Jump to content

Norman D. Landing


bilko1
 Share

Recommended Posts

 

hey mikie, well if your wife's cousins were awesome on the grill, what will you have next time you BBQ. :o

 

hahhaaaaa apologies but you did leave yourself wide open for that one. :lol:;)

 

Happy Holidays everyone . . . . . . . . . . .

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 4 2016.

 

.

 

Well, they are quite tasty with shallots, mushrooms and Spam...

 

I don't often think about cannibalism, but when I do, I think about Monty Python...

 

Mikie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Now that is weird... I took the screenshot from my TV with my iPad... and posted the picture from there...

 

Looking at the post on my iPad, the picture is OK but on a PC the picture is upside down...

 

Let's see if OK now??

 

The pic is now right side up. Yes, that was strange. Now if you or the race were from Australia, it would make perfect sense. Everything being upside down there.

 

Mikie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

Well, they are quite tasty with shallots, mushrooms and Spam...

 

I don't often think about cannibalism, but when I do, I think about Monty Python...

 

Mikie

 

Hi Mikie, talking of food, I will be attending a village event this week where the whole village come together in the village hall for Moules and frites, a Normandy delicacy living so close to the sea.

 

photo of the Jeep arriving home from my friends workshop where I have been working on it in preparation of using, the photo reminds me ' I must check the brakes ' :huh:, only joking, just thought the angle of the jeep would make an interesting shot. ^_^

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 12 2016.

 

.

 

post-344-0-81101400-1468314182.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

.

 

Normandy Bunkers . . . . . . . . . .

 

last week a friend and I spent the day looking at bunkers to the east of Cherbourg while waiting for the garage to complete their open wallet surgery on my car, otherwise known in the car trade as a service . . . . . . . . . .

 

This is the command bunker that we started with, sadly as it's so close to Cherbourg then it attracts the ' graffiti artistes ', surrounding this five level structure are a series of open artillery bunkers which contained pieces capable of firing twenty-five miles. Hopefully I will try and add more of these this evening.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 12 2016.

 

.

 

post-344-0-57636600-1468315060.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

.

 

Normandy Bunkers . . . . . . . . . .

 

last week a friend and I spent the day looking at bunkers to the east of Cherbourg while waiting for the garage to complete their open wallet surgery on my car, otherwise known in the car trade as a service . . . . . . . . . .

 

This is the command bunker that we started with, sadly as it's so close to Cherbourg then it attracts the ' graffiti artistes ', surrounding this five level structure are a series of open artillery bunkers which contained pieces capable of firing twenty-five miles. Hopefully I will try and add more of these this evening.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 12 2016.

 

.

 

 

Ken,

 

Sounds like having a car worked on over there is the exact same as over here! :D

 

These bunkers are very interesting. Must be very cool to walk around them. It is hard to imagine that in WWII there were guns capable of firing 25 miles!

 

I also love the other picture of your jeep....Kat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

 

Ken,

 

Sounds like having a car worked on over there is the exact same as over here! :D

 

These bunkers are very interesting. Must be very cool to walk around them. It is hard to imagine that in WWII there were guns capable of firing 25 miles!

 

I also love the other picture of your jeep....Kat

 

Hi Kat, I think the number and size of the bunkers we saw are pretty much above and beyond anything left to see at Utah and Omaha beaches, they possibly compete numerically with the ones at Pointe du Hoc but don't attract at all the number of visitors that Pointe du Hoc does. Also these are more concealed by the undergrowth and have to be found in the way that Pointe du Hoc had to be in the seventies before tourism took off there.

 

Thanks, the jeep is fun and attracting lots of attention with it's patina, a Belgian guy and his wife were looking at it last Sunday, the guy asked me how much it was worth, I said I had no idea, as it was not for sale, he then made a suggestion as to it's value, light-heartedly I replied again that it was not for sale, but if he cared to swop his wife we might have a deal . . . . . :lol:

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 12 2016.

 

.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

Normandy bunkers! Jeeps! Food! Ken! All is right with the world again!

Mikie

 

Hi Mikie, well it's been difficult trying to get stuff done again to the forum, this week is full on again, and hopefully my daughter might get time for a weekend visit.

 

here is a German barbed wire stake peeping out of a hedgerow, found a number of these along this particular hedgerow, weird thing we noticed was that most of them were inverted with the point in the ground and the base plate in the air, it was then that we noticed how much granite stone was in the ground making it very difficult to dig any hole for the square baseplate.

 

Norman D. landing, Forum Normandy correspondent, July 12 2016.

 

.

 

post-344-0-95067200-1468356758.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

RustyCanteen

Hello Ken,

 

 

Great photo of your GPW. The patina really gives it that original look; with none of the argument over the authenticity of the olive drab paint shade. :lol: Love that look on it!

 

PS - I will have to catch up on several pages of this thread to see what I have missed.

 

Regards,

RC

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

Looks like the Jeep came out good. Nice job!

 

Hi David, thanks, but I can only take credit for the recent mechanical work I have done to return it to the road again, it's look is purely down to how it was stored and aged, several people have said it would be near impossible replicate that, and it would be a pity to paint it to become another factory finish Jeep. Each to their own, some want the mint factory look others try hard to hang on and hook every possible piece of equipment to try and give it a ' combat look '

 

I think I have related the story before of a Burma war veteran who on seeing my muddied jeep years ago at a show said how much it reminded him of his time in Burma. His son came and called him to go look at a jeep that looked like it was straight from the factory, he wandered over there but soon drifted back, his mind filled with memories of his time in Burma, the clean jeep had not evoked any memories for him.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 13 2016.

