As we approach this year’s Remembrance Day parade, I’m proud to be taking part once again with my 1958 Austin Champ — a fine piece of British military history that means a great deal to me personally. This year, I’m especially honoured to be transporting the Mayor while leading the parade.
The Champ was built as the British replacement for the American Jeep after the war. Made to a very high standard and fitted with a Rolls Royce engine, it was an impressive but expensive vehicle, and eventually replaced by the simpler, more affordable Land Rover. The last Champs left military service in the late 1960s. My own Champ has very low mileage, suggesting it spent much of its life in storage. It’s now marked up as a Royal Military Police example — a fitting tribute to my own service.
I joined the Army Cadet Force in Sandwich in 1982 and went into the Regular Army in 1984. After training as a Junior Leader in Bovington and completing Royal Military Police training in Chichester, I served in Aldershot, Shornecliffe, and Berlin. During my time in Berlin, I worked on Checkpoints Alpha, Bravo, and the famous Charlie, patrolled the Wall, and carried out garrison police duties. I was still serving there when the Berlin Wall came down — an unforgettable moment in history.
After leaving the Army at the end of 1990, I joined Kent Police, serving my entire career in Swale, including many years in Faversham as the town beat officer, before retiring in 2017. Since 1991, I have continued to serve in the Kent Army Cadet Force, most of that time with Faversham Detachment.
My two military vehicles — the Austin Champ and an ex–Royal Artillery Land Rover 101 Forward Control — have become regular sights at local Faversham events over the years. I’m honoured to bring them both to this year’s Remembrance Day parade, leading with the Mayor on board, as a tribute to all those who served and continue to serve our country.
— Colin Port
