May and June are typically nice warm sunny days, perfect for taking our MVs out for a spin or a trip to a local event. Well we’ve had plenty of events to attend, however, perhaps the less said about the weather is perhaps best.
The Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington, remains a firm favourite with many of our members.
May saw their “Against the Odds”: weekend well attended by many with a distinct RAF wartime
flavour, allowing the vehicles to get amongst the historic aircraft and add to the atmosphere. The museum's Halifax
is the star of the show, making a rare appearance outside the hangar for the weekend. It represents two different aircraft. The starboard side of the aircraft is in French markings, while the port side is RAF, painted as the famous "Friday the 13th".
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The aircraft is constructed from an original rear fuselage, a new build tail section,
the wing came from a Handley-Page Hastings and a new build front fuselage. It remains as the only example of an intact Halifax in Europe. Steve Carr, our area’s website manager attended with his flying control
Jeep.
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Staying with an aviation theme, East Kirby’s "Lanc, Tank &
Military Machines" weekend was very well attended with a wide selection of vehicles
including vintage civilian cars and motor-cycles.
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June this year marked the 75th Anniversary of the D-Day landings with so many of our members attending individually or with one of the many group tours, including the Official MVT group tour. One dedicated group of our members had a special mission for their trip, with the Colin Dixon memorial ride formed to honour the memory of Mr Colin Dixon, a past and much missed members. This group rode wartime Matchless bikes, incl Colin’s trusty bike and toured the Normandy area. These Normandy trips creates a wonderful sense of comradeship and remembrance as we all gather together from all nations to remember those young men & women who faced the unknown.
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It was very moving to join some 300+ vehicles on Gold Beach on the early morning of 6th June as the sun started to rise.
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This year, was especially memorable with the special addition of 38 Dakota aircraft making various parachute drops in France incl one American veteran who dropped into France on that day 75 years ago. So in closing all our members returned home safely with their MVs and whilst many encountered mechanical problems during the trip (me included) gained from the experience and look forward to the 80th anniversary trip.
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Paul Mayo
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