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My wife's Uncle was a Scout long-distance coach driver. I don't think Scout had the Atlantean Gay Hostess rigs, just Ribble and Standerwick. Lambert used to drive single deckers on the London run and was also the designated driver for Preston North End when they played away.
Frank
Frank Damp (wife Eileen, nee Nixon)
Leyland resident 1941-1965, emigrated to the US in 1968,
retired to Anacortes, Washington State, USA in 1999.
I for one am very unhappy about the siting of the tank one of one the busiest entrances to our little town. I was born and bred here and to my mind the rich manufacturing heritage we have here should be celebrated by either a truck or a bus. For the many years when I enjoyed Leyland Festival parades as a child my enduring memories are of dressed up trucks, NOT tanks. Why on earth did the council choose to spend all that money putting a weapon of war on the side of the road to represent us? In the current climate it is at best insensitive, especially since many of the Chieftain and Centurion tanks made were shipped to Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries, and have likely been responsible for killing our own soldiers! The Wiki entry about these tanks lists the catalogue of problems there have been with them, including a 90% breakdown rate due to poor design. I will be contacting the council to complain and if I get no joy there I am planning on organising a petition to get rid of the ugly thing. Anyone out there feel the same?
quote:
Originally posted by melonstar
I for one am very unhappy about the siting of the tank one of one the busiest entrances to our little town. I was born and bred here and to my mind the rich manufacturing heritage we have here should be celebrated by either a truck or a bus. For the many years when I enjoyed Leyland Festival parades as a child my enduring memories are of dressed up trucks, NOT tanks. Why on earth did the council choose to spend all that money putting a weapon of war on the side of the road to represent us? In the current climate it is at best insensitive, especially since many of the Chieftain and Centurion tanks made were shipped to Iraq and other Middle Eastern countries, and have likely been responsible for killing our own soldiers! The Wiki entry about these tanks lists the catalogue of problems there have been with them, including a 90% breakdown rate due to poor design. I will be contacting the council to complain and if I get no joy there I am planning on organising a petition to get rid of the ugly thing. Anyone out there feel the same?
I think if Leyland festival involved a load of tanks rolling through the town there might have been road maintenance issues. I like the tank where it is. As for the assertion that they could have been responsible for killing our own soldiers, how do you see that possible with a "90% breakdown rate". Don't rely on Wikipedia - its the internet equivalent of "a bloke at the pub told me that...".
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Welcome to the forum Debbie. I doubt many will agree with you. The Centurion Tank is part of the recent history of Leyland and of course virtually impregnable to potential invaders. I suspect if a bus were to be installed there some bright spark would be camping in it or having rave sessions or smashing windows/slashing tyres. Money well spent as far as I'm concerned.
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Hello Debbie and welcome. I haven't yet seen the tank so can't comment on it's suitability. Let us know how you get on with your petition.
Martin ~
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I am sure that people have better things to do with their lives than organise petitions and complaining. The vehicle was donated by a local businessman, it costs nothing to have it sited there and it attracts a lot of good attention from people. If it wasn't for tanks etc. you might be speaking German in this country now instead of English!
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Its funny how those who take freedom for granted often despise the things that others had to do to get it for them.
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Such a poor design. Exported to 18 countries, almost 4500 built and a service life of 60 years. The Israelis still use them.
I don't see any reliability issues on the Wikipedia entry, where are they?
John
