Vickers MG Collection & Research Association

Any questions? Let us know

We'll shortly be doing some more filming in the collection. If you have any questions you'd like us to answer about the Vickers, other small arms or even wider (within reason) military history subjects, then please let us know and we will tackle them as we can.

Drop us a note on Patreon or as a comment here.

7 months ago | [YT] | 10

Vickers MG Collection & Research Association

Announced 22 December 2024 – what would have been Alistair’s 50th birthday.
The Vickers MG Collection & Research Association is very pleased and honoured to announce that we have received the Alistair Taylor Archive to digitise and share. Ecky was a great friend to many in the Association and had shared much of his machine gun related material with us in the past.
His focus was the AB64 – the British soldier’s service record and pay book in the Second World War. He had accumulated over 2,200 of them in his many years of collecting, representing nearly 1% of the entire British Army of the Second World War. This is an unparalleled set of documents and enriched further by the extra documents, items and even medals that support them. It was not just the AB64 though, and he included the AB439 (the officer’s equivalent), the Soldier’s Small Book from the First World War and before and even the logbooks of pilots and aircrew.
As well as these, he collected the manuals and documentation that tell us how the navies, armies and air forces operated around the world.
It will take many years to fully catalogue, scan, describe and share this information but all involved, including Ecky’s family, want to ensure that his ambition to share and make this information more widely available is built into a legacy that survives beyond us all. That matches Rich’s intention when he formed the Association in 2011 and we continue to work towards that aspiration. It aligns with our charitable object to advance the education of the public in the subject of military history and firearms, in particular (but not exclusively) in relation to the Vickers machine gun.
The documents and papers will be hosted on the Association’s Patreon site and catalogued through the National Archives’ Discovery Catalogue. A subscription is from as little as £3 per month. This is all reinvested into the Association’s charitable activities, including the appropriate archiving and storage materials that will ensure the documents are secured for years to come.
Note: Alistair also collected uniforms and equipment and these are being managed outside of scope of the Association’s involvement.
The Alistair Taylor Collection on Patreon: www.patreon.com/collection/1199711/
The Alistair ‘Ecky’ Taylor Legacy on The National Archives: discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk/details/r/83e437…
Far from complete, we have started the catalogue with a selection of photographs, AB64s and manuals. This is just the tip of the iceberg!

8 months ago | [YT] | 10

Vickers MG Collection & Research Association

After many months of preparation, administration and communication we have finally received the confirmation that our application to become a Registered Charity has been approved.
Although we have always been a not-for-profit organisation, charitable status means that it is legally recognised what we do is for public benefit. This confirms that all of the money we raise or generate is put to the recognised charitable good cause that is:
To advance the education of the public in the subject of military history and firearms, in particular (but not exclusively) in relation to the Vickers machine gun.
You will hear more and more about this new status over the coming weeks and we hope it gives people more confidence to support us and what we do.

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10 months ago | [YT] | 34

Vickers MG Collection & Research Association

We have developed some specific #DDAY content looking at the role the #VickersMG played. It was possibly the oldest small arm in official service that landed on 6 June and was in every British and Canadian Division - armoured and infantry, plus some French and US use!

For more Vickers MG information on Operation OVERLORD, check out our video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fsJsp...

1 year ago | [YT] | 26

Vickers MG Collection & Research Association

The new Chief Operations Officer in action! Find out more about changes to the #VickersMG Collection & Research Association in the newsletter coming out in the next few days.

1 year ago | [YT] | 27

Vickers MG Collection & Research Association

Two very special announcements today!
#OnThisDay 1968 - the Mark 1 Vickers MG was declared obsolete AND it's #WorldBookDay.
To combine the two, we're offering 19.68% off any of our in-stock books bought until Sunday. Head to vickersmg.blog/product-category/books/ and order with the code WBD at checkout.

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1 year ago | [YT] | 29