My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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Overlord Museum

Another couple of miles East along the coast, brought us to the Overlord Museum. Once more, we just had a quick look around outside before moving on.

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Underwater Museum

Another 5 miles got us to the Port en Bessin Underwater museum. Closed by the time we got there, but we have been before.

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Bayeux Museum

It started to rain heavily again by the time we got back to Bayeux. We needed to pop in to the supermarket before stopping by the Bayeux museum for a quick look at the armour on display outside. We then headed back to the cottage to eat and start packing everything, as we were leaving Normandy the following morning.

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August 2nd - Falaise Memorial

We left the cottage around 9:30am on Wednesday the 2nd of August, heading for Falaise on the way to the ferry at Dieppe. We were visiting Château de Falaise, the home castle of William the Conqueror, connecting with our Bayeux tappestry visit of earlier in the holiday. Just next to the Château was another museum with a Sherman tank outside. I took a few pictures before we finally left the area, heading for the ferry port. We made it back to England late that evening and stayed overnight in Portsmouth.

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August 3rd - Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

The following morning, we went to the Historic Dockyard to visit the Mary Rose, HMS Victory, HMS Warrior and HMS M.33. HMS Queen Elizabeth was also in port, making a striking contrast with the earlier flagships. We stayed overnight one more night and drove North to home on Friday 3rd.

Mary Rose


HMS Victory


HMS M.33 & HMS Queen Elizabeth


HMS Warrior

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A huge update this time following five days at the Beamish museum "Dig for Victory" show.

Beamish "Dig for Victory" Set Up - August 28th~30th

We began our "Dig for Victory" preparations on the evening of Bank Holiday Monday, heading over to Beamish in the car to set up the tents. Last year, we ended up finishing the camp in the dark. With the tents up on Monday, we only needed to add the bedding and cooking gear. So while Lynne was working on Tuesday, I packed the Jeep and Dodge ready to go, shortly after 5pm.



The weather forecast wasn't great for the next few days, but with a new canvas over the centre cooking area, we were hopeful we'd be water proof.



Wednesday wasn't a proper show day and no vehicle movements were allowed, so the camp was purely a static display. The panorama below shows our camp, with five of the group vehicles on show out of the seven that were brought out for the event. Derek hadn't arrived when this picture was taken and Chris was only there for Friday and Saturday with his Dodge. Neil's Jeep is at the far left, with Paul's and Andy's Jeeps next. My two vehicles are on the right.

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Wednesday was a relaxing day for chatting and having a look around. Here's a few more pictures of our vehicles and camp. The high shots aren't from a drone, but simply a camera tripod held up at arms length.





Our field shower made another appearance this year. Each time it has been out, it has had slight revisions and improvements. This year, a smaller water container allowed it to heat up much faster.



A few other groups also arrived early for the show and we present on Wednesday. That evening, a low loader turned up and left a while later carrying an 0-4-0 tank engine that has been on loan to the museum over the summer.



Each evening, we gathered around the wood burner to stay warm, have a drink and share war stories.

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Beamish "Dig for Victory" Day 1 - Thursday August 31st

Thursday morning began with a briefing at 10am, followed by the first convoy of the event, to familiarise newcomers with the route around the site. Lynne took the Jeep while I drove the Dodge.



After entering the 1913 town from the show field, we turned right around the site road. We follow the road up a long slow climb to near the 1940s farm, where there is a steep drop down into the pit village and colliery yard.



There is the space to get the convoy turned around here for a climb back up the pit village bank, back onto the main site road. This continues a gentle climb to the main entrance, then a slightly steeper descent to the entrance to the 1800s era part of the museum. From there was a long gentle climb again past the 1950s welfare hall and town, leading back into the 1913 town and back down into the show field.

Rather than going back to the show field after the first lap, four of our gang continued around the circuit and dropped back down to the colliery again. There was a location near the colliery building, on a walking route between the pit village and 1800s area, where we could park up and have a good number of public walk by.

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After staying there for a while, we moved on to "Coffee Corner" a small parking area on the edge of town near the bakery and not far from the cafe. This was a good spot for watching other vehicles convoy by.



After coffee corner, it was back to camp for a look around some of the other vehicles and displays. There are two show fields, with these vehicles being parked up in the same field as our camp. All of the diorama displays were located in the other field, along with some of the larger vehicles. These two halftracks, Jeep and Command Car were in our field.



