got to meet another LRDG enthusiast. Perry Montgomery from the
Seattle Area drove some 470 miles to see the truck and spend some time with us. He showed
up in uniform and with LRDG shoulder flashes. So he managed to get is photo taken on the
truck with the B-17 in the background.
Here is some news on future events.
1. July 4th in Rick’s area – he hasn’t told me yet. But
most likely will be in Shasta City Parade or in the Medford area.
2. July 9th I will be leaving for the Beltring “War & Peace
Show” in England. Returning on July 24th.
3. I know of nothing in August that we will be participating in, but you
never can tell what may come up.
4. September 6th through 8th our MVCC “Woodson Bridge” meet.
5. October 11th through 14th our MVCC “Casa de Fruta” meet.
I will have Scott post some photos as soon as I get them back from
processing.
This is to let everyone know that Major-General David Lloyd Owen, the last
Commanding Officer of the LRDG has past away. The obituary below was published in the
Daily Telegraph (UK). Our prays go out to all of his family. Jack Valenti LRDG Preservation Society
Major-General David Lloyd Owen
MAJOR-GENERAL DAVID LLOYD OWEN,
who has died aged 83, commanded the Long Range Desert Group from 1943 to 1945. In the
course of the war he won both the DSO and the MC, the latter awarded for his part in the
joint raid on Tobruk by the LRDG and the SAS in September 1942. "Danger," he
wrote, "has some kind of satanic appeal to me. I am drawn towards it in an
octopus-like grip of fear."
Nevertheless, he recalled, "I was often frightened, often tired,
often worried, and very often longing to be doing some other thing or to be in some other
place when danger was lurking."
His experiences caused him to analyse courage very thoughtfully and to
decide that ultimately it stemmed from self-discipline. He was also strongly aware of
moral courage, and recognized that this was sometimes needed in conditions which sorely
taxed mere physical bravery.
Such situations were an almost daily occurrence for the members of the
LRDG, which Lloyd Owen joined in July 1941. Born of the expertise of a handful of pre-war
desert explorers, notably Ralph Bagnold, it ranged freely over North Africa, travelling
hundreds of miles behind enemy lines to gather information for the 8th Army; in early
1942, the LRDG made a round trip of 1,500 miles in 19 days, much of it through completely
featureless terrain.
Its troops navigated the sands with the help of the stars and a sun
compass. They also knew how to negotiate treacherous surfaces, and to conserve water with
special condensers, but above all they learned to read tracks so that they could tell how
many vehicles, men or camels had gone in various directions.
After the SAS was formed in November 1941, it came to rely on the LRDG
to assist it to its destinations - and then to recover its men rapidly when their work was
done. But reconnaissance always remained the primary purpose of the LRDG. They did not
seek confrontation, but when they encountered it often inflicted just as much damage as
the SAS.
In his memoirs The Desert My Dwelling Place (1957) and Providence Their
Guide (1980), Lloyd Owen recalled that sometimes men were isolated on these occasions and
left behind, but then accomplished remarkable feats of endurance. Once nine men walked 200
miles back to base, fortified by a single packet of biscuits and a few mouthfuls of water.
He also remembered the discomfort of lying on watch all night in the pouring rain, and the
constant worries for the wounded and the sick when a patrol was hundreds of miles from
help.
Lloyd Owen took command of the LRDG in the winter of 1943, when it was
operating in the Aegean. The troops he led were of the finest quality, but were
independent and would not accept anything but the best type of leadership. This he
provided, but did so by making his men feel like his partners in a joint adventure. He had
a friendly and rather relaxed style of command, based on persuasion and shared hardships.
The mutual confidence this bred would reap an uncommonly rich dividend.
David Lanyon Lloyd Owen, the son of a captain in the Royal Navy, was
born at Hampton, Middlesex, on October 10 1917. He was educated at Winchester and
Sandhurst and was commissioned into The Queen's Royal Regiment in 1938. He began his
military service in Palestine during the Arab rebellion. When the Italians moved towards
Mersah Matruh, his regiment was sent to Egypt and in December 1940 he took part in
Wavell's offensive, which reached Benghazi.
In March 1941 he was posted to the Middle East Officer Cadet Training
Unit in Cairo, and to his disgust found himself in charge of administration. But he soon
met a member of the Long Range Desert Group, and managed to join the unit. At first Lloyd
Owen was somewhat surprised by the informality - even the sheer scruffiness - of his new
comrades, but he quickly began to blend in.
In September 1942, he was severely wounded in an air raid on Kufra, the
LRDG's base, but recovered in time for the final stages of the North African campaign. In
May 1943 the LRDG was sent to Lebanon, where it was trained for a new role in mountain
warfare. However, it was then unexpectedly posted to the Aegean. There it took part in the
battle for Leros, where Lloyd Owen's predecessor as CO, Jake Easonsmith, was killed.
Having taken charge of the unit, Lloyd Owen based himself at Bari, in
southern Italy, from which he mounted a successful raid on Corfu and staged operations in
the Dalmatian islands and Yugoslavia. In September 1944, he was parachuted into Albania at
night. Shortly after landing he fell 30 ft into a ravine and severely damaged his spine.
The LRDG's doctor was parachuted in to set the back in plaster; he dropped with a bottle
of whisky strapped to his leg, it being Lloyd Owen's birthday.
Despite being in continual pain, Lloyd Owen directed operations in the
mountains for the next three months. As he became more mobile, he expanded his activities
by adroit purchases of everything from mountain ponies to information. The only viable
currency was gold, whose use brought its own risks. "I never felt really safe
carrying 500 gold sovereigns," he recalled.
Eventually Lloyd Owen was evacuated to Italy, was successfully operated
on, and told not to return to his former activities. But he managed to bluff his way past
a medical board and returned to Albania, although this time by boat. The LRDG was
eventually disbanded in June 1945. For his leadership in the Balkans, Lloyd Owen was
awarded the DSO that year.
After the war, he had various appointments in Britain, including a
period on the staff at Sandhurst. In 1952, he was appointed Military Assistant to the High
Commissioner in Malaya. He then commanded the 1st Battalion of The Queen's Royal Regiment
from 1957 to 1959. In the early 1960s he led 24 Infantry Brigade Group in Kenya and was
then, from 1966 to 1968, GOC, Cyprus District. From 1968 to 1969 he was GOC, Near East
Land Forces and, from 1969 to 1972, president of the Regular Commissions Board. He was
appointed OBE in 1954 and CB in 1971.
David Lloyd Owen was a man of great charm, immaculate appearance (when
not on operations) and remarkable skill and endurance. He won the admiration of the
members of the LRDG - many of them tough Rhodesians and New Zealanders - not merely for
his daring but also for his sheer stamina, as well as for his tactical knowledge and
foresight.
In retirement, much of his time was given to the Long Range Desert Group
Association, of which he was chairman from 1945 until its final reunion last year. He
married, in 1957, Ursula Barclay. They had three sons.
