Photos from the "Yanks" show

[muttguru]

For several years, the little village of Uppermill hosts a military vehicle show titled "Yanks." The show is held as a tribute to the John Schlesinger film of the same name. Yanks was actually filmed in the locale and several members of our group in 1978 took part as extras in the film shoot, including my brother with my Willys MB.

The best thing about Yanks is many of the villagers dress up in period wartime clothes and help celebrate the event, with the quiet little backwater becoming a hive of activity. The pubs (as you will see later) are packed with customers, the local transport company provides an old Leyland Tiger coach for passengers and the partying goes on all day and into the night.

Some nice vehicles turn up....it isn't unusual to see a half-track roar through the village and there's plenty of WW-II vehicles to gaze at. There are also later vehicles on show (including a Gama Goat and a couple of M38 jeeps) and although not "period correct"...they are made welcome like everyone is.

I hope you get the feel of the show from the pictures we took.
Enjoy.....
Ken

Here's the first batch of photos...................



Above.... a heavily-loaded jeep post-D-Day with every conceivable accessory.





Above....a pair of despatch-rider motorcycles. The nearest one is a Matchless...the other is, I think, a BSA.





Above, a Land-Rover, a Ford GPW and a Jago Jeep.





The windscreen notice says it all. In the 70's, car maker Gordon Jago decided to build fibreglass bodies in a jeep style, which were then assembled onto Ford Escort running gear. They were very popular for a while but are now rarer than the real thing.









Above....someone brought a steam engine !





Above...a post-war GAZ/UAZ 4x4 looking very nice......





Above....another Ford GPW with a US Navy jeep nearby.





Above....another wartime jeep with a folding para scooter on the front bumper.





Above. Another wartime jeep painted and marked as a British Desert Ops vehicle.





Above....a Hotchkiss French Army jeep marked up as a US Army WW-11 jeep.





Above.....a militarized CJ-3B. Several of these vehicles came from Austria years ago.



Anyway....that's yer lot for now. Another batch will be posted very soon.
Ken

[muttguru]

Hello again folks. Here is part 2 of the photo batch I took at the Yanks show on the 5th and 6th August.
I hope you see something of interest



Above. Another nice-looking Willys MB.





Above. A Land Girl poses at the side of another heavily-loaded jeep.





Above. For those of you who are thinking "that looks a bit odd," you'd be right. It's an M38 disguised as a WWII jeep. Personally speaking, I'd rather see it displayed as an M38....I love the M38 and I always feel sorry to see one disguised as something it isn't. But that's me ! There's another M38 which I'll post soon. It clearly still was an M38, despite having a few signs invoking WWII.





Above. Here's one (of a pair) of vintage Rolls Royce cars that appeared at the show. "What, Ho, Jeeves."





Above. Here's the REAL British Army. It's one of their new MAN trucks, brought along by an Engineers team for an exhibition they put on at the show.





Above. As you can see, not only was there plenty of militaria on sale....there was also a thriving trade in 1940's clothing for the ladies, too.





Above. More militaria and period clothing. There was also a large fleamarket in the school hall.





Above. Uniforms, helmets and hats, hats, hats !





Above.....and shoes.......





Above. Here's the other time-travelling M38. This one must have been the DeLorean version.........

That's it for this post.....last batch following soon....same place...same mutt-channel.

Ken

[muttguru]

Well....here's the third and final batch of pictures from the "Yanks" show.
Once again there's some nice vehicles......... didn't see any mutts there this year but there was a couple a few years ago.

Here they are:-



Above. An unusual and interesting vehicle was at the show. It's a US Army 6x6 Gama Goat, in pretty good condition, too. Notice the sound-deadening earphones on the windshield. Noise levels from the diesel engine are in the 90Db range !



Above, a closer shot of the Goat.



Above....and a side view.



Above. Here's the old Leyland Tiger coach, fully restored and carrying passengers and revellers around the village.



Above. Outside The Commercial pub.



