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A week or so ago Keith and I travelled up to Worcester to pick up 21 sets of 49-Pattern Battle Dress. We had been assured the stuff was in excellent condition, but not having seen it we were slightly nervous. However, once we had arrived and had a chance to inspect the merchandise, it was clear that the uniforms were essentially un-issued and in first class condition. Having agreed a price of £50 a set we were, to put it mildly, rather chuffed! So far eleven Garrison members have paid for a set, and the group has purchased ten more for general use, or to sell to other members who might decide they want to join the post-War party.

With 2012 marking the 60^th anniversary of the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II (and the mid-point of the Korean War) there is plenty of scope for some 1950s events. Plans are already afoot for at least two or three next year, so get ready to get some in!

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Following the usual Christmas blow-out, a few Garrisoneers managed to heave themselves from their sofas and met up at Larkhill for a day’s work on the kit. It was hoped to get finished the gate guardian that we are currently doing-up for the Army. It was (Keith promised) virtually ready to go, just needing reassembling and a little touching-up of the paintwork. As always, though, we underestimated the amount of work needed, and close inspection revealed that quite a bit more rubbing-down and painting was required. As such, the thing’s still not complete but hopefully will be out of the way soon, so we can concentrate on other projects that need sorting our before the season kicks off.

One of these that we had hoped to get started on was the 18-pounder. Although there wasn’t time to properly get to grips with it, we did manage to remove the cartridge extractor, which had been causing some concern. Once the thing was out, it was possible to match it up to an 18-pounder cartridge, and as predicted, it was too small. The consensus was that the extractor is actually from a 13-pounder, a gun which shares many similar design features with the 18-pounder and even has some interchangeable parts. It would appear, however, that the cart extractor is not one of them! The problem now is how to source a proper 18-pdr extractor; not a piece of kit one stumbles across too often! Of course it should be possible to have one fabricated from the drawings we have, but it is quite a complex lump of metal, and without a pattern to work from, could be a bit of a fiddling about kind of job. So, if anyone out there reading this happens to know where we might find an 18-pounder cartridge extractor, do please get in touch.

Some footage taken during the day is available on the GarrisonLHG YouTube site:  http://youtu.be/LsLSpx--DLc

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Well, that's all folks! For 2011 at least... but what a year it's been. On the whole a busy and interesting season for the Garrison with lots of positives, although some undoubted difficulties along the way. For me, the most satisfying thing about the year was the way the group worked together to put on a broad range of events, from small one and two gun events, to much larger shows like at Tilly and the Victory Show; from the Ops Room at Goodwood, to the combined anti-aircraft display at the National Army Museum; from the 21-gun salute for the royal wedding, to the 1812 Overture at Leeds Castle.  It's this flexibility that really makes the Garrison something special. And, with the acquisition of an 18-pounder and the 49-pattern battledress, our range of historical offerings is growing ever wider.

New Year's resolutions? Well, not so much resolutions as ambitions, but it would be great to get another working gun-tractor at Larkhill, so we can have two full sets on call. It would also be good to arrange more events (such as the NAM) that integrate the guns and searchlight. Finally, I'm looking forward to getting up to Yorkshire next year to support some events arranged by the 69 Regt. The Yorkshire mob are constantly travelling south to participate in Garrison events down here, and it's hightime that we repaid the favour and put in some miles to help support their local scene.

The calendar for 2012 is filling up fast, and promises another good spread of events, both large and small. As soon as these are confirmed, details will be posted to the Garrison website. In the meantime, a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from all at Garrison Central.

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Saturday saw a large contingent of Garrison members turn up to the National Army Museum in London to put on a series of anti-aircraft displays. This was the first public outing for the 3.7" AA gun, and despite a few minor teething issues, everything went remarkably smoothly. The last display of the day, in the darkness with the gun working in conjunction with the searchlight, was particularly spectacular.  Also quite evocative, as this was quite possibly the first time a 150cm carbon-arc searchlight had lit up the skies over central London since 1945...

