Uhm, not so sure about that. I would love to have a pint of beer with him, but as a teacher? I remember him saying in one of his videos not to write an opinion, because nobody is interested in it. Not very pedagogic, I think.
@@ronaldderooij1774 context; that was his bottom 5 worst tanks presentation, and he was stamping out the Fanboy flame War before it started. Of all the presentations he's done, he's never said that or anyting particularly close to that in any of the other dozens or scores I've watched.
@Pixy Wine but still a nice statue of him would be great or maybe a bust with a plinth commemorating his time and effort to giving different generations knowledge, it doesn't have to be a statue of him just because he's dead, just give him one to immortalize him
Don't tell anyone but rumour is when he shuffles off, they are going to have him mounted in a class case next to the Covenanter with his tank chat, playing on a constant loop.
A truly good man that is more valuable than anything in the Tank Museum. When the day finally comes that he is no longer with us, a whole hall in the museum must be named in his honor (at minimum). Lets hope that is still many, many years from now.
I'm thinking of the comment "when I can't walk, they say they'll wheel me in." To damn right. I'm expecting them to wheel him in on a hospital bed if need be. The Tank Chats are the only thing keeping us tank fans going through Lockdown.
There is UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and David Fletcher belongs on that list. His expertise and desiccant wit are simply worth keeping.
It's hard to think of mr Fletcher being a young person once, or having a previous life. It always feels like he must have appeared, fully formed (with moustache), suddenly out of the hatch of a Cromwell in the Tank Museum and people just didn't know how to get rid of him.
Legend has it, that in the event of Mr Fletcher's life ending, the moustache comes off and stalks the halls of the museum, waiting for The One Who Is Worthy, to latch itself onto said person and thus creating the next David Fletcher to continue the legacy.
Not at all sure what Dr. Willey was talking about. I've seen every David Fletcher video and not once have I ever seen anybody slagging him in the comments.
David Fletcher is a national treasure. At this point, he's practically the jewel in the crown of the Tank Museum's collection. He should be preserved for future generations.
David encapsulates the best of the British character, understated knowledge, wicked wit and acerbic with a twinkle in his eye. The Tank Museum is the best museum I’ve ever visited and I can’t wait to go back!
I love the fact that the bad tanks are in with the good. A museum shouldn't just show highlights of technology. The real learning comes from the progression, trial and error of a process. David should be knighted.
Exactly a real understanding of any lineage has to include the projects that failed. There are many tanks that failed as a package but had features that carried on into generations, frankly that's how any successful tank came to be. And Fletcher is right to want to preserve that as much as the successful tanks. Sure, you don't have prioritize them but don't discard them like trash. Much can still be learned and gleaned from tanks like the Valiant, TOG or the Charioteer. If nothing else those have examples of what not to do.
@@adamg7984 Like with aircraft and the saying if it looks right then it flies right. You look at successful tanks and then the failures and wonder what were they thinking?
David Fletcher, the real treasure of the Bovington Tank Museum. Forget Tiger 131, keep this Chap running!!! Thanks a lot Mr Fletcher for your knowledge!
He should be preserved as an exhibit when he croaks. Prop him up in a corner next to Valiant so he can frown at it in disappointment for generations to come.
@@pepperthekobold Is that how much you think the workshop can do? It's going to be a big series, probably the 24 episodes of Matilda will be left behind, but they will restore him. They deal with old blocks every day they can, so fixing an old bloke isn't that far away. After all they even have Tom who is only second to David with his moustache.
Literally his first words of the actual interview "I was born in 1942, which was at least a million years ago now..." What a legend. Where is this mans Knighthood!?
I remember meeting David Fletcher back in 1989 when I was in REME, we had a day visit out to the Tank Museum as part of my training as a Gunfitter. The museum was closed and we had the whole place to ourselves and where able to look and climb on all the tanks. My 2 standout memories was climbing inside the KingTiger and one of the civilian instructors getting one of my mates too pull the lanyard on a 25 pounder artillery gun and the staff had put a blank shell in it. Poor lad nearly had a heart attack :}
"We ought to show awful alongside good" The true meaning of heaving a tank museum in just a few words. As a mechanical engineer, I couldn't agree more.
Agreed. Even the best designs tend to have flaws and the awful designs usually have good (or at least interesting) ideas behind them even if poorly implemented.
