Before I go into any kind of detailed AAR, and before it gets lost in a flood of continuing postings/pictures, I wanted to say one thing about the people at the core of this.
Like the CC series of events, the BB series is a completely private venture, conceived and executed by only a handful of our membership here. It's a remarkable, continuing effort which, like the CC event, is a 'labour of love'... an approach I personally find to be at the heart of all we are and all we do as amateur historians, vehicle collectors and enthusiasts, and those with an enduring love of the military, past and present.
Any single person or small group that can successfully engineer something like these two separate events, on a one-time basis or year after year, deserves our utmost admiration and respect.
I would like to recognize, here and now, those who have brought yet another great weekend into our realm of experience:
Bob & Joyce Carriere. Without question, this event would not exist without them. Both worked untiringly to bring this to reality, with Joyce mostly behind the scenes and largely unacknowledged. Their property is perfect for this sort of thing, and they used it well on our behalf.
Rob Clarke. Bob's 'partner-in-crime' here, Rob's endeavours towards bringing this to fruition are almost incalculable. Rob and Bob work together like a well-oiled machine to ensure nothing is left undone; I don't think I ever saw either of them, but particularly Rob, not in motion at any given point, attending to some arcane detail before it was noticed.
Grant Bowker. Making the Dangerous Duo a Terrible Trio, Grant, like Rob, seemed to be everywhere all the time! The three build trucks together and now they do shows together.
Mike Calnan. While not part of the organising body per se, Mike deserves a special mention here for a tremendous effort to support the endeavour by supplying the event with: an 8cwt Chev which looks like it just came off the production line; a Mk.II* Universal Carrier which we warmed up with a few laps of the field; the Ford LAAT pictured above, which towed the 40mm Bofors, also pictured above; the 6-pounder AT gun as shown; his newly acquired towed Inglis Quad Posten; and several towing vehicles. More about all this later.
Lady and gentlemen, and those on the periphery, please take a bow! MLU salutes you all.
