Tim Gosling tells the story of a rare World War One Riker truck being returned to Britain just before the freeze on international travel
Aphrase often coined about the restoration of military vehicles is that ‘the easiest part is buying it’. Well, that is generally true, but perhaps not for trucks of World War One.
Probably the hardest part is finding one which is restorable with the second hardest part being in convincing the current owner to part with it. The logistics of transporting a vehicle from overseas are not insurmountable but combining all of this with the outbreak of Covid-19 makes the task more problematical.
Approximately three hours south of Paris was quite an extensive scrap yard. The owner, fascinated by all things mechanical was not generally inclined to cut things up if they caught his eye and as a result, he amassed an enormous collection of all kinds of vehicles ranging from World War One to the modern-day as well as a variety of agricultural and industrial equipment.
