If you have been reading the comments left on this blog by visitors you will know that a very nice gentleman called John invited me down to have a look at his full-size Valentine IX DD.
After many weeks of difficulty in getting my e-mail account to accept Johns E-mails we finally made contact. And here's what we've all been waiting for;
After he had removed the tarpauline from the Valentine I was left to crawl over it as I pleased. Now I am, well, a bit of a bloater and I could just about get comfy in the gunners seat but the commanders postion required me to enter the turret hatch at a 45 degree angle with my arms in the air! Just how anyone fought in the tiny space available is a wonder to me. I didn't attempt to get through the drivers hatch - it looked way too small . . .
After a while, John joined me in the turret and explained the operation of the breach (I was curious about how the ejection system worked) and showed me the ammo storage and an inert 6pdr round. Getting one into the breach is not easy, let me assure you, and it would probably take about a year of training and a wartime diet to slim me down to the point where I could be comfortable in the commander / loader's position.
Unfortunately I didn't have enough time to thoroughly exlore Johns collection (he also has two Saracens, a Saladin, a Ferret, a Dingo, two FV432 variants and other, rustier vehicles) and I shall have to presume on his good nature and beg another visit. The vehicles, by the way, are stored in a farmyard which doubles as the lost Morris Minor graveyard where old moggies go to die . . .
John, in addition to having more armour plated vehicles than any man can conceivably need, is also an extremely knowledgable and friendly chap. Top man, indeed!
