Norman D. Landing

[Johan Willaert]

58 minutes ago, General Apathy said:

A big regret of my collecting years is that I never photographed and recorded the collection as I bought or acquired each piece.  Forty or more years later it was all too much and too late to start the process.

 

Glad I started doing that around 2001-2002 with the arrival of the digital camera...
I think I must have 95% of the collection on file...
Computer says over 3500 images now...

[General Apathy]

3 hours ago, MCDUFF said:

Hi Ken, your shoe box has no boundary!! That is astounding! Love it! Cheers Graham

 

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Hi Graham,

 

Thank you,  This is something that I believe I have NEVER shown before from my 1930's / 40's milk bottle collection, this one is the Creme de la Creme of that collection featuring Mickey Mouse, Creme de La Creme ( that's a pun mikie . . . . . . . .  )

 

I have been unable to gather any information on this particular dairy, probably a small family business local to the area of the address, sometime later all these small independent dairies joined together and became ' United Daries '

 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, January 10  2025.

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[mikie]

4 hours ago, mikie said:

This brings to mind this classic from Fave Allen at Large…

https://lightmailer.mail.com/H8ZxFDx_axE/deref/?redirectUrl=https%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2Fx_NM09rfFYI%3Fsi%3D3DkyLK6BNZp0MtlT
 

mikie

Ignore this link it’s broken. I have asked Elizabeth to delete it

[General Apathy]

On 1/10/2025 at 6:08 PM, MCDUFF said:

Hi Ken, We are all guilty of that! I am pleased I kept your sales catalogues of the time as a reminder! Just a shame I never had the funds to purchase more from them way back then!!

I have only seen the modern copies of your bottle opener. Very cool! Happy to donate the '36 bottle to your collection next time I see you...

Cheers! Graham

 

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Hi Graham,

 

Thank you a very kind gesture regarding the German 1936 dated bottle, 10  / 20 years ago when I was still collecting I would have been happy to accept your kind offer or at least to have bought it from you, it will still sit nicely in your collection and enjoy owning and showing to fellow collectors.  Thanks ken 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, January 11  2025.

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[General Apathy]

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From my Shoebox collection . . . . . . .

 

US printed POW postcard dated 1945, superseding an earlier 1942 example. 

 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, January 11 2025.

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[mikie]

While out and about I took a detour around a traffic jam and came upon an orchard store I’ve never seen before. I spotted this Jeep outside the barn so had to stop. Anything interesting?
Mikie
 

 

[General Apathy]

4 hours ago, mikie said:

While out and about I took a detour around a traffic jam and came upon an orchard store I’ve never seen before. I spotted this Jeep outside the barn so had to stop. Anything interesting?
Mikie
 

 

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Hi mikie,

 

Well done a good spot, appears to be a GPW Ford and possibly in regular use around the fields, transfer case is running in four-wheel drive. All the metal work  appears in fair un-rotted condition some missing / or broken Jeep parts, some farmers non-Jeep additions added, overall a very saveable Jeep for a restorer.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, January 12  2025.

 

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[General Apathy]

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US Navy rarity a .50 Quad Machine gun mount with drum magazines . . . . . . . .

 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, January 12  2025.

 

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[cutiger83]

On 1/11/2025 at 11:17 PM, mikie said:

While out and about I took a detour around a traffic jam and came upon an orchard store I’ve never seen before. I spotted this Jeep outside the barn so had to stop. Anything interesting?
Mikie
 

 

Mikie,

 

Go back and make an offer! You can fly Ken over here to help you with the restoration!

 

...Kat

[mikie]

1 hour ago, cutiger83 said:

Mikie,

 

Go back and make an offer! You can fly Ken over here to help you with the restoration!

 

...Kat

Ha! The one thing I have less of than $ is mechanical skills. And with my dear daughter’s wedding in just three weeks, the $ thing is pretty scarce about now. 
But on a more serious note, hypothetically, if I could afford it, my desire to restore it to its military configuration would be really strong. But at the same time, I’d also have a strong desire not to wipe out its civilian incarnation. Its history is its history.  If it was a wreck or a pile of parts, I wouldn’t be bothered. But as Ken indicated, and I noticed when looking at it, it seems to have had a long useful life as a farm vehicle. And may still be in use as such now. Considering it’s not going to happen with me, what would you folks do if you got your hands on something like this? Restore/rebuild to military, or repair as needed but keep it otherwise as-is? And I don’t mean for resale, but for personal pleasure. 
mikie

[General Apathy]

5 hours ago, mikie said:

Ha! The one thing I have less of than $ is mechanical skills. And with my dear daughter’s wedding in just three weeks, the $ thing is pretty scarce about now. 
But on a more serious note, hypothetically, if I could afford it, my desire to restore it to its military configuration would be really strong. But at the same time, I’d also have a strong desire not to wipe out its civilian incarnation. Its history is its history.  If it was a wreck or a pile of parts, I wouldn’t be bothered. But as Ken indicated, and I noticed when looking at it, it seems to have had a long useful life as a farm vehicle. And may still be in use as such now. Considering it’s not going to happen with me, what would you folks do if you got your hands on something like this? Restore/rebuild to military, or repair as needed but keep it otherwise as-is? And I don’t mean for resale, but for personal pleasure. 
mikie

