We Shall Get Around To That Eventually
In the meantime, allow me to continue with our leisurely examination of York Army Museum, which I hesitate to call YAM as this will induce thoughts of sweet potatoes and tubers and the like. Art!
The man I dubbed 'Captain Potato', Tommy Tuberville, a repellent South Canadian politician with weird earlobes, whose sole accomplishment is being able to lick boots to a high shine, and falling down stairs.
ANYWAY yes, we're back on the photo tour. Art!
I think this collection is to do with cavalry, the original horsey version to port, with all the tackle that farriers and the like needed to keep their Dobbins in full working order. You know, one of the Yorkies constituent units being the Dragoons. More horsey kit to starboard, including a cuirass, the 18th-century equivalent of a flak jacket or body armour.
The interesting kit comes in the middle, being various pieces of equipment used in tanks to maintain them in full working order. We've already covered the 'Vessel, Boiling', Art!
That's the bore-sight and the barrel brushes. Cleaning out a tank's gun barrel was one of the least fun parts of maintenance, requiring a lot of physical effort to pull through the brush that removed burnt charges, preventing them from fouling the barrel. Art!
Note that this is a four-man job, you're in a tug-of-war with the tank and brute strength is required. Art!
A stray Vickers-Maxim, looking all forlorn. They don't have the evaporator can mounted, nor a box of ammunition, or even a fabric cover over the water jacket. Conrad suspects they just wanted it out of the storeroom to make space. Art!
 |
| C.O. V D.G. 'Commanding Officer 5th Dragoon Guards' if you must know, which was flown by the OC in Ladysmith whilst it was under siege from the Boers. The Boer War provided the Yorkies with an unpleasant introduction to how effective modern weaponry was on the twentieth-century battlefield (especially smokeless powder). Art!  That ought to be 'Battle of the Aisne'. A Teuton MG08-15, which is not secured anywhere in any way to prevent theft, as you'd need a small crane and a trailer to move it. Yes it's heavy, even without a condenser can, ammunition box or any liquid in the water jacket. Art!  Various captured bits of kit. Next!  More regimental kit. ''The Snapper" is a nickname for the East Yorkshire Regiment, dating back to - actually no I'm not going to reference the War Of Treacherous Backstabbing Colonists. Art!  More captured booty from misc. nineteenth-century wars. Including one - Art!   A 'Sabretache' was a flattened bag used by cavalry to carry bits and pieces, and the reason this one was 'taken' is because the Ruffian who possessed it was in no position to protest, being either dead or a prisoner. The Battle of Balaklava was kind of a draw between the British and Ruffians during the siege of Sevastopol during the Crimean War. THE WAR THAT RUFFIA LOST as I like to point out at every opportunity. The most effective British logistics route was brought under Ruffian cannon fire - hmmm that sounds familiar - but the Ruffian drive to capture Balaklava failed. ANYWAY what you're reading as 'H' is actually 'N' in Cyrillic, so Conrad did a bit of digging. "The Nezhin Hussar Regiment (Нежинский гусарский полк), which carried the Cyrillic letter «Н» (En) on its shakos and equipment as its titular regimental identifier, served in the Russian cavalry during the mid-19th century and the Crimean War era. [1, 2, 3, 4]". Art!  O and a broomhandle C96 Mauser pistol, 'taken' from a Boer soldier and probably supplied by the Teutons, as their government loved to interfere on the side of the Boers. Art!  |
Towards the end of the museum there were 5 screens set up to play subtitled film clips on a loop, and this is one of them. Yorkies pldding along a badly shelled road, in France after D-Day. Note their apparent unconcern about being attacked from the air, which is quite unremarkable as the Luftwaffe tended to keep a verrrry low profile. Teuton troops doing this kind of chore would be split up, covered with bits of bush and sticking to the verges. Art!
Balaklava again! I now realise I haven't explained today's title. You see, out of the Crimean war came a variety of knitted wool 'helmet' that was worn under caps and uniforms. Art!
Winter in Krim being very cold indeed. The 'Balaklava Helmet' kept the wearer's head warm whilst still allowing them to see what was going on, and thanks to being wool, it kept the ears toasty warm without deafening. Art!
Jumping around in time, this is tommies leaving the front lines after the Battle of the Ancre, having the luxury of a truck instead of having to walk, as was usually the case. They were probably very grateful Yorkies, as the Battle of the Ancre was the last gasp of the Somme campaign, fought in miserably muddy conditions during November 1916. Art!
An example of a trench-map, showing British trenches in outline, rather than detail, since allowing detailed maps of your own trenches to fall into Teuton hands was rather a losing game.
RIGHT! I think that concludes our visit to YAM. Don't worry, there's still the Chester Regimental Museum to plan for. Altogether now: I bet you can hardly wait.
The Algorithm Has Been Drinking
Perhaps also indulging in illegal substances, since the traffic figures have been up the spout for days. Art!
He's smiling. Must be true.
Another Attempt To Empty My Wallet
Recently I discovered 'York Military Books' on teh Interwebz, whom do not have a bricks and mortar location or I'd have been in there during the YAM visit. Out of curiosity I checked to see what selections of books they have that I might be interested in. Art!
These are the ones they advertise that I already have, and that's only from the first page. There are at least 9 other pages that list merely First Unpleasantness works.
Be strong, Conrad, be strong!
Oooooh but look, they have 'Light Car Patrols' for only £28 <Mister Hand redacts more slobbering over titles and prices>.
Consider Me Bermused
No! That is not a typo, it's an hilarious pun - laugh or it's the Remote Nuclear Tormentor for you! Again, an advert from my news feed that is prompted by absolutely nothing I can think of. Art!
First of all, what is a 'containment berm'? and can you eat it?
Hmmm. An emergency portable and collapsible container that can collect or mitigate chemical spills.
WHEN HAVE I EVER NEEDED ONE! Seriously. Name just one time Your Humble Scribe has ranted and tanted about 'O if only I'd had a secondary containment berm, all life in the North West would not have been extinguished.'
Bah!
Introducing Bruce Pennington
Another artist from 'Sci-Fi Art', the channel that - you may be ahead of me here - looks at art in sci-fi. We've already focussed on Angus McKie, he of the 'very very detailed technical' artwork. Say hello to Bruce, whose work is more about atmosphere and chiaroscuro than elaborate detail. Art!
For your information that's one of the 'Lucky Starr' juveniles, 'The Green Brain' and 'Dune'.
And with that we are done!
No comments:
Post a Comment