My '44 Flying Control Dodge

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Not too long after we got there, the sun broke through and it ended up being a hot day and a great first event of the season. There was a good turnout of vehicles, dioramas, re-enactors and a great turnout of public. The vehicles were squeezed in amongst the Battery exhibits, in the courtyard behind the gun battery emplacements and ammunition stores.

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Heugh Battery was one of three erected in 1860 to protect the fast-growing port of Hartlepool. Heugh Battery is the only WW1 battlefield in the United Kingdom, after the German Navy attacked the battery on December 16th 1914, trying to provoke small naval engagements to whittle down the British fleet.

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The event ended at 4pm and since we were closest to the gate, I packed up the crane and ammo crates about 15 minutes early to make sure we didn't block everyone else in. There was a small sea breeze, but down in the courtyard was quite sheltered, so we all caught the sun. Due to the closed road, we took a slightly different route home, but still cross country to avoid the fast main roads. My daughter was so exhausted, both from the day and a sleepover two days ago, that despite the noise of the Dodge and rattling of the chains on the crane, she slept all the way home!

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Durham Marketplace Nostalgia Day - May 2nd

We had the Dodge out again today, at our second event of the year at the Durham Marketplace Nostalgia Day. I was hoping to take a Jeep too, but numbers were restricted by the council due to the space in the market. It would have helped if they'd moved the skip left in our parking area!!

Sadly, we've now got 25% of the 2022 events behind us. There's not many events to attend this year around our area, with several cancelled for various reasons. Some are still short on money following two years lost to covid.



Being on the doorstep, it didn't take us long to get there and we hadn't been set up long before the rain arrived. Now that wasn't in the forecast that I saw just before we left. Wish I'd had my flying jacket, but I foolishly believed the BBC's "Sunny Intervals" for the morning.

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The rain didn't last too long, but the cold and damp remained for most of the day. It didn't prevent a good turnout of vehicles, re-enactors and dioramas. There were also lots of public who took a genuine interest, some having their own family stories of WW2.



There was also a nice variety of vehicles on show, with three Dodges, a number of Jeeps, but also civilian and staff cars, a bike, plus an Austin Firetruck.

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Even though I'm a Jeep owner, row upon row of just Jeeps can be a little dull, despite each owner trying to make their vehicle stand out from the rest with various period canvas and steel bling! The vehicles were spread around the marketplace, though more concentrated towards the top end.



It's a shame the sun wasn't out as forecast, but at least it did dry up and there were some good coffee shops and food outlets near by to take a break from the cold.

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The Durham Light Infantry Memorial. I don't know when this was installed, but it may have been after the DLI Museum was closed by the council a few years ago to save money. This was pre-covid. They now plan to open it again.



Other than the cold and my grudge against the BBC weather forecasters, it was a nice day catching up with people and getting back out to events again. Unfortunately, no more events for us until June.

More pictures here - https://www.sacarr.co.uk/mymvs/events/2022/durham.htm