Two Lulworth Army veterans, along with three collegues, are undertaking a unique 1,600 mile journey across Northern Europe, following in the tank tracks of their former regiment to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day.
The five veterans of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars, which later became the Light Dragoons, will drive 1940s Jeeps from Sword Beach in Normandy, France, where their regiment landed on D Day in 1944, to Bremen in Germany, where they celebrated VE Day 11 months later in 1945.
Kev Delves and Roy Osmond, both of Lulworth, are ready for a 1,600 mile journey by World War Two Jeep across Europe
Unlike anything attempted before
They will lay wreaths and crosses at more than 40 cemeteries en route where more than 200 of the regiment are buried, and are raising funds for the regimental charity by auctioning off daily trips in the passenger seats of their Jeeps.
Kev Delves and Roy Osmond, both of Lulworth in Dorset, are the support and logistics team for the journey and will also act as back-up drivers for their colleagues.
The road trip to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE-Day is unlike anything which has ever been attempted before and will take them through northern France, Belgium and the Netherlands before finishing in Bremen, Germany.
Phase one of the run, starting on Sunday 18th May 2025 will cover a thousand miles in 12 days at maximum speeds of 35 miles an hour and take the Jeeps from Sword Beach to Arnhem in the Netherlands, the site of Operation Market Garden. A further eight days of travel will take place in early autumn 2025.
Dorset veterans Howard Witt, Nigel Martin, Robert Wiles, Kev Delves and Roy Osmond are to commemorate the 80th anniversary of VE Day
“We will follow in their tank tracks”
Kev Delves, who served a full 22 year career with The Light Dragoons, including tours in the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan, said:
“The 80th anniversary of D Day last year sparked the idea of doing a tour which followed our old regiment from the beaches of D Day all the way to the end of the war.
“The 13th/18th Regiment Royal Hussars was the first to land its swimming tanks, the Duplex Drive Sherman tanks, on Sword beach at D Day.
“We will follow in their tank tracks from the moment they landed on the beach in Normandy all the way through to Bremen, where they were at the end of the war.
“But it wasn’t just a case of landing on the beach and heading east, the tanks did a lot around the Caen area and we will follow their battle route before heading east.”
30 Cal Gal, a 1941 Willys Jeep, goes out for a test drive through Purbeck villages
Spare parts, tools and essentials
Kev added:
“The guys will do between 60 and 100 miles a day with passengers in the front seat of each and Roy and I are providing the support function to make sure there are no breakdowns.
“Obviously there are no showrooms along the route that we can just nip into for spares, so we have to make sure that we take everything we could possibly need with us.
“We have a list of spares, tools and all the essential equipment – if there’s a problem on the route we will take the vehicle away to safety, repair it and get back in the convoy as quickly as possible.
“I was in a regiment with 1960s vehicles similar to tanks, so I had to spend a lot of time repairing them and keeping them running.
“This is what our trial days are about, getting the jeeps on the road and getting a feel for what they should sound like, feel like and even smell like, so we can tell when something is not quite right.”
Roy Osmond, right, and Kev Delves, with the three Jeeps they will keep in perfect running order
“There are no modern comforts”
Roy Osmond, who has blacksmith, mechanic and welder skills as well as being a military vehicle enthusiast, said:
“We are splitting the journey up a bit as they are not the most comfortable vehicles to drive in.
“A hundred miles in a day is a lot to ask of both man and machine – comfort was never factored into the design of a World War Two vehicle and they certainly weren’t made for elderly men driving across Europe.
“There are no modern comforts and they take a special skill to drive – you need to think way ahead because the braking system is the old drum brakes and you have to brake well in advance of where you want to stop.”
The three historic Jeeps make a stop on Wareham Quay during a training run
“Three very good examples of Jeeps”
Roy added:
“But we have had a 100 mile trial run with them, and there’s another one coming up so if there are any teething problems we will find out about them.
“The key to repairing them is catching things early. Nigel Martin works at The Tank Museum as a volunteer, so he has lots of experience in this sort of thing and every time something breaks we get together and work out how to fix it.
“We have a comprehensive set of spares based on experience of what could go wrong, but they are three very good examples of Jeeps which were very well made and have been exceptionally well maintained – but like anything, they can go wrong.”
Ready and raring to go, the 1940s Jeeps which will travel 1,600 miles across northern Europe
Fore runners of the Land Rover
The Jeeps are part of a collection owned by Howard Witt, two of them made by American company Willys in 1941 and 1942, with the third a model made by Ford in 1943 when Willys was unable to produce the vehicles in the numbers which the Allies needed to retake Europe.
They were a utility vehicle, the first proper four wheel drive vehicle, with 600,000 of them made during World War Two and were used in all terrains, from the deserts of North Africa and the jungles of Burma to the frozen wastes of Norway.
They are still being used by some armies, and the general design was so versatile, hard wearing and simple to run that Ford used it to develop the Land Rover.
The Jeeps and the D Day to VE Day crew will be at The Tank Museum in Bovington, on Saturday 22nd March 2025 at an event to raise their profile before they head off to Brittany.
2nd Troop, B Squadron 13/18H pose with their new Sherman tanks whilst training in England for D Day
“Every single penny of profit to charity”
Team leader, retired Lieutenant Colonel Robert Wiles said
“I’m a 40 year veteran of the 13th/18th Royal Hussars regiment and its successor, the Light Dragoons and we will be retracing the route they took as they fought across north west Europe from D Day to VE Day.
“We want the public to join us in this unique and exciting historical experience, combining the thrill of travelling in a Jeep with history and remembrance, as we auction off the chance to become a front seat passenger in our three vehicles.
“Every single penny of profit goes to charity, the Light Dragoons Charitable Trust, which was set up to look after the veterans and families of my regiment.
“It’s a small cavalry regiment which spent nearly 20 years in continual operation through Iraq and Afghanistan and consequently we have veterans and families who are suffering from the effects of that combat, physical and mental.
“The national charities always get the dollar and the smaller regimental charities are often starved of that level of publicity, so we hope that this journey really captures the public imagination.”
Further information
- Find out more about the ultimate military tour at the D Day to VE Day website
- Bid for a passenger seat experience in one of the Jeeps at the online auction site