I received a review copy from the publisher on Dec 8th. I was initially
surprised at the physical size of the book, which is whopping 12 inches by 8 inches. Most
of my other LRDG reference books are about half that size. The number of pages (228) is
about average for this type of book. Another surprise is the quality of the paper stock,
with so many books coming out in paperback; it is pleasant to find that they used a heavy
quality paper. When turning the pages one gets the feeling that you have two pages instead
of one. The book is hardbound with a rich black leather type finish and the LRDG cap badge
in gold is embossed on the front, with the title in gold on the spine.
The first thing I did was to go through the book an examine its 256
photo's and captions, that's right 256. With so many I thought that I was going through
someone's photo album, some pages only have photos and captions. Now I generally do not
markup any of my books, but incase you are not as picky as I there is plenty of border
room to make your own notes. Next I started reading, which took more days than I intended
because the holiday seem to get in the way. The time in history covered is July 1940 until
Dec. 1943, which is the specific time period the New Zealand troops were involved with the
LRDG. Brendan has the usual Introductions, Acknowledgments, Map of North Africa, and
something that I had not seen before, "The LRP Lament" and a poem "A
Dedication to Brave Men".
The rest of the book is divided into chapters in a manner similar to the
Osprey Vanguard book, i.e. Formation, Early Offensive Operations, Navigation, Transport,
and Weapons etc. That may sound a little confusing but trust me Brendan has done an
excellent job. He had the opportunity to interview a number of surviving LRDG members that
live in New Zealand and had access to the diaries of many more. Now as I was going through
each chapter I kept coming across information that I did not know or answer to questions
that I had been looking for. So for you other LRDG enthusiasts this book is a must to be
added to your collection.
Now for the bad news... with such a high quality book, with loads of
information and so many previously unpublished photos there is going to be a price to pay.
It is available in England for 25 pounds plus 3.75 pounds postage, which equates to $40.00
plus $6.00 postage in the U.S. It will be available in Australia & N.Z. soon but I
don't know how much. But I personally think that it is well worth it, and you won't be
disappointed. A photo of the book will be posted on the web page soon and I have purchased
a number of copies if you are interested, contact me at lrdg@Prodigy.net
LRDG Preservation Society
Nov. 2000
Well the Casa de Fruta meet just gets bigger and
better. However one must expect a little difficulty when a meet is held on Friday the
13th, especially when there is also full moon. What’s that saying? “You have to
break some eggs to make an omelet.”Well when I arrived about noon on Thursday there
were several early birds, Steve Goebel and his family from AZ., John Werner had staked out
a good campsite and Fred Askew was there talking with John. By the time the sun was
setting we had reached our 13th victim (I mean camper).
Now George Escobedo (our trusty LRDG side kick) had promised us (Rick
& I) a classic LRDG dinner of “Bully Beef Stew”. Which he promptly started
after his camp sight was put in order. When it was ready John Werner was coerced in
joining us. I really don’t know what all the fuss has been about “Bully
Beef Stew” because is was good. Now if I had to eat it for 2 or 3 week at a time that
would be another story. But George did a great job.I have been thinking of calling this an
“international” meet because we had several visitors from other countries.
Kevin Bovill was just finishing up a seven-month tour of the U.S. He had seen our LRDG web
page before he left Australia and wanted to see the truck and meet Rick and I. So when he
was in Rick’s area he had the opportunity to meet Rick and see the truck. When he
finally found his way to Monterey I put him up for a couple of nights. His plans were to
be in L.A. on Thursday but they changed suddenly when he heard about our meet and what we
had planned.
Ray Atsma had a friend, Molly Vawerf (sp) visiting from Holland that he
dragged along (just kidding). Molly belongs to MVPA and a local club in Holland and has
several MVs that he has restored, he seemed to know a lot about jeeps – but Ray was
translating for him (more on him later). Now for the Friday the 13th stories, the
Hollister Off Road event was cancelled (while we were on our way there) as we found out
that the Park was closed. As we found out they were having a motorcycle event. Now just to
show you how versatile our group is I gave them a choice of doing the
“Pinnacles” run or repeating the “Fremont Peak” run. They voted on the
Fremont Peak so that’s where we went, had lunch then returned to the park by 2:00,
without incidents.
While we were running around the countryside the “Viola’s”
were having some type of electrical problem and arrived later than they planed. But the
“pumpkin” carving class still went on they had about 26 students – mostly
adults from what I heard. Thanks L.K. If we were to give awards for the best looking
campsite they would have won hands down. On Saturday morning we departed the park
with 20 vehicles (on time) and headed for Hollister Airport, meet several other MV there,
for their open house. Saw lot of expensive airplanes. Counted seven P-51’s and a
Saber Jet plus a number of WW II trainers and civilian aircraft. About 12:30 I started to
round up everyone for the convoy to the Marina Airport open house, and found out that I
was to loose half of my convoy for one reason or another (nothing mechanical).
So ten of us headed off for Marina. When we got to Castroville I
found out that Ken Allen’s Dodge truck decided to up a quit with a fuel pump problem
(Kim Sievert stuck with him). So eight of us arrived at Marina, where we caused a stir of
excitement, they feed us some lunch and after the 2 F-16 made there screaming past over
the airport we departed about 4:00. On the way back the jeeps stopped for gas and we got
separated and as Triple A had not shown up for Ken we had “Werner’s Towing
Service” move Ken’s truck out of sight to be repaired later that night. When we
arrived back at the park the barbecue crew was hard at work preparing the food and served
about 40 dinners plus they had a raffle too (see Phil Costa’s report). Now Saturday
night I had to leave about 8:30 to pick up my wife at the San Jose airport. (Seems like I
spend a lot of time at airports on that day.) I heard that I missed out on some type
of glass blowing contest. But you will have to ask Kurt or Kim who the winner was.
Sunday morning we were greeted with sunshine and John Werner
(Werner’s Towing Service) had set up the boundaries for the slow race. We had a full
line for the first race (we had to have two). The final race had four entrants. The 1st
place winner was a “Pinzgauer” driven backwards by owner Carl Thompson. Driver
Molly Vawerf driving backwards in Ray’s 43 Jeep won second place (I told you that you
would hear more about him) and Damon Viola in his Dodge truck that had given him trouble
on Friday won 3rd place. After congratulations and pictures were taken the
park slowly emptied and by 1 O’clock most everyone was gone.
I would like to thank everyone that came and contributed in any manner to
the success of this event. I am working with Rick and my Wife on next year’s events
for the LRDG Preservation Society. I will post them on the web as details become
available. I hope to see more of you next year.
Well I just
don’t know were to begin after a three-week wonderful vacation. So I guess I might as
well start with the first item and that was the "War & Peace Show" in
Beltring. What can I say after "AWESOME". Since I am fairly new to this world of
Military Vehicle collecting, restoration etc. Having just started the LRDG project
in 1991/1992. I thought that the 1996 Convention was big when I saw almost 200 vehicles
there. Well I sure was impressed with the size of this show. I would be safe in saying
that there have not been this many military vehicles south of London since the Normandy
invasion. There were over 3000 vehicles registered, and although that included WW II
bicycles and motorcycles it still left an impressive array of wheeled and tracked vehicles
some of which I have only seen in books and magazines. The site is so big that I was not
able to see everything in the five days. Plus they had a number of events in a large
arena, like tanks crushing cars and several reenactment battles. Just awesome!
