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Norman D. Landing


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General Apathy

March 1939 National Geographic library book

Now heres the rub, this book appears to be overdue as it was last loaned out in 1940 :lol:.  As my friend who I inherited it from was born thirty years after then, then it couldn't have been him that failed to return it.

I wonder what really happened to the person who loaned it, were they killed in an air-raid, the book recovered from a bombed house by someone else, or the person loaning the book inducted into the forces, a tale of mystery methinks . . . . . . . . Anyway I wouldn't want to be the one paying the 80 year old over-due fees . .  even at two-pence a week :o 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 16 2020

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Johan Willaert

OK, moving away from Jeeps and getting back to bicycles...

Shown below are two examples of Women's bikes made by Westfield-Columbia during WW2.

The black one, 1942 Model Vg296, is all Original down to the seat and tires and is typical for wartime production lacking chrome...
It was mainly used by civilan war-workers as a means of transport to get to the factory for much needed war production...
But as the second photo shows also used by US Navy WAVES....

G65334-2.jpg

Columbia-WAVES.jpg

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Johan Willaert

Second bike is a US Army Contract G519-M306 Women's Bicycle issued to the Army Nurse Corps and WAC...
It was made in 1943 and full restored by me around 2013-14... One of the most difficult models to locate and I have only about 7 or 8 on file worldwide!!!!

MG140418-25Apr15 (4).jpg

WW2-M306 (3).jpg

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31 minutes ago, Dogsbody said:

Honey, will you take out the trash?……………………..

 

Rene

Way cool, but not the most practical means of moving the bins. Now a dalek, maybe.

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General Apathy

Building war damage London . . . . . . 

As we are in virus lock-down throughout France it's been impossible to get out and take images of buildings and locations in Normandy, with grateful thanks to a friend Douglas in London I post this image.

So next time any of the forum readers stay at the London Ritz ( ok lets say walking past ) then take a look at the upper facade of the building and you will notice bullet and shrapnel damage still evident in several areas, heres one section Douglas photographed.

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 19 2020 

( almost half a year gone already and heading shortly to the years longest day )

.695469867_ScreenShot2020-05-16at08_34_26.jpeg.8ff78cee7d6f0402b00f1e6a2c1a9839.jpeg  

 

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On 5/16/2020 at 4:07 AM, Johan Willaert said:

My wife and daughter riding the above on the seaside near our home....

Polderroute2017 (8).jpg

Now that is a very nice sort of Then and Now.  

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This letter is the only item I have in my collection that is even remotely connected to bicycles.  

I don't quite understand the line about jumping out of a plane on a bike.

Bike Letter 1944.jpg

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On 5/16/2020 at 8:56 AM, Dogsbody said:

From picture to postcard.

1583045518_Canadesemotorrijder.jpg.ee8dbbe42f3c9ca0910230fe3411a8ab.jpg

 

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The photo shows a Canadian motorcyclist, Holland 1945.

Rene

 

That's a great photo.

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General Apathy
On 5/10/2020 at 12:47 PM, General Apathy said:

Friends gardening yesterday . . . . . . . . . . 

Friends were tending their garden yesterday and this is the crop they dug up . . . . . . . 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 10 2020 

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Another Gardening find . . . . . . . . . .

 

other friends enduring several weeks of lock-down were attending the flowers in their garden and found this in the soil, thankfully empty just the casing, no fuse attached.  Funny really, they have lived in the house for twenty years and this only just gets found.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 22 2020

 

.fullsizeoutput_52a1.jpeg.5a11163f502b2fd3a7a51bdc22ef26ac.jpeg

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Johan Willaert
On ‎5‎/‎16‎/‎2020 at 1:06 PM, Johan Willaert said:

Second bike is a US Army Contract G519-M306 Women's Bicycle issued to the Army Nurse Corps and WAC...
It was made in 1943 and full restored by me around 2013-14... One of the most difficult models to locate and I have only about 7 or 8 on file worldwide!!!!

 

Well, here's your chance to own one of the few.....

https://forums.g503.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=316174

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11 hours ago, General Apathy said:

 

Another Gardening find . . . . . . . . . .

 

other friends enduring several weeks of lock-down were attending the flowers in their garden and found this in the soil, thankfully empty just the casing, no fuse attached.  Funny really, they have lived in the house for twenty years and this only just gets found.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 22 2020

 

.fullsizeoutput_52a1.jpeg.5a11163f502b2fd3a7a51bdc22ef26ac.jpeg

Very healthy garden.  No iron suppliments needed with those vegetables!

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General Apathy
On 4/28/2020 at 7:38 PM, Johan Willaert said:

Ken's bicycle is a 1940s era Westfield Columbia Compax Traveller or Paratrooper....

Some info on them can be found near the bottom of this page of my website:

http://www.theliberator.be/militarybicycles.htm

.

Hi Johan,  mine is a post-war Paratrooper heavyweight model . . . . . . . .

 

had to remove the shield to re-shape it back to the column tube it was mounted on. 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 22 2020 ( one month to go till the longest day )

 

.FullSizeRender.jpg.4e23438693691b46821a99c7bd8c821a.jpg

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General Apathy
7 hours ago, manayunkman said:

Fantastic!!

 

Was it live? 
 

Solid bottom?

 

Hi Piet,  no it was just the casing, nothing inside  / no fuse only mud . . . . . . . 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 22 2020.

 

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General Apathy
4 minutes ago, mikie said:

Very healthy garden.  No iron suppliments needed with those vegetables!

.

Hi mikie,  sorry to say you got your veg and your fruits mixed up, its a pineapple . . . . . . . . . . . . . .;)

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 22 2020.

 

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General Apathy
1 hour ago, American Graffiti said:

Did you say gardening or grenading?

 

Hard to tell 🙂

AG

.

Hi AG,  well they cleaned it, this is the casing now it shows the letters ' A. F. ', .

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 22  2020.

 

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American Graffiti

Hi Ken,

thanks for the update and thankfully it was inert, incredible really what's still to be found.

Glad you're there to document it all,

Cheers

AG

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General Apathy
11 minutes ago, mikie said:

Very healthy garden.  No iron suppliments needed with those vegetables!

.

Hi Mikie,  here's a fruit's of the sea for you, the beaches have been off-limits for the last five weeks during lock-down, two days ago a local man went for a walk on the beach after they were re-opened, heres what the tide had brought ashore. 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, May 22  2020.

 

.IMG_2128.JPG.fbbfac384dab41f10ace493aef7f08d7.JPG

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