Betsy, Bastogne and chicken coops

Chris Cookson meets a World War Two enthusiast with a Dodge ambulance

David Parsons from Manchester has a passion for all things military, mainly World War Two, which started from a very young age. His father had served in the RAF and he had uncles who had also seen action, indeed one uncle was wounded at Sword beach on D-Day. All brought back war-time Nazi souvenirs which were handed down to David. He has added to his collection over the years, a collection which includes a Bell tent used in the TV series Band of Brothers.

From school he joined the army and spent 20 years in the Royal Engineers serving in Europe, Cyprus, Canada, Hong Kong and many other places.

So, with military history in his blood and his engineering background it was only a matter of time before he bought a military vehicle.

A Dodge WC54 was his first purchase in 2004; the ambulance had special meaning for him as it had associations with his father and he collected a huge array of authentic medical equipment to go with it.

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