I am a retired US service member who spent some time in Europe in from the mid to late 90s. During that time, while stationed in Kaiserslautern, Germany I ran across a neglected Ex-MOD Stage 1 for sale. Being an avid 4wd enthusiast, I immediately bought the rugged old horned toad despite it being a less than ideal vehicle for flying the Autobahn or negotiating congested narrow village roads in Europe. I christened her Matilda, gave her the loving maintenance and attention she required, and faithfully drove her for three years. Unfortunately, at the end of my tour I was forced to part with her due to US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations that prevented me from shipping her stateside; I sold her and parted ways.
Flash forward fifteen years and westward 106 degrees of longitude--As my wife and I were travelling down a West Texas interstate we passed through one of several small farming towns typical to this part of the world. But I then untypically spotted a pleasantly familiar figure, a Series III parked on a tractor sales lot alongside of the interstate. When we got closer I couldn’t believe what I was seeing, it was my old Land Rover. I loudly remarked “That’s my Land Rover!” We pulled over to examine the vehicle closely and sure enough—the same dents, same paint, and same stickers I stuck on the rear windows!
How it got to Texas is another story, but needless to say I bought Matilda back a decade and a half later, and five thousand mile from where I left her. Oddly enough I had the original British number plates hanging in my garage all these years, so I put them back on to celebrate our reunion. That’s my story, with pictures to prove it. Thanks y’all for lending an ear.
