Father and son embark on D-Day tribute trip
Anthony (left) and Matt Read said restoring Lizzie took years
- Published
A father and son are taking a renovated US army Jeep to France to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
Anthony and Matt Read, from West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, said they had spent years waiting for the historic transporter to be brought back to life.
Nicknamed Lizzie, the pair have joined hundreds of people driving vintage vehicles as part of commemorations of the Normandy landings.
They said the restoration project had been a labour of love.
The vehicle dates back to the 1940s
Anthony said he and his son first came across the Jeep when taking part in celebrations of the 75th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy.
"We very rapidly made the decision that we should buy what was a wreck and restore it," he said.
"We used to call it 'the hippie mobile', because it was imported from California, it was painted gold, it had oversized wheels, but by the time we got it, it was at best a rolling chassis."
The vehicle was taken to a specialist restorer in Kent, who worked on it for three years to bring it back up to scratch.
It took them six hours to drive it down to Portsmouth before taking the ferry over to France on Monday.
"There [were] about 150 other military vehicles with us on the overnight crossing, which was quite incredible to see," said Matt.
With no doors or seatbelts and a manually-operated windscreen wiper, Matt said the Jeep was a "utilitarian" ride, but an important way to remind people of the sacrifices soldiers made.
"Power steering and the heating would definitely be a luxury," he said.
"When you drive it around suburban Nottingham, it gets people talking, it gets people curious, and everyone wants to know exactly what it is.
"It's an iconic vehicle."
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Anthony (right) and Matt Read drove the Jeep from West Bridgford to Portsmouth before getting a ferry to France