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| Colin Stevens's 1944 Willys MB towing Ian Newby's 1942 6 Pounder anti-tank gun at Fort Rodd Hill, May 2001. Andy Hill as front passenger, Harry Moon rear passenger. |
| Link to page about airborne re-enactors in Canada, USA and UK: http://bcoy1cpb.pacdat.net/living.htm |
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CONTACT ME: cmstevens@telus.net
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| Colin Stevens 1944 Willys MB in Maple Ridge British Columbia parade. A Canadian veteran is in the passenger seat, and Colin's son Neil is in the backseat. 1999.The jeep is painted in British Mickey Mouse Ear camouflage, but no markings have been applied yet. Camouflage net in front of windshield, and old Canadian Red Ensign flag. | Colin Stevens' 1944 Willys MB with markings for 1 Can Para Bn (missing only the divisional "Pegasus" sign that was obtained later at a Canadian Airborne Reunion. |
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| Colin Stevens in 1 Can Para Bn kit at Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site in May 1999. He is in front of an operational British twin-six-pounder coastal defense gun which was used by Canada, then given to Norway in the 1950s and recently returned to Canada for preservation. Also shown are Colin's BSA bicycle, Lee Enfield and a friend's Bren gun Mk. IM. 1999 May | Don Thomas on left as a Lance Corporal medical orderly, and Colin Stevens as a rifleman. From left to right: Colin's original 1942 BSA folding airborne bicycle (2nd model); Canadian Longbranch made Lee Enfield No. 4 Mk. I* .303" rifle; Don Thomas (wearing a veteran friend's original Denison smock); Colin Stevens (wearing an original 1942 dated Denison smock with elastic cuffs. 1999 May |
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| Don Thomas as a "medical orderly" at Fort Rodd Hill. 1999 May. | Colin Stevens - "rifleman" at Fort Rodd Hill. 1999 May |
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| Colin Stevens and Don Thomas at Fort Rodd Hill 1999 May | Our "fashion show" for the public. There were about 20 re-enactors there, ranging from 1800s to 1945. Here are three people depicting 1 Can Para Bn. Yes there were public, they are behind the camera! Behind the stage is one of he gun positions. Fort Rodd Hill 1999 May |
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| Colin Stevens with his 1942 BSA folding airborne bicycle in front of his /|\ 1944 marked British mountain troop section bell tent. Fort Rodd Hill 1999 May | Right shoulder of the original Denison smock worn by a member of 1 Can Para Bn. during W.W.II, and now worn by Don Thomas. The red markings were put on during the war for identification on the drop zone. Fort Rodd Hill 1999 May |
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| Don Gordon with his immaculately restored Canadian built Chevrolet C15A CMP Cab 13. It was originally a radio van, and has been restored with a General Service box. It is the markings of the Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders of Canada (2 Cdn Inf. Div). Don's father served in that unit and he is wearing the QOCH of C uniform. Fort Rodd Hill 1999 May | Don Gordon's 1942 Ford GPW, Bren Gun on anti-aircraft tripod and some original W.W. II Canadian Army bell tents at Fort Rodd Hill 1999 May |
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| Don Gordon driving his beautifully restored 1942 Ford GPW (ex-Brian Wood, ex-Ashton Garrison Museum) jeep at Fort Rodd Hill 1999 May. This jeep is now owned by Brad Mills in Nova Scotia and is painted in 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion markings. | Young fellow dressed by Naden Museum as a Royal Canadian Navy sailor of the 1930s with a Lee Enfield No. I Mk. III*. He is standing on a gun position at Fort Rodd Hill and the Canadian (ex-British) naval base of Esquimalt is in the background. Fort Rodd Hill 1999 May |
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D-Day Display at the 1999 APR 17-18 British Columbia Historical Arms Collectors' (HACS) 2-day gun show in Coquitlam. It shows Colin Stevens' very original 1942 BSA airborne bicycle (now owned by Steve MacKenzie) equipped with Everest Carrier (on handlebars) and a 1944 /|\ Bergen rucksack on top of that. The mannequin is dressed as a member of No. 4 Commando with Pattern 1937 webbing, No. 4 Mk. I* Lee Enfield rifle and a 1944 inflatable lifebelt. The Commando Brigade was tasked with relieving the British 6th Airborne Division (of which 1 Can Para Bn. was a part). Notice the politically correct (for the time) photo of British Prime Minister Winston Churchill holding a 1928 Thompson Machine Carbine (British term for a submachine-gun). Colin's father. Lieut. A.H. Stevens, was attached to No. 4 Commando from the Essex Scottish in the summer of 1943 and was later wounded in a small reconnaissance raid near St. Pierre Eglise on the Cherbourg Peninsula. |
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Colin Stevens with his 1942 BSA airborne bicycle and 1944 /|\ British mountain troop section bell tent. The tent reverses to white for winter use. Fort Rodd Hill, 1999 May. |
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Barry Alexander and Colin Stevens at air show for RCAF's 75th Anniversary at CFB Comox, British Columbia, Canada in the summer of 1999. The C-47 Dakota in D-Day invasion markings is at Comox Air Force Museum. Ford GPW is owned by Ian Newby and the BSA airborne bicycle is owned by Colin Stevens. Colin is 'folding' the bicycle and Barry is "priming" No. 36M Mk. I hand grenades. |
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Colin Stevens with his 1944 Willys MB at the Beatty Street Drill Hall in Vancouver, BC 1999 Nov. Click on image to enlarge. |
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Mission BC Parade 2000. Left to right. Colin Stevens, Nick Harrison, Rebecca Harrison (Nick's wife) as a CWAC, and Mr. Harrison who served in HQ Company, 1 Cdn Para Bn. during WWII. The jeep behind them is Nick's 1942 Willys MB made for the Canadian Army and restored by his father in Prince George, BC! Nick's jump boots are red and were treated by his father the same way he did them for other members of 1 Cdn Para Bn. in WWII! |
FORT RODD HILL MILITARY ENCAMPMENT 2002 MAY |
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Part of the WWII encampment. |
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1941 C8 restored by Don Gordon of Victoria. |
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Michael DesMazes sewing parachute badge (wings) onto a Denison smock. Note the BSA airborne bicycles and 1944 British camouflaged tent. |
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Michael DesMazes posing with deactivated Sten Mark V (1944) and 1944 British camouflage bell tent. |
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Michael DesMazes driving Colin Stevens' 1944 Willys MB jeep with WWII fort in background. |
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Mark Ivins (left) and Bill Mulder (right) checking out a Vickers machinegun. |
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Erin, one of the park staff, driving one of the 1942 Willys MB jeeps owned by the park. |
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Five living history buffs in airborne uniforms around WWII veteran of 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion in Colin Stevens' 1944 Willys MB jeep. |
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WWII veteran of 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion in Colin Stevens' 1944 Willys MB jeep. |
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The pennant winners for 2002 - the World War II contingent. |