When
we arrived our passes were there waiting, courtesy of Paul Lincoln and his crew. Their
encampment was easy to spot, as it was one of the few "desert" displays. They
use about 4000 Sq. Ft. of burlap as a desert floor, then set up their vehicles and tents
on top. It is quite impressive, sure beats bringing in 23 tons of sand. Their vehicles are
also impressive, Paul has a LRDG jeep that he has recreated as Capt. Alastair
Timpson’s of G Patrol. Paul and Clinton Long also own a F30 Ford in LRDG pattern
recreated in Y Patrol pattern. Then Adrian Brown has a Chevy (just like ours – well
not just like it – there are a few minor differences) as in T Patrol. Also in true
LRDG fashion they had in their encampment a beautiful SAS jeep bristling with K-guns and a
Browning 50 that was owned by Peter Sanders. It was such a fine example that Peter got two
awards. One was for best jeep at the show and second place best vehicle at the show
(Congratulations Peter).
These blokes were just wonderful, they treated us like old friends, instead of some one
that they had just meet (which they had). Made us feel like we were at Big Bear or Woodson
Bridge. The only problem that I had they kept trying to get me to drink tea. Paul
also presented Rick and I with autographed copies of the new release of David Lloyd Owens
book "Providence Their Guide".
Another big thrill that I had was being able to meet some of the original LRDG members.
Jim Patch the secretary of the LRDG Association arrived on Saturday about 3 PM and we
talked about 90 minutes. Just as Jim left another member showed up his name is Bernie
Feirs , we gave him a LRDG Preservation Society T-shirt and he talked to us for about an
hour.. We also had the pleasure of meeting one of the original SAS members that survived
the first parachute jumps in 1941 (his name is Jim Horsefield)
Some
of our local LRDG enthusiast also made the "War and Peace Show"; our faithful
crewman George Escobedo was there with his wife Mary and daughter Ann Marie. Ann Marie has
been our rear gunner in number of parades. Also Dennis Deck was there looking for anything
that he could find to finish up his CMP truck that he is restoring as an LRDG support
vehicle. Dennis was also instrumental in finding for me a LRDG photo album; unfortunately
a large number of photos were missing. (Thanks Dennis). After the War and Peace it was off
to London, York & Edinburgh and then to Ireland. But I won’t bore you with that
part of the trip.
Show Schedule:
1. July 19th - 23rd - We were at Beltring. 2. August 18th - 20th - Rick may be down for the Old Time Auto Races. 3. Sept. 7th, 8th & 9th - MVCC Woodson Bridge meet - Corning Ca. 4. Sept. 9th, 10th & 11th - Desert Battle in Reno area. 5. Sept. 22nd - 24th - Cherries Jubilee Car Show Monterey (?) 6. Oct. 12th - 15th - MVCC Casa de Fruta meet
LRDG Preservation Society Newsletter
July 8th, 2000
I have just returned from a moving Korean Commemoration ceremony at the Presidio of
Monterey (June 30, 2000). All branches of the services were represented on the parade
grounds. Some of the speeches were a little long but appropriate. I was disappointed that
there were not more people from the community present, but I especially liked the fly over
by two P-51 Mustangs (from the Hollister War Birds- my idea) as they were sounding recall
and lowering the flag.
My call for MV's to participate in the event was answered by a number of members of
MVCC in our area. And one member that has to be in my southern most territory (John
Bodnar). We had a total of 5 jeeps (assorted vintages) and 2 trucks. They placed the
vehicles between several of the class buildings where students saw them going to and from
their classes. The military provided some security and Don Soule (who brought his jeep)
stayed with the vehicles throughout the day. I got a personal thank you from the Presidio
Commandant (Col. Devlin), as we walked to the commemoration ceremonies, for our
participation in the events.
Early July 1st found us preparing for the Seaside parade; we had some out of town folks
so up for this too. John Bodnar stayed over and Steve Smith and family (12 grandkids etc)
showed up in his Weapons Carrier from San Jose. The rest of us were local. The head count
was six jeeps, three trucks and the WC. The Salinas parade, which was supposed to be on
the Sunday, was cancelled. I have yet to find out why.
We had a couple of days off, and then early on the 4th we set out for the Monterey
Parade. There we joined up with Jim Beards "Special Forces Unit" composed of 3
jeeps two trucks and a WC. I think that the crowds were bigger this year that last and
seemed more enthusiastic. The "Veterans for Peace" were in the parade this year
"instead of under it."
Now we are directing our efforts to getting ready for our England (Beltring) and
Ireland trip. We leave on the 17th and will return on Aug 7th. I will be out of e-mail
contact for that time, so any questions will be answered when I get back. Plus I will give
you a full report of Beltring when I get back. Revised schedule is below.
1. July 19th - 23rd - We plan to be at Beltring (with out the truck).
Plan to do 3 weeks abroad in England & Ireland. 2. August 18th - 20th - Rick may be down for the Old Time Auto Races. 3. Sept. 7th, 8th & 9th - MVCC Woodson Bridge meet - Corning Ca. 4. Sept. 9th, 10th & 11th - Desert Battle in Reno area. 5. Sept. 22nd - 24th - Cherries Jubilee Car Show Monterey (?) 6. Oct. 12th - 15th - MVCC Casa de Fruta meet
Thanks again for all of your support. Rick & Jack
Jack Valenti
LRDG Preservation Society Newsletter
May 5th 2000, Volume 4 No. 3
This is a note to follow up on our activities this past month and to update the
calendar of future events. The "Good Old Days Parade" was a success. All but one
of vehicles showed up and we did have a good tail gate party. I’ll have Scott
post some of the pictures on the web page. The truck was running fine (Rick again has done
a great job on the maintenance). He would have made a great "fitter" for the
original LRDG.
Waterford (Big Bear) was also successful, although we didn’t do well in the
"slow race". I good-naturedly blamed George (Escobedo) who was driving. But he
really didn’t have a chance. The winner was a "Scorpion" light tank. Rather
appropriate that the LRDG was beat out by a "Scorpion". Kevin Canham and Don
Hamilton came to see us all the way from Arizona.
The Commemorative Historical Society has decided to postpone the "Desert
Battle" in the Reno area until sometime in September. There were apparently to many
other conflicting events in May. As soon as they decide the date and I will pass it on.
This is something that Rick and I would like to take part in.
As I thought the Las Vegas "Great Western" was not as good as the Los Angeles
show. There were half a dozen military vehicles there from the Las Vegas area, but the
show lacked the multitude of vendors and visitors. For some reason the show promoter did
not do any local advertising. I am glad that we didn't take the truck. We did see a couple
of our LRDG enthusiast but not many. I am pretty sure that we will not be going back to
the fall show (Sept. 15th), as there will be a number of events that will not be as far
away that we will want to participate in, like the "desert battle".
