The genesis of the club was in the late sixties just as second world war relics and vehicles were becoming to be appreciated as historical artefacts instead of worn out rubbish and scrap metal …

In 1968 Military Vehicle Conservation Group was founded by a group of WW2 military vehicle enthusiasts based in Worthing. Also  in 1968 a local group based in Portsmouth was formed. This ‘Solent Area’ group was chaired by Chris Pearce and included a number of members still active in the military vehicle field, including among them Don Harris.

This group undertook the organisation and running of a military vehicle show to commemorate the Normandy landings, the first show being held at Fort Widley, near Portsmouth in 1974, 30 years after D Day.

The membership of the Solent Area steadily grew and regular monthly meeting were established. The club continued to organise their annual D Day military vehicle event at venues including  Fort Widley, Blackbushe, Thruxton and Popham. However it was those shows held on Southsea Common that established the popularity of the event.

In the later years many will remember the notorious ‘Mudmead’ show held in Denmead, (NOT the current show site!), this being as a result of a tropical rainstorm that engulfed the South Coast over the show weekend and the subsequent discovery of a high water table on the show site!

The annual show continued to gain in popularity, attracting international exhibitors and members of the public from Europe. The Overlord Show, as the event became to be named, established itself as one of the premier shows for military vehicle enthusiasts worldwide. As the show gained in popularity, so the show site grew to accommodate an increasing number of military vehicles, traders and participating public.

The public’s interest in and private ownership of in military vehicles continued to increase as did the countrywide membership of the MVCG and in 1987 the group became the Military Vehicle Trust (MVT). The Solent Area of the MVT continued to flourish and maintained the responsibility the organisation of the Overlord Show.

To secure the future and success of further shows, a new independent club was formed in 2004 and titled Solent Overlord Executive Military Vehicle Club (SOE) The name was changed in 2008 to Solent Overlord Executive Military Collectors Club to reflect reflecting the club members’  wide interests  in military vehicles,  military history, weapons and equipment and the ever increasing popularity of living history re-enactment.

The club continues to grow, attracting members interested in all aspects of the military. There is a strong social network and the level of club activity can be judged by checking out the forthcoming events

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