Photos and a report will be added to the Garrison website in the near future.

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Keith pointed me in the direction of the discussion forum on the Royal Artillery Association website, where some great 1950s photos have been posted. These offer some really useful reference material for the post-war artillery impression that the Garrison is currently developing.

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Last night (Wednesday) saw a small group of Garrison members meet at Larkhill for the first test-firings of the 3.7” anti-aircraft gun. Barry had done a fantastic job of fabricating from scratch the missing parts of the firing-mechanism linkage, but until last night it hadn’t been tested with a live charge. As can be seen from the footage posted on the YouTube site everything worked perfectly.

As well as trying out the firing mechanism, another reason for the test was to ascertain the size of the blackpowder charge needed to generate a decent bang. As such three cartridges were prepared: the first contained a similar sized charge as is used for the 25-pounder carts; the second was about half as big again, and the third was bigger still. As can be seen from the footage (and the audience reaction!), the results were pretty decisive. The smallest charge provided a pretty feeble bang and was much derided, the medium charge was much better, whilst the third and largest was seriously impressive! The result was that it was felt that the medium charge would be perfectly adequate for most situations, and will probably be the one used for the forthcoming displays at the National Army Museum and HAC events.

Once again, getting up-close and personal with the 3.7 underlines just what a beast of a gun this is; at nine-tons, everything about it is built on a much bigger and heavier scale than the 25-pounder. Having an opportunity to help crew the gun really begins to give a small insight into just how much hard work it must have been working on these during the war.

Whilst at the workshop, I also got to have a first look at the Garrison’s latest acquisition, a First World War 18-pounder field gun.(Again, see the YouTube site for a sneak-peek) The contrast with the 3.7 couldn’t be greater. Whereas everything about the AA gun is on massive scale, the 18-pounder is built upon decidedly trim lines. The spoked wheels, slender trail and sloped shield do, however, give the whole thing a rather graceful appearance and reflect its origins as a weapon intended for wars of manoeuvre rather than the static trench warfare in which it made its name. What was really surprising was the lack of elevation, even at maximum elevation the barrel was barely above the horizontal! The gun itself appears to be in excellent condition, though will benefit from a thorough servicing. It is also missing quite a few bits and pieces, including the dial-sight holder, the hinged upper-section of the shield, firing pin, not to mention the limber! So, we will need to be on the lookout for these before we can get the piece back into action (any leads gratefully received). Once up-and-running though, it will add another facet to the range of displays that the Garrison can offer. With the addition of this gun to the collection, and the MKIII 25-pounder (together with and the recently acquired sets of 49 pattern battle dress) we can now potentially portray British field artillery from about 1914 right through to the 1960s!

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Attended a nice little event at Larkhill last night, providing a couple of guns for the farewell dinner for the Commandant of the School of Artillery. The Commandant was delivered to the Officers's Mess in Keith's Austin staff car (driven by Tracey in her ATS service dress) where he was met by a two mounted gunners of the King's Troop, and two of the Garrison's 25-pounders parked on the lawn. The Commandant and his wife then both fired off the guns to signal the start of the celebrations.

Although the Garrison's part in the evening's proceedings was relatively modest, it was nevertheless nice to be able to help out. Indeed it is always a pleasure to be able to do something for the Army to repay their generosity in allowing the group to use the workshop facilities. Also, to be invited by the Royal Artillery to put on a display at so prestigious a location as the Officer's Mess, does provide a sense that  - as a group - we must be doing something right. I think that this endoresement is particularly appreciated by those of us who don't have a services background, and sometimes feel slightly like impostors when in uniform.

After the event we got the chance to see Mel's 3.7" AA gun, which arrived at Larkhill earlier in the week for a quick spruce-up before it travels to London for the two events we have there in December. It really is a big beast, and  it is going to be quite a challenge to get it into action with a suitably trained crew. Still should be fun!