Rat Patrol, an American TV series, which aired on our b&w tv screen from 1966 grabbed my attention. Set in WWII it featured US Army jeeps in North Africa racing across the desert from dune to dune. I wanted one. The Exchange & Mart, a pre-internet second-hand car (and other goods) paper, came out on a Thursday. One of the boys at school somehow managed to acquire it on a Wednesday evening, enabling him to steal a march on his Messerschmitt 3-wheeler purchasing rivals. The paper also featured regular ads for WWII jeeps.
Fast forward a number of years and I had become the proud owner of a 1945 Willys Jeep. This was my introduction to the world of military vehicles and over a period of time I had restored and owned several including the Jeep, a Half-Track, vintage Harley Davidson motorcycles and even, for a period, an American M3 Stuart tank. Further interests involved WWII history and Operation Overlord, the D-Day landings and the liberation of Europe. Several trips to Normandy to commemorate the landings on 6th June 1944 along with like-minded friends, enthusiasts and our military vehicles gave me a better knowledge of the events and the area.
Gosh, where the heck did you keep them all?
I’ve asked the same question Mary! Like-minded friends with workshops and fields apparently xx