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Tuesday 12 February 2013

8th Kings Royal Irish Hussars (1948-50)

  Between 1948-50, my uncle Ken was a gunner driving Cromwell Tanks (above) in the Yorkshire Hussars at York and Middlesborough T.A. Regment stationed at Leicester East Airfield. He was demobbed before the regiment left for Korea. Over 60 years later, if he's not feeding the Buzzard on the bird table in his garden at Wrockwardine near the Wrekin, you can find him building scale models of tanks from 75mm shell cases in his work shop.


Model of a Cromwell Tank
 
 This is where it all starts from with 75mm shells to build the tanks

Treack guards
 
Side plate

drilling the wheels
 

 
Starting to take shape

 
And finally the end product all built from the 75mm shells, Note the tiny shovel on top of the track guard to the right
 
 
  
He's only just started building from the shells and so far this is what he's made. Pretty good stuff!
 
 
My uncle on the right leaning on a Cromwell Tank
 
 

The Cromwell was of the most successful series of cruiser tanks fielded by Britain in the Second World War. The Cromwell tank, named after the English Civil War leader Oliver Cromwell, was the first tank put into service by the British to combine a dual-purpose gun, high speed from the powerful and reliable Meteor engine, and reasonable armour, all in one balanced package. Its design formed the basis of the Comet tank.

1 comment:

  1. Leicester East Aerodrome now known as Stoughton is still an aerodrome for light planes - had friends that lived close by. Love those models ! Sue

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