Guernsey Press

Labour of love to get Dodge ambulance in the cavalcade

SUSIE FALLAIZE looks like she’s about to go to the front line and pick up the injured.

Published
Suzie Fallaize with the 1944 Dodge ambulance she and her husband bought 10 years ago and which will be in today’s cavalcade, although she will be riding a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. (Picture by Peter Frankland, 24612211)

But she’s putting the final touches to a 1944 military ambulance that’s taking part in the Liberation Day cavalcade today.

‘It’s a labour of love, my husband spends hours and hours on it, we’re going to give her a really good wash later and put on the bunting.’

‘Taking part in the procession is so much fun, it’s an unbelievable experience, it recreates what it must have been like for islanders on the original Liberation Day.

‘I always feel so elated and the interest in the vehicles makes us so proud.’

Mrs Fallaize, 45, and her husband bought their unconventional vehicle in Belgium 10 years ago.

‘This one is a Dodge ambulance, which would have been manned by two medical personnel and could carry six seated casualties or four stretchered patients.

‘We found the original markings of this vehicle and we think that she was part of the army that stormed across Europe after D-Day, liberating town after town under the command of General Patton.’

The military vehicle cavalcade leaves L’Ancresse at 2.15pm today, and travels along the coast and making its way into Town.

A static display of vehicles will be opposite the bus terminus next to the forces tea tent.

Mrs Fallaize and her husband will be riding vintage Harley-Davidsons and her sister, Jayne Shorto, will be in control of the ambulance.

‘The Harley-Davidsons were nicknamed The Liberators because motorcycle-mounted officers were usually the first soldiers to enter occupied territory, making them one of the Second World War’s most iconic and enduring images of freedom,’ she said.

‘They are part of our heritage and they still run perfectly. You get to learn a lot about history through vehicles.

‘If only they could tell their stories, they saw so much. I sometimes wonder about the stories they would tell if they could talk.’

The best Liberation Day pictures in tomorrow's Guernsey Press