Revised schedule is below.
1. June 3rd - 4th - Silverado Concours d’Elegance at Mare Island
2. July 1st - We have been invited to the Seaside (July 4th ) parade
3. July 2nd - I assume will be the Monterey parade, if not we might have to do 2 parades
in one day. And we have done that before.
4. July 19th - 23rd - We plan to be at Beltring (with out the truck). Plan to do 3 weeks
abroad in England & Ireland.
5. August 18th – 20th Rick will probable be down for the Old Time Auto Races.
6. Sept. 7th,8th &9th . MVCC Woodson Bridge meet.
7. Sept. 22nd 24th - Cherries Jubilee Car Show Monterey (?) - deer opener.
8. Oct. 12th - 15th MVCC Casa de Fruta meet
Thanks again for all of your support.
Rick & Jack
LRDG Preservation Society Newsletter
March 20th. 2000, Volume 4 No.2
Well this is a follow up on my Jan. Newsletter to keep you all informed as to what is
happening with the LRDG Preservation Society. The Pacific Grove "Good Old Days
Parade" is looming on the horizon (April 8th). We have accumulated an entourage of
twelve military vehicles for the parade. The plan is for them to all congregate at my
place then we will convoy to the parade starting point, do the parade, and convoy back to
my place for sandwiches and sodas (or maybe a beer) and swap some lies. My truck crew will
be here (Rick will be driving, George Escobedo will man the Vickers and I’ll man the
Bren). We will have plenty of room in the vehicles so if you want to "dress up"
we can get you a ride in the parade, just give me a call.
Rick tells me that he is doing a bunch of mechanical work on the truck (I know that 2nd
gear was a problem and the radiator was leaking at Casa de Fruita) so I can assume that he
is fixing those. What else I am not sure. I am sure that he will tell me when I see him on
the 8th. Big Bear is still on (April 13th – 16th), I am looking forward to the drive
through Waterford and seeing a bunch of fans at this meet. We will be in the same spot we
were in last year. (West end of the campgrounds). There will be elections of (MVCC)
officers. I think I’ll be reelected (read railroaded) as Vice President Central Coast
again unless one of you would like to volunteer for the job.
We have been invited to participate in a "Desert Battle" by the Commemorative
Historical Society the dates are supposed to be the 11th – 14th of May. It will be in
the Reno area and I think that Rick and I might try to participate in it (it sounds like
fun). Now for a little disappointment – we will be going to Las Vegas –
but as of now I do not think we will be taking the truck. There are several reasons for
this; one is the current price of gasoline (we are trying so save some of our money for
our England trip), the second is the distance involved for Rick which is over 2800 miles
round trip. Since the Las Vegas truck trip is out then the Silverado Concours
d’Elegance at Mare Island on June 3rd and 4th is looking much better. Revised
schedule is below.
1. April 8th - Pacific Grove "Good Old Days Parade"
2. April 13th – 16th - Big Bear Meet – Waterford
3. April 27th – May 1st – Las Vegas Great Western Show (with out the Truck)
4. May 11th – 14th – "Desert Battle" with CHS
5. June 3rd - 4th - Silverado Concours d’Elegance at Mare Island
6. July 4th. We have been invited again to the Monterey parade
7. July 19th. - 23rd. We plan to be at Beltring (with out the truck).Plan to do 3 weeks
abroad in England & Ireland.
8. August 18th.- 20th. Rick will probably be down for the Old Time Auto Races.
9. Sept. 7th. - 9th. MVCC Woodson Bridge meet.
10. Sept. 22nd. - 24th. Cherries Jubilee Car Show Monterey (?)
11. Sept. 28th. - Oct 1st. Great Western Show (may be take the truck this time in Las
Vegas) (?)
12. Oct. 12th. - 15th. MVCC Casa de Fruta meet
Thanks for all of your support.
Rick & Jack
Jack Valenti
LRDG Preservation Society Newsletter
Jan. 20th. 2000, Volume 4 No.1
Well Y2K was a big bust. One of my New Years resolutions is to be more timely with the
news letter. So here it is the first one for the year 2000. One of the first orders of
business is that I want to give a big THANK YOU to Prof. Vance Haynes for his gift of a
British 1941 fuel can (flimsy) that he brought back from one of his trips from the North
African desert. He has visited a number of the old LRDG camp sites and found many
interesting artifacts. The flimsy will be displayed with the truck on it’s next
outing. I plan to take a picture and have it posted on the web page in the near future.
Thanks again Professor.
Many of you have asked me how you can support the LRDG Preservation Society since we
don’t charge any membership dues. (I might loose all my members if I charged dues J
). Well anyway I just received the bill for this coming years web page which I have paid
(and will continue to pay) since its development by Scott (our Web Master). But if someone
would like to donate the cost of one month’s web page . We could post that the month
of Feb. (or March etc.) is sponsored by so and so. The current cost per month is $20.00
which is a bargain (because Scott has so many pages and he keeps adding more). So if
anyone would like to show your support let Scott or I know and we will get it started.
Now for this years activities. We have another full year planned. But it doesn’t
start until April. I’ll just list them for now and details will follow later.
1. April 8th. Pacific Grove Good Old Days Parade.
2. April 13th. - 16th. MVCC Big Bear meet at Waterford CA.
3. April 27th. - 30th. Great Western Show (now in Las Vegas NV.)
4. June 3rd. - 4th. Silverado Concours d’Elegance at Mare Island (?)
5. July 4th. We will do a parade somewhere - just don’t know where yet
6. July 19th. - 23rd. We plan to be at Beltring (with out the truck).Plan to do 3 weeks
abroad in England & Ireland.
7. August 18th.- 20th. Rick will probable be down for the Old Time Auto Races.
8. Sept. 14th. - 17th. MVCC Woodson Bridge meet.
9. Sept. 22nd. - 24th. Cherries Jubilee Car Show Monterey (?)
10. Sept. 28th. - Oct 1st. Great Western Show (again in Las Vegas) (?)
11. Oct. 12th. - 15th. MVCC Casa de Fruta meet
The three with the question marks are maybes. And as much as I would like to attend the
MVPA National Convention in Kansas City (Aug 10 - 13) it wouldn’t be possible because
we will most likely just have gotten back from England. And as I am still a working stiff
it will be back to the old grind and save up some money for the next show. If you have and
suggestions let me know.
Thanks for all of your support.
