Can
you imagine a time when Bren Gun Carriers could be bought for just £15 and a
running Jeep for £70? A time when redundant RAF airfields were full of
thousands upon thousands of World War Two vehicles?
This
was when contractor and farmer John Marchant “the grandfather of the military
vehicle preservation movement” first began to buy, restore and use green
machines, recently let go by the Armed Services. John,
who turned 90 in July, 2017, has owned an astonishing 169 MVs and is one of the
earliest members of the Military Vehicle Conservation Group, later the Military
Vehicle Trust, joining in January,
1974, with a membership number of 167. He was born in Wicken, South Northants, just a
few miles from his present home in Old Stratford, on the borders of Milton
Keynes. The first vehicle he acquired, in 1947 and for £15, was a Loyd Carrier.
“We used it for ploughing and harrowing,” said John, “but it was fairly
useless. It steered by using the brakes and the engine wasn’t powerful enough.” A few months later he bought a 1942 Canadian Ford
F60S three-tonner, a vehicle which incredibly he still owns and drives – surely
the longest partnership of owner and MV in the world. This sparked a lifelong
passion for Canadian Military Pattern (CMP) Ford and Chevrolet vehicles and led
to him setting up the Canadian Ex-Military Vehicle Register. His enthusiasm for
all things Canadian led to him being invited as a VIP to the College Militaire
Royal in St Jean, Quebec in 1988.
John was one of those MV pioneers who went to
Normandy on a Peter Grey-organised tour in 1974. He took a Daimler Armoured Car
but only made it as far as the south coast owing to a gearbox failure. “We
couldn’t fix it in time to catch the
ferry but offers of help came from everyone and we soon had all our baggage
stowed in corners of other people’s vehicles and a lift to France arranged for
us, all from people we had never met before, which shows the great comradeship
and help which still exists today.” The
breakdown did not put John off foreign tours and he has since taken his
vehicles to Normandy and Arnhem.
Other vehicles he has owned include the £70 Jeep
(“it was running when I bought it but when I collected it I found someone had
stolen the half-shafts”), Stuart tank, Vickers Vigor armoured bulldozer,
armoured cars, carriers and a staggering 64 CMPs.
John, who for many years was the MVCG/MVT chief
judge, had a retirement sale a few years ago but, even at the age of 90, still
keeps and drives his beloved 1942 F60S, a 1942 Chevrolet HUP and a 1944 T6
Carrier. Members and friends had a chance to say “Happy
Birthday” when John held a brunch party at his farm when his friend and
ex-Royal Navy officer the Rev Katie Kitchen held a short field service.
ABOVE: John and his Canadian Ford F60S, which he
has owned since 1947 LEFT: The F60S at work on John's farm
Pictured in 1981, this is John with a 1943
Caterpillar D8 Beach Armoured Recovery Vehicle
John’s mother driving the “useless” Loyd
carrier in 1949
LEFT AND BELOW: A sequence showing John’s 1942
Buckeye Trencher: as found, under restor- ation and restored. He demon- strated
this at an MVT show at Bletchley Park
John with the Rev Katie Kitchen (Royal
Navy Retired) and his HUP and F60S
Friends and MVT members celebrate John’s 90th birthday