What a year 2016 has been for us! We have visited some great shows and our own 10th anniversary event was the highlight of my year. Our show team worked hard, even when we faced CAA rule changes and sometimes difficulties with the authorities. I would like to express my gratitude to all those who went, helped out and in the case of family members put up with all the stress! I would also like to express my thanks to all who have supported the Charity in the many and varied ways over the last year and a special mention to those who work in the background doing a lot of the show support and charity work making sure we keep up to date and compliant with the latest charity requirements. Also I would like to give a special welcome to the new show committee members and of course to Alan Zeller who joins the charity Trustees.

I have attended several events for the Army reserves this year, and it is gratifying to know how welcome we have been made by them. This included being presented with a plaque by the 7th rifles in recognition of our commitment to them.

If you are a current member, and haven't already renewed your membership, please take a moment to do so by visiting our renewal page

This year has to have been one of the most memorable show seasons so far and members have already attended a number of events, from small, local village fetes to some of the largest military shows in the UK. When attending these events as exhibitors, our members often receive requests for risk assessments when booking into events, to assist them we have created a generic risk assessment and Health and Safety Statement for our members, which is available, free of charge, for their use.

On a similar vein, it's worth checking that your public liability insurance covers displays or accidents arising from them (as many do not), so, whilst your vehicle may be covered, an incident arising, (for example), from someone tripping over part of your display and injuring themselves may not be. The Essex HMVA has secured cover for this type of incident, and more details can be provided to members on request. Not all vehicle groups do this. We can, if needed send you a card to prove that you have insurance cover, if you need this, please get in contact .

We are registered with the United Kingdom Airsoft Retailers Association (UKARA) which means that the Essex HMVA can now approve members who wish to obtain realistic looking Airsoft guns for re-enactment and living history display purposes.


Military and Flying Machines Show 2017

By now, you will hopefully have seen that we are moving the show to a new venue for 2017. I'd like to take a moment to say thanks for all the messages of support we have received, it's greatly appreciated. As I reflect on the year, I know that change isn't always the easiest for people to accept, but for some of us who run the event it's something that we've grown accustomed to - the show has been running long before the Essex HMVA existed and indeed dates back to a time where it was run by us as the Essex Area of the Military Vehicle Trust. One of our first events was in the early 90's; near our meeting venue in Woodham Ferrers, where we had more road cones than members of the public! We moved on to Tilbury Fort and ran events there for many years with some fun times, including one vehicle owner going shopping to the local Asda in an Abbot!, (incidentally, that owner still supports us in our events now) 10 years ago we moved once again to Damyns Hall with the Essex HMVA taking over the running of the event three years ago. Our ethos has not changed over time of putting on the shows, it's still the wish to provide a platform to promote our hobby and interests to the public as well as to provide them with a great day out with a show run by enthusiasts for enthusiasts. We remember all those people who have helped us from the beginning, especially those who are no longer with us (including Nigel Thomas, who is often still spoken about and is sorely missed even after nearly 20 years, he passed away at too young an age). None of this would have been worth doing without the support of you the vehicle owners, re-actors, visitors and volunteers.

2017's event has really taken some organising, as we have almost had to start again from a blank sheet. This has given us the opportunity to look again at what works well and also to think of new attractions. Our website team is busy putting the finishing touches to our updated website which will be available by the end of 2016. The show line has been very busy with enquires and I appreciate your patience in the delay getting our forms ready. As ever, I ask you as members to support this event as much as you can, to get the word out and invite your fellow military vehicle owners to come along - Let's make this 2017 event the best yet!

For more Military and Flying Machines info go to our web sites, join us on Twitter or go to our Facebook page.


FILM WORK

A general note to vehicle owners, I often get requests for vehicles to take part in film work. When I am asked if we, can supply vehicles it's usually at short notice. So if I do approach you with regards to film work I would really appreciate a speedy answer in order that we can either supply a vehicle or I can ask someone else. Doing film work can be a great experience and you never know who you are going to meet!

(This also goes for other requests we often get for vehicles for weddings, school leaving days, 40's parties and even funerals.)

To those people who request a vehicle for these types of activity, can I ask you to bear with us and we will do our best to fulfil your request if we can. However, please take into account this is our hobby and the vehicles are the owners pride and joy, valuable, not cheap to run and if you want something like a tank it's expensive!


BARN

Currently the Barn is full, however there may be some movement in the near future, so if you have an interest in storing your vehicle there, please let us know.

EVENTS

We have had several new events added to the events list so I recommend you go to www.essexhmva.co.uk, where you can see the latest info on up and coming events

Likewise, if you are an event organiser, please use our contact us form to enter your event details so we can add it to our web site in order that our members can see it.

ONLINE SHOP

Don't forget, you can still purchase our first Calendar - I'd encourage all members to get a copy, as there are some great pictures of our hobby in there and I'm hoping this will become an annual item.
You can access the online shop by clicking here.

Finally, I'd like to take this opportunity to wish you all a very merry Christmas and New Year and I hope to see you all at the many events to look forwards to in 2017.

Colin Tebb

Essex HMVA Chairman