The Club's fleet of Volkswagens includes many strange and unusual vehicles. One of our members from Northern Ireland, Owen Shields, has a most unusual set of wheels; he recently acquired one of three remaining "Kubelwagens" made for the movie, "A Bridge Too Far".
Owen lives in Derry (Londonderry for you
Anglophiles), where he spends his spare time restoring cars in a small garage
behind his house. Owen works miracles with welding, sanding and painting
equipment in spite of the limited space; he can even turn the car bodies over on
mattresses in his small work area to do restoration work on the bottom without
lying on his back.
Owen's personal fleet of VW's includes a white 1996 GTI convertible, a 1976 Beetle and a 1974 Beetle, all in very nice condition.
His
prized VW is a 1967 Kubelwagen specially manufactured for the movie. Owen's
Kubelwagen is not just a Thing painted to look like a Kubelwagen. It is a
vehicle that was crafted by the movie studio to resemble the real Kubelwagens
used by the German army during the war (That's the Second World War, for you of
the younger generations.).
The photos show that Owen will not have to restore his Kubelwagen. And you will note that Owen has the proper uniform to drive his Kubelwagen around the streets of Derry.
Halloween
is a big event in his area, and children of all ages dress up for the occasion.
Owen's first outing in his Kubelwagen was during the Halloween celebrations. An
elderly gentleman, a bit under the influence, saw Owen cruising the streets of
Derry; this gentleman thought that he was seeing a real German officer, and
attempted to take appropriate action. Fortunately his condition did not permit
him to be effective.
We are sure that Owen and his Kubelwagen will be a source of entertainment each time they cruise the city streets.
