WARAG 2025
The WARAG Show is an annual event held on farmland and has featured in MT&MV before and manages to surprise visitors with a range of unusual vehicles.
When we go away for a short holiday or just a weekend break we like to bring back a small memento of our trip. This may be a fridge magnet or a tee-shirt, but a whole GMC CCKW353 with a Le Roi compressor mounted on the rear and weighing around 12,500 lbs., that is something else. But that is exactly what historical military vehicle owner Edward Jones did when he returned from his trip to the Channel Island of Guernsey, where he had been visiting to take part in the island’s 80th Liberation Anniversary.
He bought it from the owner on Guernsey and arranged to return to the U.K. with it on the ferry to Poole in Dorset on Friday, May 23. On landing he drove the 65-mile route directly to Westonzoyland in Somerset, to be ready in time to take part in the 2025 WARAG Show over the weekend, making it his vehicle’s debut at a public display in the U.K. Jones explained the vehicle carries a Le Roi 6.5-ton compressor capable of producing 600 liters of compressed air a minute to power a chain saw or jackhammer. These were included with the vehicle, but sadly some couplings were missing so he could not demonstrate them in action.
This type was used around military bases and also by the Seabees John Norris
The WARAG Show is an annual event held on farmland and has featured in MT&MV before and manages to surprise visitors with a range of unusual vehicles, such as Jones’s truck. Another unusual, and very large, vehicle in this year’s line-up was an REO M52A dated from 1951 towing a 6-ton M348A2 Miller Trailer dated 1968 and converted to a caravan for the owner’s comfort at shows. At the other end of the scale were a Vauxhall 12hp 12-4 “Type I” and a Humber “Pullman”, both dated from the late 1930s and shown as a liaison and Staff Car, respectively. They also took part in the mobility display along with other vehicles, including Jones’s Guernsey GMC and an M1A1 Wrecker.
Supporting the vehicles were some re-enactors depicting a range of units including British, American and Japanese. Husband and wife, Chris and Vicki, are re-enactors but for the very first time they were presenting their latest creation, an Australian Army tented hospital as a tribute to the men who fought on Papua New Guinea. They had beds, complete with linen, a range of medical equipment and other items including boxes of stores, making it the largest single display on site. The owner of the land allows groups to dig trenches and soon weapon pits for machine guns and mortars began appearing on displays.
WARAG has been established for several years and features everything larger shows boast, yet it remains a relatively low key event. The fact that it is not near any large town does not detract and the proof of its reputation is that it attracts visitors and military enthusiasts from across a wide area. It has grown and developed in a short time and already people are wondering what will be on show next year. News of developments can be found on the website at: www.warag.co.uk.
Unfortunately, the correct type was missing and the tools could not be demonstrated. John Norris
be ready to take part in Operation Market Garden at Arnhem. John Norris
26,000 such vehicles to be press into military service in 1939 to make up for the shortfall of military vehicles. John Norris
on D-Day and the most easterly of the landing beaches. John Norris
Lacking an engine, it was towed into its display position by an M1A1 Wrecker, which coped with the task easily John Norris
provide the owner with comfort over the weekend during a show. John Norris
Built in large numbers in Canada and Britain, the vehicle continued in service after the war. John Norris