 

.

 

 

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

Hello Ken,

 

 

Great photo of your GPW. The patina really gives it that original look; with none of the argument over the authenticity of the olive drab paint shade. :lol: Love that look on it!

 

PS - I will have to catch up on several pages of this thread to see what I have missed.

 

Regards,

RC

 

Hi Rusty, good to have you here again. thanks for comment on the Jeep, I always loved the paint color I used back in the mid eighties when I did a total rebuild on it. The paint was actually 1960's surplus US Army paint, sourced in Germany from one of the vehicle camps over there. It was a fascinating color, obviously O.D. but there was also this very faint hue towards a soft brown with the green, saying brown sounds a little harsh as it was virtually a negligible hint.

 

At that time British commercial supplies of ' O.D ' were GREEN and that was it GREEN, it was terrible stuff.

 

Hope your getting time out with your Jeep as well during these summer months.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 13 2016.

 

.

 

post-344-0-10678500-1468397475.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

The jeep looks splendid and right at home in the garden.Love the color.

 

Hi Ron, thanks for the kind comments on the jeep, I am just about to meet up for coffee with a few other local military vehicle enthusiasts, it will be the first time that other enthusiasts have seen it, so it might be interesting to hear any comments.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 13 2016.

 

.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

More of the Cherbourg bunkers . . . . . . . .

 

This is a photo taken from the lowest level observation / firing slot, it's looking towards Cherbourg harbour, the grey shape above the white square on the right is a 400 vehicle car-ferry arriving in harbour from the UK, so it is well positioned to have defended Cherbourg during WWII.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 13 2016.

 

.

post-344-0-41486100-1468416647.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

American Graffiti

Hi Ken,

Thanks for the Cherbourg shots and details of your Normandy life, it's all very evocative and helps a lot when reading this.

And the Jeep looks grrreat!

Cheers

AG

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'll put in my vote for loving the vintage used but not abused look of the jeep.

 

As for that bunker shot, just imagine being some sleepy German soldier to get up at first light, look out on that scene and seeing the D-Day armada sitting there.

 

Mikie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I really like the look of your jeep too Ken.

I'm one who always kept mine sparkling clean. I'm not so sure that that was the best way to showcase it.

Love the Normandy updates! Stay safe my friend. Thinking of the people of France tonight...again.

Ronnie

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

 

Atrocity yesterday . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

I just thought that I would let forum friends and readers know that all is ok with me here in Normandy, the very sad and tragic events of yesterday with the reported loss of 85 lives is about nine hours drive from here, although this kind of barbarism can now happen anywhere.

 

But we cannot cower from these events and must continue, I will try and add posts again tomorrow.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 15 2016.

 

.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Ken,

 

You have been in my thoughts. I am glad you are alright. I hope your family and friends are doing fine as well.

 

Take care my friend....Kat

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

Hi Ken,

Thanks for the Cherbourg shots and details of your Normandy life, it's all very evocative and helps a lot when reading this.

And the Jeep looks grrreat!

Cheers

AG

 

Hi AG, thanks for your comments nice to know that your following the thread, here's another shot of the command bunker, wish I could have seen and photographed it before it ever became covered in graffiti.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 16 2016.

 

.

 

post-344-0-93467900-1468659888.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

I'll put in my vote for loving the vintage used but not abused look of the jeep.

 

As for that bunker shot, just imagine being some sleepy German soldier to get up at first light, look out on that scene and seeing the D-Day armada sitting there.

 

Mikie

 

Hi Mikie, hard to imagine that the Germans appeared to be so un-aware of the invasion forces preparing for the planned invasion.

 

here's a sad photo, however you will be pleased to hear that in approximately eighteen months time this will be another Jeep in rebuilt condition and back on the road again. Peter has been finding, collecting and rebuilding jeeps for the past forty years and he does an excellent job on restoration as our Forum friend Johan witnessed when he was here last month and saw Peters 1940 VC Command car rebuild.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 16 2016.

 

.

 

post-344-0-56473500-1468660489.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

I really like the look of your jeep too Ken.

I'm one who always kept mine sparkling clean. I'm not so sure that that was the best way to showcase it.

Love the Normandy updates! Stay safe my friend. Thinking of the people of France tonight...again.

Ronnie

 

Hi Ronnie, first off thanks for adding comment here again, secondly love the wooden USAAF figure you carved and painted and added the post to the forum last night, that's a talent to be proud of, you should be should taking commissions.

 

Thanks for comment on the Jeep, I was having a silent chuckle Thursday at the Bastille day parade when I saw the number of vehicle owners stood around and discussing the merits and pitfalls of my Jeep, it certainly looked very different to all the other Jeeps at the event.

 

Here's a shot from the parade, it features Chris and his wife Lyn from New Zealand who vacation three months every summer in Normandy to take part in vehicle events and commemorations. Peter donates his three quarter ton Command car for their use, it's quite funny that the French registration for the vehicle features NZ as part of the registration.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 16 2016.

 

.

post-344-0-76224200-1468661704.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

General Apathy

Ken,

 

You have been in my thoughts. I am glad you are alright. I hope your family and friends are doing fine as well.

 

Take care my friend....Kat

 

Hi Kat, thanks for your thoughts and consideration of the dreadful events and our wellbeing of this week here in France.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, July 16 2016.

 

.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...