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Hi Kat and mikie,

 

I quite like your comment about ' restoring' it but keeping it's farming heritage as part of the story. When I first got into Jeeps it was for the vehicle itself,  the military identity having been painted over usually in O.D. which was the basic colour of the Jeep. However as they were often used by garages then sometimes a colour scheme identifying with the garage was also used, such as one Jeep I bought, all over yellow with black wings. The very first Jeep I had a ride in was owned by a bunch of MOD scooter owners it was pale blue all over, around that time several rock bands owned Jeeps and they were any colour but green. 

 

The repainting into military colours and markings came along several years later along with collecting military uniforms and equipment, and sadly more recently even overdressing Jeeps with all and sundry ( one guy locally even faked up nazis gold bars thrown in the rear, along with all the other clutter and several oversized flags on aerials, it looked a monstrosity )

 

Personally I like the understated look of a Jeep ( my Jeep ) no large white stars and large white lettering everywhere, maybe I hanker back to the days when I first started. Every June here,  are rows and rows of ' restored ' Jeeps covered in white markings, sometimes even plastic stick-on stars and lettering.  I'm too old now for all the dressing up in uniform,  I like the old country hick in jeans driving an understated ex military vehicle, image  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . summer and winter.

 

Below a second yellow painted Jeep I found back in the day and tried to buy but unsuccessfully at the time.

 

 

 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, January 15  2025.

 

..

 

 

[General Apathy]

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Hi mikie 

 

if you had been around this far back in the day the Willys factory selling off discontinued Willys MA's, and a private garage selling off discontinued Ford GP's. 

 

 

 

 

Norman D. landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, January 15  2025

 

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[earlymb]

6 hours ago, mikie said:

Ha! The one thing I have less of than $ is mechanical skills. And with my dear daughter’s wedding in just three weeks, the $ thing is pretty scarce about now. 
But on a more serious note, hypothetically, if I could afford it, my desire to restore it to its military configuration would be really strong. But at the same time, I’d also have a strong desire not to wipe out its civilian incarnation. Its history is its history.  If it was a wreck or a pile of parts, I wouldn’t be bothered. But as Ken indicated, and I noticed when looking at it, it seems to have had a long useful life as a farm vehicle. And may still be in use as such now. Considering it’s not going to happen with me, what would you folks do if you got your hands on something like this? Restore/rebuild to military, or repair as needed but keep it otherwise as-is? And I don’t mean for resale, but for personal pleasure. 
mikie

 

That's a good question and one of several that has to be considered.

 

For myself, I find that I like working on jeeps and doing the research into parts to see what version is original to that jeep. The one you found appears to be quite original, and from the photo's seems to be an easy restoration if so desired. If it's mechanically original too (engine, gearbox, axles etc) it absolutely increases the desirability even more. It looks like it's still in use regularly, which is probably one of the main reasons it survived to this day in this condition. So let's say you would make an offer that is accepted, you could probably get in and drive it home. Plug 'n Play, so to say. Then you have the option to preserve it as-is, only doing work/repairs to preserve it as this wouldn't require much mechanical skill, and chances are there are fellow jeep-enthusiasts living close by that may come and help.

 

The main consideration, other than the funds required to buy it, is do you have a sheltered and secure place to put it? Preferably indoors in a garage, although a covered carport might do for a while.

 

For myself, I would most likely restore it back to the original WW2-configuration as I can.

[Johan Willaert]

3 hours ago, General Apathy said:

Personally I like the understated look of a Jeep ( my Jeep ) no large white stars and large white lettering everywhere, maybe I hanker back to the days when I first started. Every June here,  are rows and rows of ' restored ' Jeeps covered in white markings, sometimes even plastic stick-on stars and lettering.  I'm too old now for all the dressing up in uniform,  I like the old country hick in jeans driving an understated ex military vehicle, image  . . . . . . . . . . . . . . summer and winter.

 

 

Plus 1

 

 

[mikie]

Thanks for your thoughts. There is of course no right or wrong answer. It’s all a matter of personal preference. I was just curious what you folks with so much Jeep experience would want to do with it if this one came your way. Just to make it clear, I have no intention of going after this Jeep. I’m just indulging in some “what if” dreaming, inspired by you folks. 
mikie

[mikie]

10 hours ago, earlymb said:

 

That's a good question and one of several that has to be considered.

 

For myself, I find that I like working on jeeps and doing the research into parts to see what version is original to that jeep. The one you found appears to be quite original, and from the photo's seems to be an easy restoration if so desired. If it's mechanically original too (engine, gearbox, axles etc) it absolutely increases the desirability even more. It looks like it's still in use regularly, which is probably one of the main reasons it survived to this day in this condition. So let's say you would make an offer that is accepted, you could probably get in and drive it home. Plug 'n Play, so to say. Then you have the option to preserve it as-is, only doing work/repairs to preserve it as this wouldn't require much mechanical skill, and chances are there are fellow jeep-enthusiasts living close by that may come and help.

