May 23 Niagara Vehicle Display Rankin Cancer Run & Display at Avondale Dairy Bar.

[Edwin Wand]

This show is one of the fun things we do each year.

While we don't have room for any more heritage vehicles, everyone is welcome to visit. We will be doing other shows in Niagara and perhaps we will be able to accommodate more vehicles at that time.

On Saturday we are also going to present a very small display about the wartime experience of one Dutch family who came to Canada after the war. I had also intended to show what happened in 1940 but ran out of preparation time. The intent was to have a short readable write-up about the invasion and why the Dutch had to surrender. We hope to have a Dutch WW2 veteran at this exhibit. He has a fascination story to tell. Come and talk to him.

Can anyone suggest where we might find a suitable description of what happened to the Dutch in 1940. What we have found so far is either too broad or too detailed for a general audience, While we can edit this material, we cant do it before tomorrow. Any suggestions about where we might find a suitable ready to use description is welcome.

This is the Event Description

The Niagara Military Vehicle Association will be at the Stewart Road Avondale Dairy Bar near the Welland Canal in Niagara on the Lake on Saturday May 23 from 1200 to 1600 hrs (4pm) with an interesting collection of heritage military vehicles and other artifacts. Included will be a 100 year old World War 1 motorcycle and two more from World War 2. Another exhibit will be a 1944 Chev 15 hundred weight (cwt). Produced in Canada by the hundreds of thousands these vehicles were used world-wide by all commonwealth armies, as well as many of our allies. Even the Germans used them whenever they were able to capture one. There is no admission charge.

Many of this vehicle's single parts were manufactured in St Catharines, especially axles, transmission, and electrical parts. GM vehicles were assembled in Oshawa and the Fords in Windsor. Canada's Merchant Marine took most of them overseas. They were also assembled in the United Kingdom, Australia, India and New Zealand.

Today the Canadian Military Pattern vehicle has an iconic status. Museums and private collectors world-wide hold them in their collections. Regrettably, GM, Ford, the Canadian Government and its Museums do little to publicize the remarkable story of how Canada mobilized its resources and established the strategic industrial plan that enabled the production of these vehicles and other war materiel. While this will be a static exhibit, all our vehicles will be driven there, are licensed, insured and meet our rigid safety standards.

Do come and enjoy a banana split with a good dose of green machines