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The
winners of the 1942 Ford Jeep and the runners up prizes were announced
on Sunday afternoon at the show. Please see below for the winners..
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| The jeep raffle (click picture to englarge). |
Winston Churchill picks a winning ticket. |
Winners of the Jeep Raffle 2002:
The lucky winner of the 1942 Ford Jeep is Ticket Number 08712 N.Edmonds
Runners Up:
2nd Prize - Balloon Flight
Winner: Ticket Number 17981 Sam
3rd Prize - 1/2 day out tank driving
Winner: Ticket Number 20750 CLAIMED
4th Prize - Large set of Lego
Winner: Ticket Number 09272 P. Norman
5th Prize - Book
Winner: Ticket Number 20260 CLAIMED
About the Jeep
After
the massive success of last year's raffle, we had another raffle this
year with the ultimate prize for any military vehicle enthusiast, or
anyone who fancies a talking point in their driveway..
It
has been called UGLY, it has hand operated windscreen wipers, no heater,
came only in drab green, was the cause of a recognised medical condition,
starred in just about every movie that was made about World War 2 and
even had a song written about it. It was much imitated yet never bettered
and in its short life became a living legend…
What
is it, you ask? ... the answer is simple, it is the JEEP
The
ubiquitous Jeep was an instant success, the scepticism surrounding it
soon turned to unanimous praise as the Jeep won the hearts of the every
day soldier. It fought in every theatre of war in every role imaginable.
It was dropped from aeroplanes, converted to an ambulance, was able to
swim rivers and was required to operate faultlessly in some of the hostile
places on earth.
Once its war service was over man found new roles for his friend converting
it into the first go anywhere cars, used as amusement rides as well finding
a new ally in the farmer. Yet strange to relate the Jeep was only ever
built for five short years.
Its utilitarian design was in direct response to a set of strict criteria
that was laid down by the American government. In a pre-war America the
very nature of its design would have seen the Jeep condemned to the scrap
heap long before it ever got off the drawing board.
Even the exact meaning of the word "Jeep" is shrouded in mystery.
Officially its rather unglamorous title is TRUCK ¼ TON 4 x - no
mention of Jeep here, so it must have come from elsewhere, but where?.
Speak to any enthusiast and you will get any number of theories as to
how the name Jeep was conceived, some say it stands for Just Enough Essential
Parts, others will tell you that it is a derivative of GP appertaining
to its "General Purpose" role or that it came from a 1942 American
cartoon. How or why its name came into being seems irrelevant because
over ½ million Jeeps were produced by "WILLYS OVERLAND"
and FORD between 1940 to 1945 and as the first one was driven off the
production line its place in history had already been assured, a living
legend in its own time and unlike the movie stars of old, I doubt, if
the sun will ever set upon this star!
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