 

The main consideration, other than the funds required to buy it, is do you have a sheltered and secure place to put it? Preferably indoors in a garage, although a covered carport might do for a while.

 

For myself, I would most likely restore it back to the original WW2-configuration as I can.

👍 I can’t understand how I can be out of LIKEs so you get a 👍 instead.
You found the word I was try and failed to find the other day, “preserve” it! That’s exactly what I wanted to say. 

mikie

[General Apathy]

7 hours ago, Johan Willaert said:

 

Plus 1

 

 

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Hi Johan,

 

if I am not mistaken your jeep has already begun to lose that fresh paint finish, if I may say so the paint appears far more flatter finish than it did, maybe it's just a light covering of road dust,     I like it  . . . . . . . . . .

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, January 15  2025.

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[earlymb]

10 hours ago, Johan Willaert said:

 

Plus 1

 

 

 

I'll go for the minimalist approach as well, with just the hood number that I managed to narrow down to the original one pretty closely.

[General Apathy]

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From my Shoebox Collection.  . . . . . . . . .

 

Back in the day when I was obsessive about collecting US military items I used to spend hours looking at photo images and memorising the items of clothing, equipment and vehicles within the photographs so when I came across items I would instantly recognise what they were and add to my collection.

 

Here is a two part Signal Corp line pole for hooking wires up over tree branches and telegraph poles etc., of no particular use to me other than being an original WWII US item.

 

 

 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  January 16  2025.

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[cutiger83]

4 hours ago, General Apathy said:

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From my Shoebox Collection.  . . . . . . . . .

 

Back in the day when I was obsessive about collecting US military items I used to spend hours looking at photo images and memorising the items of clothing, equipment and vehicles within the photographs so when I came across items I would instantly recognise what they were and add to my collection.

 

Here is a two part Signal Corp line pole for hooking wires up over tree branches and telegraph poles etc., of no particular use to me other than being an original WWII US item.

 

 

 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  January 16  2025.

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Your shoebox has so many interesting things I never knew existed!

 

...Kat

[mikie]

5 hours ago, General Apathy said:

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From my Shoebox Collection.  . . . . . . . . .

 

Back in the day when I was obsessive about collecting US military items I used to spend hours looking at photo images and memorising the items of clothing, equipment and vehicles within the photographs so when I came across items I would instantly recognise what they were and add to my collection.

 

Here is a two part Signal Corp line pole for hooking wires up over tree branches and telegraph poles etc., of no particular use to me other than being an original WWII US item.

 

 

 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent,  January 16  2025.

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Neat item! 
Since I can no longer easily climb ladders, I made up something vaguely like that to hang and take down the strings of Christmas lights around my house. 
mikie

[General Apathy]

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Ford Jeep Parts . . . . . . 

 

Hi Johan, several months back I posted a photograph of a Ford original grey painted dash pocket spring, which is weird that it should be grey painted and not O.D. as is the dash pocket and the rest of the dash . . . . . . . .

 

Today I had to replace my Jeeps 6 Volt battery , the battery brace bar has an ' F ' stamp approximately centre bar, flip the bar and it's Ford grey on the underside !!!!!!! weird anomalies on both of these pieces,  the spring and the brace-bar.

 

 

 

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, January 16  2025.

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[mikie]

Interesting. I know that Navy M1 helmets left the factory painted green and ships painted them gray as they saw fit. Were Navy jeeps painted gray at the factory? 

[12thengr]

On 1/10/2025 at 8:40 AM, General Apathy said:

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Thank you Graham,

 

A big regret of my collecting years is that I never photographed and recorded the collection as I bought or acquired each piece.  Forty or more years later it was all too much and too late to start the process. 

 

A 1940's Coca-Cola bottle opener, I have some other items but lost within the shoebox . . . . . . . . . . . . .

 

 

Norman D. landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, January 10  2025.    Sorry a bit late for this topic but I only check this feature every week or so...... When I saw Kens' shoebox opener I had to put in a photo of the box it came in. With the original screws. I have added a tiny jeep-like vehicle to keep up with the current topic. :)

 

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[General Apathy]

20 hours ago, mikie said:

Interesting. I know that Navy M1 helmets left the factory painted green and ships painted them gray as they saw fit. Were Navy jeeps painted gray at the factory? 

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Hi mikie,

 

Sorry to say that these particular parts are not Navy related.  The reason I added the photos of the grey painted pieces are that it's a surprise that these parts WERE / ARE grey painted, Ford painted their engine blocks grey but not particularly any other parts, and I suppose I would like share or an answer as to why these non-engine parts ended up Ford grey.   Willys painted their engine blocks green,  Jeep enthusiasts like to research all the various parts, pieces and colours of Willys and Ford Jeeps.

 

Norman D. Landing, Forum Normandy Correspondent, January 17  2025.

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