A man who dug up a World War II vehicle that may have once carried Churchill, is hoping to have it up and running again by the 80th anniversary of when it was put there.
Daniel Abbott dug the Buffalo LVT4 out of the ground near Crowland in 2021, 74 years after it was put there as part of a temporary dam to stop flooding of the River Welland in 1947.
He’s been raising money to create a museum in the town and get the mechanisms working since.
Now he’s renewed his appeal to get it working for 2027 and 80 years after the floods.
Daniel is building the museum himself around his day job as a farmer and is looking to raise £20,000.
“I’m currently juggling work and every spare hour to build this museum,” he said. “Due to the running costs of everything we have decided to aim for the 80th anniversary of the 1947 floods to get this LVT4 historic vehicle back into running condition but to do this we need to raise funds and we need to locate someone who would be able to rewire the whole amphibious vehicle to be able to run it safely.
“There are also the fuel tanks to consider, fire extinguishers and floors and seats controls to be fitted yet.
“The museum will be called Crowland Heritage Agricultural Museum, this will be a step back in time from the 700s to present day where I aim to educate future generations of our past history.”
Research into the 79th armoured division landing craft has also continued with it being only two of the 450 used in Europe in World War II to be above ground in he UK.
Daniel even found an image of Winston Churchill crossing the Rhine on the same kind of craft that bears the number 30 the same as the Crowland craft.
Other images he has found have pictured a number 30 craft carrying Canadian troops through Holland.
“All I can ask is please keep supporting our project.
“You can donate what you would like, but a £75 plus donation would see your name go onto a track link, a permanent reminder to future generations who supported this World War II veteran vehicle.
“Thank you to all those who have donated.
“We wouldn’t have been able to get this far if we hadn’t had support from Crowland Cranes, Tears Recovery, North Level Drainage Board , David Brown Santasalo, Environment Agency.
Anyone wishing to donate can visit www.gofundme.com/f/crowland-buffalo-restoration-museum