Rick & Jack
Jack Valenti
LRDG Preservation Society Newsletter
Nov. 20th 1999
Volume 3 No.4
I have again been remiss in my reporting of past events since the last newsletter,
which was just after the MVPA convention in June. And for that I do apologize. We attended
the MVCC Woodson bridge meet in Sept. and had the opportunity to ride in a
"tracked" vehicle. Which was a new and different experience for me. October was
a busy month as I was in charge of the "Casa de Fruta" MVCC meet Oct. 14th to
17th. It was better than last years meet but not as well attended as I was expecting. On
Friday Oct. 15th a group of ten vehicles went to Hollister Hills (an off road park) to
test our vehicles and driving skills. We had a few interesting adventures and one vehicle
blew a clutch on the way down the hill and had to be towed back to the meet. On the
following day fourteen vehicles convoyed to the top of "Fremont Peak" a local
state park, from there we were able to see all of the Monterey Bay area. The
"truck" performed well on both the off road and convoy trips. The off road was
the harder of the two trips "just ask Rick" as he did all the driving. At the
end of Oct. my wife and I went to the "Great Western Show" but it wasn't the
same without the truck. But we still had a good time. The future of the show is in
jeopardy because of all the new gun laws so we will have to see what happens next year.
But if the have one in May we'll be there.
The first scheduled activity next year will be the "Big Bear "meet which is
on April 13 through 15th. By then all the Y2K crisis should be over. We will also go to
the "Great Western" if they have it in May. I want to go to England in July for
the "Beltring" Military Vehicle meet. I understand that they have over 2000
vehicles. I can’t afford to transport the truck to the show as much as I would like
to (unless one of you would like to cover the cost). I plan to link up with the LRDG group
in England (Paul Lincoln & Adrian Brown) and admire their Ford & Chevy trucks.
They (Paul & Adrian) told me to bring my uniform so I can hang out with them at their
encampment.
Those of you that get this by "snail mail" should really consider getting on
the Internet. It has been a boon to the LRDG Preservation Society. We have our own web
address " www.lrdg.org." and Scott Miller (our web master) has done a great job
with keeping it updated with pictures from all the different events that we attend. It has
also led to a number of contacts from former LRDG members and their families. These
contacts have been very supportive of our efforts to keep the memory of the LRDG alive and
by providing photo’s and additional information about the LRDG. You should really
check it out because you don’t get any of the pictures with the "snail
mail". If you do get or have Internet capabilities let me know as postage for the
"newsletter" is getting expensive.
Thanks for all of your support.
Rick & Jack
Past & Upcoming Activities of the LRDG Preservation Society
7\10\99
Well we have had a busy and exciting two months. After a relaxing two weeks in Hawaii
with my family, I came back to work for a few days before the MVPA convention in San Jose
got started. I arrived at the fair grounds Wed. morning about 10:AM and found a flurry of
activities going on. I had no luck in getting sand and railroad ties donated for my crazy
sand box idea, so when I got to the fair grounds I did some fancy leg work and found
someone to get 15 cu yards of sand delivered to the fair grounds by 3 PM that afternoon.
Then I had to get the railroad ties, which took most of the rest of the afternoon. At 2:45
one of the biggest double dump trucks showed up with the sand (no one told me that 15
cu.yards of sand weight 23 tons). Well he dumped in almost in the right spot. Then George
(Escobedo) and I started shoveling sand. One of the fairgrounds people took pity on us and
showed up with a small motorized dirt mover that saved us 8 hours of back breaking work.
Rick had been delayed in traffic (likely story - he didn't want to shovel sand), and got
to the fairgrounds about 7:30 PM. We then spent the next 2 hours setting up the truck
display. We didn't get home until about midnight and had to get up early the next day (the
1st. day of the convention).
All the work was worth it because everyone LOVED the display and we took "Best
Display" at the convention. We also took 1st. place in our class (1 1/2 ton truck)
"Motor Pool Ready". There will be pictures on the net and I'll have some at the
next meet. After all that excitement we brought the truck back to my place so I could have
it for the Seaside parade on July 3rd and the Monterey parade on July 4th. George
(Escobedo) and his daughter Ann Marie were my crew for the Seaside parade. George has been
a great helper and LRDG supporter. He has even found a "British No 11" radio
when no one else could. Jerry Lee (What Price Glory) was my rear gunner and Jeff Davis (a
local friend) and his 4 year old son Max rounded out my crew for the Monterey parade. Max
had a great time waving to all the on lookers. All in all it has been a fabulous June and
July. Now will rest up for Sept. I am looking over the calendar now to see were we will be
next.
Rick & Jack
Past & Upcoming Activities of the LRDG Pres. Society
3\15\99, Vol. 3 #2
This will be an interim report because there has been so much going on. We started off
with a flurry of activity on March 25th. when Rick & I took the truck to the Riverside
Air Show. There were a total of 22 MV's, most from the Inland Empire group, plus a bevy of
planes and classic autos. We ran across Wm. (Bill) Leuer again. Bill has some neat WW I
vehicles, that were displayed next to us. It was a long way to go for a one day show, but
it paid off because we got a trophy for "Best Motor Pool Ready". Then a couple
of weeks later (April 10th.) we participated in the "Pacific Grove Good Old
Days" parade. There were a total of 6 MV's, mostly from the local area. It was the
first time that some of the local folks had the opportunity to view the LRDG truck. It
seem to be a big hit, but what do I know I am real partial to this old truck.
Less than a week later we were at the Waterford "Big Bear" MVCC meet. Kevin
Canham showed up with his 41 Dodge Carryall (painted in appropriate Desert Sand with
Australian Desert Rats painted on the sides). It looked great next to the truck. We tried
to participate in the MVCC "slow" race but I guess we were to slow, got there
after they started. May be next year. There was the usual parade through Waterford with a
drive past all the grade schools where the kids were out waiting for us. They loved us.
Rick and I took off early Sat. morning, chasing some old "Burma Jeep Trucks"
that didn't pan out. We didn't need them anyway.
Then last but not least we went to the Great Western Show the end of April. Getting
there was a little different this time. The tow rig broke an axle on the way down the big
hill into San Luis Obispo. Rick had to do "field repairs" while Donna & I
chased for parts etc. to get us back on the road. We finally arrived in Los Angeles at 4am
Friday. Friday it rained so we didn't get the truck set up until Sat. am. After that
things settled down to "normal". Except on Rick's return trip he had trouble
with the starter and had to facilitate another "field repair". Next thing on our
agenda is the "MVPA International Convention" at the San Jose Fair Grounds on
June 24th thru the 27th, be there or be square.
Rick & Jack
Past & Upcoming Activities of the LRDG Pres. Society
2\22\99
Well we are looking at this years calendar to arrange the LRDG activities. And it looks
like this will be the following schedule for the first half of the year. We are planning
the first outing to the "Riverside Air Show" on the weekend of March 27th. We
have been invited by the Inland Empire Military Vehicle Club who has a display at the
Great Western Show. I would hope that we will have a good showing from the Southern Ca.
support group. We will arrive at the Riverside Airport on Friday afternoon and setup the
truck and display. Then instead of taking the truck back to Rick's we will bring it here
to my place so I will have it here for "Pacific Grove Good Old Days" parade on
April 10th. I will try to get several other vehicles from the MVCC to join me in the
parade.
