Western Command Military Vehicle Historical Society

.As many members are heading down to the MVPA Convention in Portland, OR (see info further down) and the meeting itself would fall on one of the trip days, no August meeting will take place. September's second-Wednesday-of-the-month meeting will take place as scheduled.

A yearly WCMVHS tradition, the Abbotsford International Airshow at the Abbotsford Airport takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday August 8th, 9th and 10th. I have received absolutely no information whatsoever on the arrangements for this event this year, but generally we can move vehicles in to our display area via the exhibitor's gate just off King Rd. (east end of the Airport) any time after 6pm on Thursday the 7th. WCMVHS member Jim Watkins volunteers his services for Airshow security every year, so if one of the volunteers manning the King Rd. gate is unfamiliar with our Club, you could ask he or she to contact Jim via radio or celphone for further information. If the gate is unmanned and closed when you arrive, you will find that it is "soft-locked" only, and can be opened by anyone. Whatever state you find the gate in when you arrive - please leave it the same way when you leave. If the padlock is open, DO NOT LOCK IT. For general information visit http://www.abbotsfordairshow.com/

We have quite a few things going on this summer, as most of you know. It looks like a large contingent of Western Command and the various other military/ military history clubs/organizations (we're up to, what...five?) will be heading down to the MVPA Convention in Portland, OR. in August. This takes after this year's Abbotsford Airshow so perhaps you won't even need to check your oil again between the two. For those who've never been to a convention before...they're fun! Many of the vendors you see in Supply Line and Military Vehicles magazine make the trip from those mysterious-sounding eastern backwaters listed beneath their display ads in the magazines and bring with them a good assortment of the goods they offer in the pubs, not to mention fellow collectors with tables full of treasures collected over the years or just from clearing out their attics and crawlspaces. We usually have a parade through town featuring everything capable of rolling under its own power (or at least being pushed presentably as often seems the case with the British stuff :) , and the last time I was at the Portland convention I weaselled my way on to a Columbia River WWII DUKW ("Duck") ride when Will MacArthur gave me his spot (thanks there, William.)

Conventions usually also have seminars on the history, restoration, collection etc. of all the different vehicles found within the greater MVPA ranks, a big barbecue, and a chance to see vehicles in the display area you may've only seen on magazine covers or in black-and-white WWII movies featuring actors whose upper lips never move.

Look in your Supply Line for the Convention dates. I'll put some more up on the Convention and the Airshow as we get closer to August.

WCMVHS member David Beale contributed a large number of photos of last summer's "Freedom Route + 62" event, and I've just posted the bulk of them. . If you want large versions of any of them emailed to you, just ask me and I'll forward them. I can't put large format pictures up on the site itself because we now have a storage limit quota in place which puts a lid on how much we can upload.

If you have some favourite pics of the trip you'd like to see posted, please email me using the adddress shown on the 'Contact Us' page.

Billed as "150 Years of British Columbia Militaria 1885-2008", this show hosted by the Military Collectors' Club of Canada takes place at the Best Western Richmond Inn Hotel & Convention Center August 23rd from 10 am to 4 pm, and August 24th from 10 am to 2 pm. The Best Western facility is located at 7551 Westminster Highway, Richmond B.C., and is no challenge to find whatsoever. All nations' militaria will be represented, including everything from medals, badges, swords, bayonets, uniforms, books, field equipment, helmets, flying gear, prints, war souvenirs, trench art, model soldiers, homefront posters, military toys and much more - literally something for everyone! Indentification and appraisal services will be provided and militaria dealers from across Canada and abroad will be present for both days.

For more information or to book a table, contact Ian Edwards at iedwards@shaw.ca or phone (780) 449-1668.

Email correspondent Bruce Davidson sent some pics of a Russian T-34 tank being recovered from a lake in Estonia. This is quite a famous recovery now and there's even video on Youtube showing the rescue operation (search 'russian tank lake') if you want to hear the sounds of squelching mud in full living stereo. This tank had been captured during one of the summer battles of 1944 and had been placed in German markings for use by one of the indigenous units collaborating with the Germans. As the Germans retreated following a series of major military setbacks, the tank was simply put in gear with the engine running and allowed to drive itself into the lake. CLICK HERE FOR FULL STORY.


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		.As many members are heading down to the MVPA Convention in Portland, OR (see info further down) and the meeting itself would fall on one of the trip days, no August meeting will take place. September's second-Wednesday-of-the-month meeting will take place as scheduled. I received the Movement Order for our convoy to the Portland Convention while at the recent CMEC campout event, and retyped the works as I was unable to get an electronic copy of the original in time. As a result, the maps included with the original would not scan well enough to be included in the Adobe PDF version of the handout, but map options are included in one of the appendices. Thanks to Pat Papworth and Harry Moon for making sure I had it for the web. A yearly WCMVHS tradition, the Abbotsford International Airshow at the Abbotsford Airport takes place Friday, Saturday and Sunday August 8th, 9th and 10th. I have received absolutely no information whatsoever on the arrangements for this event this year, but generally we can move vehicles in to our display area via the exhibitor's gate just off King Rd. (east end of the Airport) any time after 6pm on Thursday the 7th. WCMVHS member Jim Watkins volunteers his services for Airshow security every year, so if one of the volunteers manning the King Rd. gate is unfamiliar with our Club, you could ask he or she to contact Jim via radio or celphone for further information. If the gate is unmanned and closed when you arrive, you will find that it is "soft-locked" only, and can be opened by anyone. Whatever state you find the gate in when you arrive - please leave it the same way when you leave. If the padlock is open, DO NOT LOCK IT. For general information visit http://www.abbotsfordairshow.com/ We have quite a few things going on this summer, as most of you know. It looks like a large contingent of Western Command and the various other military/ military history clubs/organizations (we're up to, what...five?) will be heading down to the MVPA Convention in Portland, OR. in August. This takes after this year's Abbotsford Airshow so perhaps you won't even need to check your oil again between the two. For those who've never been to a convention before...they're fun! Many of the vendors you see in Supply Line and Military Vehicles magazine make the trip from those mysterious-sounding eastern backwaters listed beneath their display ads in the magazines and bring with them a good assortment of the goods they offer in the pubs, not to mention fellow collectors with tables full of treasures collected over the years or just from clearing out their attics and crawlspaces. We usually have a parade through town featuring everything capable of rolling under its own power (or at least being pushed presentably as often seems the case with the British stuff :) , and the last time I was at the Portland convention I weaselled my way on to a Columbia River WWII DUKW ("Duck") ride when Will MacArthur gave me his spot (thanks there, William.) Conventions usually also have seminars on the history, restoration, collection etc. of all the different vehicles found within the greater MVPA ranks, a big barbecue, and a chance to see vehicles in the display area you may've only seen on magazine covers or in black-and-white WWII movies featuring actors whose upper lips never move. Look in your Supply Line for the Convention dates. I'll put some more up on the Convention and the Airshow as we get closer to August. WCMVHS member David Beale contributed a large number of photos of last summer's "Freedom Route + 62" event, and I've just posted the bulk of them. . If you want large versions of any of them emailed to you, just ask me and I'll forward them. I can't put large format pictures up on the site itself because we now have a storage limit quota in place which puts a lid on how much we can upload. If you have some favourite pics of the trip you'd like to see posted, please email me using the adddress shown on the 'Contact Us' page.