The afternoon convoy was at 3pm and took in the full route around the site, including the pit village. The exit from the steep bank out of the site was a really tight turn. Jeeps could manage the turn, but anything larger had to go the wrong way around the circuit a for about 150 yards. That took them to the bus and tram depot, where there was a hardstanding big enough for the largest vehicles to swing around and join onto the back of the Jeep convoy.

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Soon after the show finished, we went back out for a photoshoot down at the pit village. It was a squeeze down one of the back lanes for the Dodge, so we sent a scout on foot to check the clearance and turning room at the end.



After that, we grabbed some pictures in the colliery yard before moving on to the edge of the 1950s town, which is still under construction. In this area, one street has been completed, while a cinema is being built over the road.



A short drive further on brought us into the 1913 town, which was one of the first parts of the museum to be built back in the 1970s. From there, it was back to camp for the evening.

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Beamish "Dig for Victory" Day 2 - Friday September 1st

After the morning convoy, we headed back to the colliery for a while. It was overcast and warm, but the rain that was forecast didn't appear.



Later in the morning, Lynne was exploring on foot, so I took the Dodge out again, meeting up with Chris and Andy at the colliery yard. It wasn't long before several more vehicles turned up, including a huge Corbitt wrecker, which is I believe one of only three surviving and the only one outside of the USA. It was starting to look like a car park, so I moved on again and headed back to camp for lunch.



Lynne and I were back out in the afternoon, grabbing a few photos on the long climb towards the farm, with the 1913 town in the distance.



From there, it was down to the colliery again, meeting up with Paul and Laura. It wasn't long before two of the halftracks turned up. This year, there was a record four halftracks at the show, but I never saw them all parked up together.

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As well as the main large convoys at noon and 3pm, there were several smaller convoys across each day. Sometimes this was a few Jeeps, others it was perhaps a dozen vehicles.



Getting a chance to park up in town was very much good luck. With so many vehicles at the show, time in town was limited to 20 minutes to give everyone a chance for photos, but you never knew whether there was space until rounding the last corner onto the main street.



Later in the afternoon, we began to look around the dioramas in the second show field, but part way through, were invited on a halftrack ride, so left the rest for another time.



The Corbitt wrecker was also on this convoy and when we stopped in town, I got chatting with the driver, as I'd noticed that it was marked up in 100th Bombardment Group markings, the same as all of my vehicles. It was near the end of the day, so I asked him if he could park in the middle of the field, so I could get my vehicles over for some pictures together.

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When a Corbitt and Dodge get friendly, they make a baby Jeep! It really is a monster, with the tyres being taller than the Dodge fenders. I think my daughter needed oxygen after climbing into the cab.



Our group went back out for a ride around that evening. Neil had some running problems and discovered a small plug in the carburettor was missing. Fortunately Paul had a carb kit with him, having bought it for just one screw! The day ended around the fire again.

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Beamish "Dig for Victory" Day 3 - Saturday September 2nd

Despite starting out cloudy, it was hot by 9am on Saturday. We began as usual, with a convoy around the site, doing one complete lap before dropping down to the colliery yard. Here's six of the seven of our vehicles that attended the show. It would have been nice to have more, but there are practical limits.



For a change of display, I opened the Jeep hood and set the Dodge crane over the top of the Jeep engine. I then got a crate and tool roll out as if I was starting an engine change. There were a couple of other Dodges near by and Paul was there with his Jeep.



It wasn't too long before a convoy of heavy stuff came down and the yard began to fill up. Soon after that, Andy turned up. Andy only got his Jeep in October last year, so this was his first Beamish in his own Jeep. For the previous two years, he's driven my Jeep around when Lynne was exploring elsewhere.



After that, it was off to coffee corner for morning snacks and to watch more convoys go by.

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Back to camp for a late lunch, in time to see Derek try his barber skills on Andy with some mechanical hair clippers. A member of the public even volunteered to have his hair cut!



It was then time for the main afternoon convoy.



After we completed the convoy, we drove out of the Beamish staff gate and up the public road to the 1940s farm. Neil and Derek were already there. There is an internal road to the farm, but it is quite steep and only suitable for Jeeps. Using the main road was a safer drive, avoiding all the public walking up the internal farm road. A brass band was playing in the main barn with a small dance floor and seating.



After the farm visit, we returned to the colliery and I did a small photoshoot with my daughter and the Dodge.