We will pass on the "Celebrate History" show
this year because if conflicts with the MVCC Big Bear Show on April 15th thru 18th. We
already have our reservations at the Park that weekend and will be in the same spot as
last year. Then 11 days later we will go to the Great Western Show in Los Angles. The
dates are April 29th, 30th & May 1st. Then the next BIG SHOW will be the MVPA National
Convention at San Jose. MVCC is the hosting chapter and the show will be at the Santa
Clara County Fair Grounds on June 24, 25,26 & 27th. I am in charge of the Auction so
if you have anything of value that you care to donate the MVCC gets all the proceeds.
I have had some interesting correspondence and
communications from around the world about the LRDG. One French gentleman sent a letter (I
can't read it, it's in French and I forgot most of my high school French) and a picture of
his 1/35 scale LRDG truck. And another contact from Nova Scotia (Colin Facey) called, we
talked a long time on his dime. He said that if I can come up with some drawings on the
"Bagnold Sun Compass" he feels certain that he could make one. Anyone out there
have what we can use for drawings?
Rick & Jack
Past & Upcoming Activities of the LRDG Pres. Society
11\11\98
Well this could be a 2 page newsletter as I have 4 different shows to report on. But
I'll try to make it as short as possible and cover everything. Number one was the MVCC
Woodson Bridge meet in Corning, which was on Sept. 9th thru 12th. I could not get away
from work before Fri. noon (10th) , so we missed the parade thur Corning, but understand
it was a great success, along with the usual stop for lunch at the "Olive Pit
Restaurant" . When we did arrive Rick had the camp site all set up, so there was
nothing to do but to enjoy the vehicles. Saturday night we participated in the Hawaiian
Tee Shirt contest (Donna made us matching shirts). We won a prize (but so did everyone
else that took part, even the dogs ). We left on Sunday.
The second show was the Soldier of Fortune Convention in Las Vegas, which started Sept.
24th. Donna & I flew in on Tuesday (Rick had the pleasure of trailering the truck 20
hours from his place). He arrived Wed. and we set up the truck on Thursday morning. We had
an opportunity to renew some old acquaintances from when we were there 4 year ago, plus
met a number of folks that became enamored with the truck. While we were at the vehicle
and gun show our own Web Master (Scott) was taking part in the SOF International 3 gun
match. He came in 68th in a field of over 250 world class shooters, plus his team took 1st
place in the 3 gun team match. Needless to say they were thrilled with their performance.
Most everyone left by Sunday evening, Donna and I flew back on Tuesday, so we could get
ready for the next show, which I was in charge of.
The first "Casa de Fruta" meet was a MVCC sponsored event that I was in
charge of setting up and it was on Oct. 15th thru 18th at Casa de Fruta which is about 6
miles north east of Hollister, Ca. Instead of Rick taking the truck all the way north
after Las Vegas, he dropped the truck off at my place. From all the feedback that I got it
was a success. When I arrived Thursday afternoon several early birds had already arrived.
We had a total of twenty six (26) registrants with a total of seventeen (17) vehicles. The
following is a brake down of the vehicles in attendance.
1. Seven Jeeps (2 with trailers)
2. Four trucks (1 LRDG)
3. Three - Unimogs (3 variations)
4. One - Humvee
5. One - Burma Jeep (looked like a truck to me)
6. One - Ambulance
On Friday five vehicles and crews decided to go to the Hollister Hills Off Road
Recreational Area, which is located 6 miles south of Hollister. We got there about 12:30
and had lunch before we got started. Lee Hoskins (in his Jeep) and his wife (Nancy -
navigating) lead us through some interesting terrain . Rick followed driving the LRDG
truck with Steve Goeble in his WC-63 behind us and John Werner in his Unimog behind Steve
and Kim Sievert brought up the rear with the Ambulance. Just in case we needed it, which
we didn’t. But not to take anything away from Al and his training clinics at other
meets we had one of our own in the field . True to LRDG tradition. We had to reattach the
truck bed when some bolts became separated. All the mechanical types figured out what to
do, while the ladies and I stood around and gave moral support, I did manage to get some
pictures. ( I never claimed to be mechanical, although I seem to be changing a lot of
combat wheels lately). Pictures to follow.
Saturday was the big day. We lined up at 9:45 AM and almost left on time. We had 15
vehicles in the convoy to the Hollister airport and arrived without mishaps. As we drove
in first thing we saw was an F-86 Saber Jet which was almost in the road . We got the
vehicles parked as Jerry Gabe was just parking his P-51A Mustang. Jerry then took everyone
for a tour of the airport and showed us the many other hidden "War Birds". There
was a lot of picture taking of vehicle with the planes , then some folks grabbed some
lunch at the "Ding A Ling Caf�". The rest of us headed off for San Juan Batiste
for lunch etc. We spent several hours in San Juan (there was a British Car Show in town),
and everyone went back individually rather than in convoy. About 50% of those registered
attended the "Octoberfest" dinner on Saturday night, which ended at 10:30. I
however crashed and burned at 9:30 it was just too exciting of a day for an old timer like
me. When I got up Sunday morning several folks had already departed with lots of others
getting ready. We said our good-bye and headed home. I was probably home first as I
didn’t have far to go. That's one nice thing about having a meet in your back yard.
Then to finish the season we went to the "Great Western Show" which was on
Oct. 30th thru Nov. 1st. There were about 15 Military vehicles from the Inland Empire MV
Collectors Club. I was a little disappointed in that a lot of the regular supporters for
one reason or another were unable to attend. However "Dale Evans" (I know not
that Dale Evans) kept guard on the truck Fri. & Sat. night, and Jim Hinkelman, John
Billinger, Tony Cone and Stuart Clayman (from Las Vegas) showed up and took turns sitting
with the truck so we could enjoy the show. Now we are looking forward to next year. We
have had two invitations so far, one was to attend an air show in Riverside in March and
the other is to attend the Reno Air Races show next Sept. I'll keep you informed.
Happy Holidays Rick & Jack
Past & Upcoming Activities of
LRDG Preservation Society
August 4, 1998
Well let's see where do I begin? Better yet where did I leave off. Oh yes 4th of July.
My wife & I left Monterey Thursday about 3 PM and arrived at Rick's at midnight and
after talking several hours got to bed at 2: AM. Friday was dress up the truck day. We did
it differently this time as we wanted room in the truck for anyone that wanted to be in
the parade. We used the storage boxes as seats and hung as much as possible on the
outsides like we always do. It worked out well we ended up with 11 or 12 people on the
truck. Even managed to mount Rick's 48 star & strips on the rear firing post.
We did the first parade at Central Point ,Oregon, (just outside Medford) there were
about 20 military vehicles from the Southern Oregon MVCC in line with us. After we wowed
the crowd (my guess is about 7 to 10 thousand) we convoyed 12 miles to Eagle Point, Or. to
form up for the next parade. We had time to go to the bathroom and have a coke before the
start of the next parade. This was a longer parade but I don't think there were more than
5 thousand folks (they were just spread out more). Then on the way back all the MV went
past the Veterans Domicile were we all drove past and gave them a treat. Then back to
Rick's for a barbecue. All in all it was a great day.
