[edstorey]

I thought this post had finally run its course. What is even more surprising is that after the couple of weeks that this post has been on this forum that we now get some last minute input on how officially recognized 1940s names for Allied armoured vehicles somehow relates to made-up names by 1990s re-enactors for web-equipment.

Sure, the US 1940s maintenance manuals for the various US vehicles do not make reference to 'Sherman', 'Stuart' or 'Lee'; but have a look at the Second World War British vehicle manuals and they do make reference to those names. Just in case anyone is unfamiliar with these various names, the names such as 'Sherman', 'Lee', 'Grant' and 'Staghound' originated from British sources to denote the various armoured vehicles and these names are used in Second World War military documents when reporting vehicle strengths. At no time have I ever read of a unit during the Second World War reporting that it is holding 30 sets of 'Bren-bras'.

As for the age old excuse by those who like to dispute terminology, or anything military for that matter, but have no primary source material to back-up their arguments is, 'I was told by a Veteran'. That is all well and good but that excuse really does not add much to any discussion. Veterans are great people and we as a society owe them more than we can ever repay. I have a huge respect for Veterans, but and this is important, their recallections are just that, memories. What a Veteran remembers from 60 or 70 years ago has been clouded and altered over time. Veterean statements are only just one piece of the puzzle and should be regarded as that. Unfortunately, it is a well-used, all encompasing excuse employed as a smoke screen when no other proof can be provided.

The underlying topic of this discussion is that there are real, official names for much of this kit and equipment, whether it is for vehicles or for clothing. There is no reason to go and invent new names; so please, do not mistake the fanciful terms made up by re-enactors as any official or unofficial terminology, especially when for most, all they can bring to the table to defend their point is 'I was told by a Veteran'.