Photo: Royal Logistics Corps Museum
This year the world marked the 80th anniversary of the Normandy landings, when some 130,000 Allied soldiers and their supporting equipment swept into continental Europe, at great cost, to liberate it from the Nazis.
The moment, widely considered the greatest seaborne invasion ever, has been celebrated in various ways in countries across the globe throughout the year. But the celebrations, it seems, are not over yet, as now the famous Goodwood Revival festival in the UK has also announced that it plans to pay homage to D-Day. And it will do so by bringing an army of very old military vehicles to the Goodwood Motor Circuit and the adjacent Lavant Infield.
The 2024 Goodwood Revival festival will take place over the weekend of September 6 and is set to feature the largest gathering of military vehicles ever. In short, over 100 machines used in the landings 80 years ago will be on track or parked for all to see.
The equipment list includes everything from land and air vehicles to boats and amphibious vehicles. As for land vehicles, we'll have stuff like Jeeps, halftracks, tanks (including the mighty Sherman), and motorcycles.
Among the more exotic vehicles on display at Goodwood are the MASB 27 anti-submarine speedboat, used for air and sea rescue during the invasion, the Valentine amphibious tank, the M36 Jackson tank destroyer and the M8 Greyhound armoured car.
On the aircraft side, there will also be exhibits such as the Supermarine Spitfire fighter, Hawker gliders and Douglas C-47 Skytrains. As far as we know, the planes will not be flying at the event, but will be glistening in the early autumn sunshine as part of the Freddie March Spirit of Aviation exhibition.
Photo: Royal Logistics Corps Museum
This exhibition is in effect a sort of Concours d'Elegance for aircraft produced before 1966, and promises to bring before the eyes of those who participate “some of the most elegant and rarely seen machines in the history of aviation.”
Making a special appearance will be the Rolls-Royce Wraith that British Field Marshal Bernard Law Montgomery, commander of the invasion ground forces, used as his official car. The car just completed a restoration process in May by the Royal Logistic Corps Museum and Richard Hammond's The Smallest Cog.
The Rolls was originally built in 1939 and history books recorded it as the first civilian vehicle to land on the beaches of Normandy. The Field Marshal continued to use it during the military operations that followed in France and Germany.
The restoration process included a complete removal of bare metal and a respray to replace similar work carried out in the 1970s. After completion, the car was displayed at the D-Day commemorations in France and is expected to join the Royal Logistic Corps Museum collection soon.
The British plan to show the restoration process on TV, as the work carried out will be shown as part of the Richard Hammond's Workshop programme on Discovery+.
All of the above vehicles are just the tip of the iceberg – we’re still waiting for the full list of military vehicles that will be on display at Goodwood this autumn.
Photo: Royal Logistics Corps Museum
The organisers of the Goodwood Revival are planning to stage a special parade of vehicles on the track. It is not just any parade, but one that is expected to follow the events that took place earlier in the year, during the main event at Goodwood.
This means that the parade will see the lighting of a beacon by the Duke of Richmond on St Roche's Hill. This is because the premises where the event is taking place played a part in the landings (and indeed the wider war), with various parts being used as advanced airfields or hospitals.
The parade will take place on the last day of the festival, Sunday, and will be part of the full racing programme. Speaking of the famous Goodwood races, this year they will all be run exclusively on sustainable fuels.
As usual, the field will be full of “hundreds of rare and priceless cars, driven by champions past and present, competing for the most coveted trophies in historic motorsport.” The list of famous pilots will be announced later.
The 2024 Goodwood Revival’s star driver is John Surtees, a driver of pretty much anything on wheels. And that means the drivers’ celebration will include both cars and bikes for the first time.
According to organizers, there are no more tickets available for the first two days of the event. Luckily for military vehicle enthusiasts, there are still a few left for Sunday. The price for a single admission ticket is £100 ($130), but there are countless other options on the table.