Sunday we had a little excitement, Rick had gone into town early and by the time we got
there he was in crisis. And after a couple of hours at the ER room they figured out that
he was dehydrated. So we got him back on his feet and home then we headed for home. He
took the next couple of days off (drank lots of Gatorade and water) and feels like his old
self.
Now for up coming events. We'll rest up in August, but then in Sept. it starts. There
is Woodson Bridge (Sept. 10,11 & 12), I'll not be able to get there until Friday
afternoon on the 11 Th.. Then 12 days later is the Soldier of Fortune show in Las Vegas
(Sept. 24, thru 27), and as of right now we are going. Scott Miller (web-master) is
participating in the 3 gun match and we hope to be there to cheer him on. The Convention
Hotel is the Continental and the room rates are $42.00 per night. The Sands Convention
center is the show location and it is LARGE (enough for both a huge gun show plus have
room for the MV's). I don't know what the tariff is for admission to the convention. But
I'll see if I can find out.
Later
Rick & Jack
Past & Upcoming Activities of
LRDG Preservation Society
June 7, 1998
What's that saying? "Time flies when
your having fun". Well we must be having one hell of a lot of fun. Because every time
I turn around a couple of months have passed me by. The April Big Bear meet was
good, short and sweet. The truck handled well in the parade and we met a few new people. I
missed seeing Alan Moore (son of Harry Moore - LRDG). The meet was starting to break up on
Saturday afternoon, so we decided to leave early too. We had the able assistance of George
Escobedo and his daughter Ann Marie, and old stand by Scott Miller (our Web Master).
I saw a number of our disappointed
supporters at the Great Western Show, everyone wanted to know where the truck was. Now
that was a quick trip. My wife and I left Monterey Friday at noon, 6 hrs. to LA. Covered
the whole gun show Saturday (8 miles of tables), and left about 2 PM on Sunday. I don't
want to do that again for awhile. Then on May 17 Th.. we left for Montreal for 2 weeks. We
took along our "Butler", as in Rick. He cooked breakfast and several dinner
(they were great) and shared in the driving. We saw some interesting Military Vehicles
(28) in a private collection while there . For some reason Donna kept saying
"No, NO, NO " as I was drooling over them. This gentlemen had a beautiful
restored Half-track, Armored Car, Bren Carrier, plus three CMP (Canadian Military Pattern)
Chevy trucks, one complete with British 25 pounder and limber. One of the most unusual, he
was working on it when we drove up, was a "tracked" vehicle made by Willys. It
is one of six prototypes made by Willys in 1945. It was one of the highlights of the trip
for me (not my wife's). We also found some CMP's in a scrap yard with "Combat
Wheels" that we have been looking for, but they wanted to sell the complete trucks
not just the wheels.
Now coming up next will be the 4 Th. of
July weekend at Rick's, he has us scheduled for 2 not 1 parades. One will be in Medford
the other is at Eagle Point. He is in charge of this one. Your all welcome to come, bring
a tent, Rick has several acres along the river.
Rick & Jack
Past & Upcoming Activities of
LRDG Preservation Society
April 2, 1998
Volume 2 No 2
I have been remiss in the timely reporting
of the events of the "Celebrate History" program that was held on Presidents day
weekend at the South San Francisco Conference Center. But I have been quite busy since
then. Anyway we had to have the truck in the hall by 7 PM on Thursday, which was a little
tricky because Rick had to drive it down a hallway that was just wide enough to
accommodate the truck. Then they set up booths around the truck. We were the only Military
Vehicle in the building and it was good we were indoors because the weather was not
cooperating very well that weekend.
There was too much going on to see it all,
but we tried. For those of you with web site access, Scott has updated the web pages and
there are a bunch of new pictures of the "Celebrate History" as well as some new
historical and "other truck" photos. Those of you who don't have access, will
just have to wait until I see you at one of the up coming events to see them.
Speaking of up coming events, I have good
news and bad news. The bad news is we will not be able to bring the truck to the May
"Great Western Show" this year. I know the supports from that area will be
disappointed, but I would have only been able to get there by Friday night and had to
leave Sunday morning. I can't ask Rick to haul the truck all that way and not be there to
help him set it up on Thursday night and take it down on Sunday.
Now the good news, we are planning to take
the truck to this years SOF show in Las Vegas. It will be held on Sept. 23, 24, 25 and
26th. More information as I get it. However that's a long way off and the very next up
coming show (April 16, 17, 18th) will be at Waterford, CA (Big Bear RV Park) which is 12
miles East of Modesto. We have reservations to arrive on Thursday and will be in space #24
which is on the North West side of the park. We'll be looking for you there!
Rick & Jack
January 1998
Past & Upcoming Activities of LRDG Preservation Society
Well it's official, we have decided to go to the "Celebrate History" show in
South San Francisco and are looking for volunteers. If we show up as a unit and get
volunteers to help with admissions, security etc. for 2 hours per member, all of us will
receive passes for admissions to all activities plus a post banquet party on Sunday night.
Admission to the three day event is going to be $60.00 per person. It is on the weekend of
Feb. 13, 14 & 15. For anyone who wants to come early (Feb. 12) there will be a
customer appreciation and press event aboard the "S.S. Jeremiah O'Brien", which
is one of only two operating WW II liberty ships left in the world. For those of you that
have internet access check out their web pages at "http://www.celebratehistory.com
". Please let me know if any of you can make it, and I need to know as soon as
possible so I can notify the folks at "Celebrate History" and get the necessary
passes etc. Anyone coming from the southern part of the state is more than welcome to stay
at my guest house before or after the show.
Our own internet page has taken off, Scott (Miller) has done an excellent job on the
page, and we are getting a lot of requests to link pages with other re-enactor groups and
military dealers, and have tried to accommodate them all. I'll include it again if you
missed it last time "
http://www.lrdg.org".
Some of the supporters have asked in the past what we might need for the truck, and
although I have a long want list of big stuff (# 11British radio and a Bagnold sun compass
etc.) we could use a couple of Enfield slings and breach covers in khaki color. So don't
forget, mark your calendar for President's day weekend, and let me know AS SOON AS
POSSIBLE weather you can come to "Celebrate History".
Best Regards
Jack and Rick
November 1997
Past & Upcoming Activities of LRDG Preservation Society
Well I have lots to say in this newsletter but need to keep it to only
1 page in length. First of all I spent a Saturday afternoon
talking with Alan Moore whose father
"Harry Moore" was a LRDG member in the LRS (Light Repair Service) his father was
one of the "fitters" that kept those truck running. Alan had several pictures of
his father and friends plus his Pay book and other documents. Alan was kind enough to let
me borrow them (to make copies) and display them at the Great Western Show, and they made
an interesting addition to our display. Second I would like to point out that instead of
coming to the Great Western Gun Show, Scott (Miller) has got the web page up and running.
For those of you that surf the web, our page is located at
http://www.lrdg.org , please visit it and let me know what you think.
I think that Scott did and excellent job.
