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Ponderosa
Wartime Weekend - July 10/11th
Pictures by Stuart
Wright, Mike Humphreys, Alex Rippingham, and James Taylor
Report by Mike Humphreys
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This
was only the 3rd time this event had been held, but this
year thanks to the tireless efforts of Stuart Wright from our club
this became something of a much bigger affair. I had not been there
previously as I suspect had been the case with most other club
members. Stuart’s rekindled interest in military vehicles has found
himself carrying the flag for British WW2 and on show over the weekend
was an impressive line up of Austins, Bedfords and Morris amongst
others. For the first time at a show that I have been to these were
lined up together which made a refreshing change. He had been promised
some tanks, but sadly they did not appear.
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own 69th Field boys had brought along 3 x 25 pounders, 2 of
which were used for a firing demonstration in the arena along with a
Command Post set up featuring Stuart’s Austin Tilly. I provided the
commentary for the crowd. |
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It
was fortunate that Frank and Angela Brown from over the Lancs border
were there with their No5 bodied Quad because he and I (in the Bedford
OXD) were called out to recover Mike and Chris’s gun sets after
Mike’s Quad had blown a cylinder head gasket and Chris’s was
suffering from the heat. I hadn’t expected to be so busy, but it all
ended well.
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It
was in fact a glorious weekend for weather and the huge site swallowed
the vehicles and stallholders. Brian Leathey had organised a sizeable
battle in the arena with the US v Germans. The encampments in the top field were sizeable, well set up
with plenty to see. Period
and non period camping was available for those who wanted to stay and
enjoy the evening’s entertainment and drinks in one of the large
sheds. A free packed lunch was available to all vehicle owners which
was a nice touch. Next year promises to be even better and this event
has the potential to become a major one given the huge site and the
enthusiasm of Howard Cook the owner. This will be a good addition to
the calendar for the Lancs, Yorkshire, Durham Tees Valley and NE MVT groups.
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The
following article appeared in the Spenborough
Guardian written by their reporter Olivia Midgley and is published
here with her permission.
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| More
than 5,000 people flocked
to Ponderosa in Heckmondwyke for a weekend of 1940's nostalgia.
Visitors wearing period costume were treated to a forties feast, with
authentic food, clothes, music, dancing and a range of stalls. And the
weekend certainly went off with a bang, with battle re-enactments and
live 25pdr guns, which haven’t been fired since the war. |
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More
than 100 genuine World War II vehicles, including a British Austin K2
ambulance, a firing M18 Hellcat Tank Destroyer and an AEC Matador –
one of the biggest wagons ever used in battle – descended on the fields
for the war time extravaganza. A Dakota aircraft also flew
over the site. |
| The
bash also saw several war veterans attend, including 90-year-old Henry
Cooper, who visited the site to see the 25 pdr guns which he used to
fire in the war. Henry, who was called up in August 1939, was shipped
down to Coventry and organised with fellow countrymen into the 255 Battery along with
the 254 and 253 which made up the 81st heavy AK AK Regiment
firing anti aircraft guns. |
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Later,
he was moved out to North Africa and on to the rapid fire 25 pdr guns
with the Eighth Army, and subsequently moved on into Italy where,
North of Florence, he supported
Harry Seacombe’s Regiment. He ended his service in Austria, working with the Military Police. Henry said his trip to Ponderosa
had been ‘the best day of his life and he did not want it to end’.
One of the organisers, Debbie Burton, said: “Henry had a fantastic
day out. He hasn’t seen a 25 pdr gun since the war, so he was really
thrilled." |
| The
event was a huge success and we had record numbers attend. We’re
hoping for an even bigger turn- out next year. |
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