[Ganmain Tony]

Howard & I drove the truck out to see his great uncle, Les Holgate.

It was a thrill to meet him, he's a bit shakey on his feet these days but his memory is still very sharp.

Les was the original owner of this truck after the war. He paid 250 pounds for it.

The truck was used as the family car and was taken down to Tathra on the south coast of NSW for the annual holiday. 2 in the front & 8 in the back.

Les said it was a great truck & never gave him any trouble........ but you wouldnt expect anything less from a Ford.

He did however, have problems with the single tyres on the back. They kept blowing for some strange reason, so he fitted it with duals.
May have had something to do with the fact that Les said she'd EASILY carry more than 5/6 tonne on the back. No wonder the shackle pins and bushes need replacing!!!!

Les was in the 14th Anti Aircraft and was at 42 of the Japanese Darwin Raids. He told us the story of going from Sydney to Albury to Adelaide to Alice Springs to Darwin with the Army.

Between 'The Alice' and Darwin he did three days in the back of a Cab 12 F60L on the 'North South' road.

He told us of one night in Darwin witnessing a Spitfire blow a single engine Japanese plane out of the sky. He could see the tracer from the Spit, the Jap plane burst into flames, then the engine fell off the front.

Incidentally Les is still on his small farm helped by his daughters and son-in laws. He's planted 7,000 trees around the place and it looks magnificent. The shed & house are well kept and the garden is beautiful.

A bloke to be remembered.