Third, I would like to thank all those that showed up (in uniform or with their LRDG T-shirts) and helped man the display. (Jim Hinkelman, John
Billinger, George Sicre, Chris & Tony Cone & Stuart Clayman). If I missed anyone
please accept my apology. Jim took some group photo's and donated some money for gas.
(Thanks Jim). We had our Sat. night Pizza bash at Round Table and Sy showed up with all
his Tacoma gang. (See last newsletter re: Tacoma Gun Show). We also picked up the Propane
Vickers at this show, Rick hopes to have it operational for the show next year.
Speaking of next years shows, I thought that the 1 St. show next year would be Waterford which is usually in April, but there is a new show that
is called "Celebrate History" which will be at the South San Francisco
Conference Center (2 miles North of San Francisco Airport) which is scheduled for
President's day weekend (Feb. 13-15, 1998). This may be our 1 St. show of 1998, and since
we have been doing 6 shows a year we may have to drop the Nov. Great Western of 98. More
later.
Best Regards
Rick & Jack
Ps Happy Holidays
Volume 1 No. 6
Sept. 23 1997
Past & Upcoming Activities of LRDG Preservation Society
I have to retract a statement that I made in the last
newsletter. That we didn't receive any award from the Chevy/GMC truck show. Well I
received a small plaque that we had won a "People's Choice Award" for a Special
Interest Vehicle. So this is our second award.
The
Woodson Bridge show had it's usual bunch of Jeeps, trucks, etc. The LRDG
truck ran well in the parade through Corning. We found a British boat compass dated 1942
that I decided to buy because I do have one picture that shows the driver checking his
boat compass (according to the IWM caption). That does not mean that I have given up the
quest for a "Bagnold Sun Compass". I do believe that one will turn up somewhere,
I have everyone looking for one. I have a friend that went to Egypt and told me that she
would look for one there.
We had
the support of George Escobedo (we met George in July at the Chevy
Show in San Jose) and Scott Miller who has been a regular at the shows. Scott is also
helping me (he is doing all of the work) set up a web page. When it is up and running I'll
let everybody know.
The
Tacoma Gun Show was a real treat for me, I flew into Sea/Tac Airport and was picked up by
Sy Anderson. Rick unfortunately had a 10 hour haul from his place to the Tacoma show, but
I have it on good authority that he had some pleasant company both ways. They put us up in
a motel, fed us, passed the hat and raised almost $200,00 in gas money and added to the
truck stash (another T-handle shovel & pick). For the number of people that came to
the show we had a higher than usual amount of interest in the truck and LRDG display. They
provided plenty of space with tables and chairs and if I must say so myself we had one of
our best displays. Plus we sold a number of the LRDG T-shirts and added a few names to our
LRDG newsletter list.
Rick
will be bringing the truck down to my place this weekend, I'll have it until we leave for
the Great Western Show on Oct. 23rd. I will be looking forward to see all you LRDG
supporters from the southern half of California, Nevada & Arizona at this show.
Best
Regards
Jack
& Rick
Volume 1 No. 5
Aug. 6, 1997
Past & Upcoming Activities of LRDG Preservation Society
Well we have another Chevy/GMC truck show under our belt. And just like
last time we didn’t get any awards because they just don’t know where to class
us. But we had a flurry of activity and interest.
I gave several interviews to some magazine reporters, so there is some
hope that we may get some more publicity. In fact the Editor/Publisher of "This Old
Truck Magazine" said he wants to do a 3 or 4 page story of the truck. He took lots of
his own pictures and several that he liked of mine. I lent him copies of Shaw’s
"LRDG" book and "The Other Desert War" by Gordon, as he said he wanted
some back ground information on the unit and how the trucks were used in North Africa. I
will keep you all informed if and when it happens.
We don’t have any shows scheduled in August. Rick plans to come
here for a visit on the weekend of the Aug. 16/17 for "Old Time Auto Races" and
"Concours de E’legance". In Sept. there are several shows that we plan to
attend. The first one will be at Woodson Bridge (Corning, CA) on Sept. 4th
thru. 7th.
The following week we will be taking the truck to a Tacoma Gun Show. We
had a special invitation from the show promoter who said they would help with some of the
expenses. That show is the weekend of Sept. 13th and 14th. And after
that on the weekend of Sept. 25th is the Winnemucca Military meet. But I
don’t know if Rick and I can make that one.
I have received some WWII New Zealand cigarettes and matches from Chad
Ehler (we actually meet up on the internet). He lives in Kirkland, WA and plans to see the
truck at the Tacoma Show. They will be displayed with some of the other small items in a
case at the shows. Thanks Chad. I also picked up a neat WW I/II Lewis Mag. chest, it needs
a little work before it is ready to be displayed on the truck. Anyone know where I can
find some of the drum mags that go inside it? Oh well something else to look for at all
these shows.
Best regards
Jack
LRDG Preservation Society
Sept. 28, 1996
Past & Upcoming Activities of LRDG Preservation Society
Dear LRDG Enthusiast:
Well it has been about six weeks since I last wrote. Since that time we
went to Woodson Bridge, Sept. 5th thru 7th. The weather was much
better than Big Bear in April. The truck was captured by the Germans & Italians (for a
photo opportunity) for a short period of time. Rick had the highway tires on the truck so
we participated in the convoy through Corning and managed to keep up this time, and the
truck ran very well.
We also had a pleasant surprise, in that Chris Cone showed up, for
those who don’t know Chris, he has been a long time supporter that moved to Colorado
last year. He was in Monterey, California on business (tough work going to the auto races
at Laguna Seca and golfing at Quail Lodge). But he did take time out of his busy schedule
to drive to Corning and spend some time with us, and we really appreciate it. He even
found a few trinkets at the show to hang on the truck.
The following weekend (Sept.14th) we went to the Reno Air
Races, my wife has been complaining that we don’t do anything that does not revolve
around the truck, and she has always liked the Air Races. We stayed at Rick’s cabin
at Donner Lake. She even managed to take in a Quilt show that was in Reno at the same
time.
When we were at the Portland show we had been invited to attend Shirley
Laird’s annual shindig (Sept. 21st) at the Oregon Dunes outside of North
Bend. Shirley has a commercial dune buggy rental business right along the highway, and he
invites every one to play in the sand. I didn’t think that I could make it but Rick
really wanted to go and see how the truck would do in the dunes, so he talked me into
flying up to North Bend on Friday night, (he picked me up at the Airport).
Now I have one of those good news/bad news things. The good news is
that the sand channels do work because we did get stuck ( about 50 yards off the road). We
then let more air out the tires, dug out and were on our way. Everything was working fine
for about 2 miles into the dunes and the engine started to knock do to the strain we were
putting on it. Rick didn’t want to throw a rod so we nursed it back to camp and got
his Bronco to finish our tour of the dunes. The bad news is that it was an old engine to
begin with that we dropped into the chassis, that now has to be rebuilt (Rick tells me
that the bearings are all chewed up but that the engine block is OK). Which relates to
more bad news in that it won’t be going to Winnemucca and probably won’t be
ready for the Great Western Show on Nov. 1st.