Above. The queue for the coach is on the left of the photo.



Above. Missed the bus. As you can see, many of the buildings are decorated with flags and bunting.



Above. More revellers enjoying the sunshine....and the alcohol.



Above. Strolling past "The Hare and Hounds" pub. There's no shortage of bars and cafes here.



Above. Even the little shops in the village get into the 40's spirit....as you can see in their window displays.



Above. And more 1940's window dressing.



Above. A jeep in British military markings roars through the village.



Above. Even the 101 Airborne gets a look-in.



Above. And what about this rolling through the normally sleepy little hamlet?



Above. Even the local Lodge, usually low profile, joined in with flags and bunting. One of the members saw me taking photos of the hall and came across the road to chat. He explained to us that there was a dinner dance that very evening at the hall and we could join in if we wished. Unfortunately we had to get back home as other things were planned for the evening but we thanked him for his kind offer.
Maybe next year


That's the last of the photos we took. Hope you enjoyed them and look out for next year's show.

Kind regards....
Ken

[rickf]

In the very first photo I see the mural on the car but is there also a mural on the jeep next to it? That would be a neat one to see I bet.

[m3a1]

Terrific stuff! Thanks!

[jeepfinger]

Heyup Ken

1st post on here, Bernard keeps telling me about it.

Just sat posting, listening to the Yanks soundtrack, sad or what Looks like you had a good time up at Uppermill, did you get up to Dobcross? It's awhile since I got up there, but was at the 1st one.

Thanks for posting the photos. I hope that you don't mind me mentioning some things? The bike, it looks like a BSA WDM20, but with a mix of early and late parts. The Jeep with the little bike, that's a Corgi, sometimes misstaken for the wartime Welbike. It's postwar, British and I think that only the Royal Navy used them on carriers. Lastly, the Desert Ops jeep, sadly not wartime, wrong wheels, anti rollbar and funny chassis.

Ok, my 1st post and probably last, ready to be kicked off the forum .

Dave

[rickf]

Welcome Dave and no worries, we are not like that here. It is good to see I have a helper in pointing out when Ken makes mistakes. And we don't give Ken the power to ban people or we would have nobody left.

[jeepfinger]

Hi Rick,

Thanks for the welcome and for not kicking me off the forum straight away

It is good to see I have a helper in pointing out when Ken makes mistakes

I don't think that Ken makes many mistakes, he must have been tired when he was posting looking up all his Mutt TM's to make sure he get's it right Any joking, i've known Ken for 30+ years, and he's a top bloke.

Dave

[muttguru]

................... i've known Ken for 30+ years, and he's a top bloke. Dave

Thank you Dave ! (the money's in the mail)

It's good to see you on the Board. Hope everything is well with you. Rick and me never fall out. It's just that we love pointing out each others' mistakes.

Ken

[m75]

Ah, the Gama Goat. I could not believe the amount of noise that came from the three-cylinder, two stroke Detroit Diesel engine located just inches away from the driver's seat, with NO insulation for the noise at all. I laughed at the dashboard decal that said this was a vehicle that required mandatory hearing protection...... until I hit the starter button. We would nudge the front end up against a stout tree, engage six wheel drive, first gear and low transfer, and let the truck idle, which would push the front axle off the ground as the cab began to go up the tree trunk!

Good times, but maintenance-heavy, especially those Lockheed brakes and drums. Won't even mention the lock-out kit that was used in lieu of a spare tire...

[jeepfinger]

Hi Ken,

(the money's in the mail)

I hope that it's all of the agreed amount Thanks again for the welcome.

How well do you think that others know about the film Yanks? You don't hear many people mentioning it. Ken, did you see the 2 articles in Windscreen that Patrick did, about all the vechicles etc? Near the end of the film, when all the trucks go into the goods yard, people are hanging out of the windows of the pub. At the moment it is unused, but soon will be turned ito flats, and of course, the goods yard is Sainsburys car park.

Dave