@@Akm72 We have a saying in engineering: nothing goes onto an assembly (machine) for no reason. It might not have been a *good* reason, or properly executed, but you need to figure that out as a big part of learning your trade.
It was a real honor for the staff of The Tank Museum to find David Fletcher and have him sign my honorary Patreon postcard. God bless you, David Fletcher sir. O7
Not mentioned, in this video is David's love of fine English ales. I remember a conversation with him where he said to me he was going on a canal trip with his sister's family taking in Burton on Trent, the centre of English beer brewing. He said, to the affect of, " they can chain me to the railings, leave me there, letting me inhale the eromas forever." Beer, transport and tanks the perfect ingredients for a full life. EDIT: "rails" changed to "railings"
@@LowieDM Yes, that was from a conversation I was having with David on the phone late, 1980s or somewhen in the 1990s. David has endured my woffle/waffle on quite a number of occasions, going back to January 1967 when, as described in this video, he was a visiting enthusiast at the Tank Museum Library together with his friend from the British Army. I was researching there too. I was invited to join them for lunch, hosted at either David's family home or it may have been his friend's home, that detail now, 54 years on escapes me. Happy days. I had been a regular visitor to The Museum since 1958 but Jan. '67 was the first time I used The Library facility and my first meeting with 'The Moustache, MBE'.
Nevermind walking past Madonna or Katy Perry on the street, but if I were ever to bump into David Fletcher or David Willey I would be absolutely star struck!
@@gastonbell108 you make it sound like thats a bad thing tho, having someone thats relatable is something that is always good for that type of thing as well
@@gastonbell108 yes, he has no cult for his person. Which is one of the characteristics of a perfect British gentleman, as he appears to me on the screen.
The man, the myth, the moustache thank you David for the tank chats I've been bingeing them and you always cut through the rose tinted glasses of British tanks and give the real Indepth overlook warts and all absolutely brilliant 👍
Looking to take a trip to the museum after Covid just to have Mr. Fletcher show and tell me about all the horrible tanks on display. Much thanks to him and The Tank Museum for fueling my love for tank history.
Absolute legend and national treasure that man! I really hope they wheel him in when he can’t walk because his videos are pure gold, entertaining and educational at the same time 👌🏻
This was such a heartwarming and enjoyable thing to watch. Thank you very much Mr. Fletcher. Cheers to another 50 years of Tank Chats with David Fletcher and David Willey of course :)
Attenborough isn’t a National treasure, he made a Netflix film about Walruses throwing themselves of a cliff because of a lack of ice but he failed to mention the marauding Polar Bears on the cliff top, the producer of the programme later apologised
@@lesterbeedell9725 True. And he filmed starving polar bears, blaming global heating. When knowing polar bears have no natural enemies and therefore die when to old and weak to hunt.
Mr. Fletcher is the kind of person you could sit on the front porch with for hours on in and never get tired of listening to his stories. Very kind soul indeed.
The dislikes are Aussie drivers who had their vehicle damaged by Mr. Fletchers Tram. Wonderful interview. Thank you both and continue to do what you enjoy. The bit about the "mean ol' [BEEP]" (11:49) caught me off guard, nearly choked on my coffee. Good stuff.
This interview is just such a nice surprise and pleasure to watch. Two older gentlemen talking. In front of a nice tank. There is so much Britishness oozing from this video I think I have a leak in front of my monitor....
the man everybody would have loved as their history teacher in school
Uhm, not so sure about that. I would love to have a pint of beer with him, but as a teacher? I remember him saying in one of his videos not to write an opinion, because nobody is interested in it. Not very pedagogic, I think.
This was the type of history that I wanted to learn about, WWI and WWII history, not about some fat t**t who couldn't keep it in his trousers
God yes
Aye, David & Lance (The History Guy) = dream team. 😻
@@ronaldderooij1774 context; that was his bottom 5 worst tanks presentation, and he was stamping out the Fanboy flame War before it started. Of all the presentations he's done, he's never said that or anyting particularly close to that in any of the other dozens or scores I've watched.
The Chieftain: inside the hatch
Tank museum: behind the moustache
There is a rumour it's getting it's own series
Ha!
Inside the Stache
His level of moustache-dom is so high, that he also his mini moustaches over his eyes. Awe inspiring!
I'd like to get inside Fletcher's hatch...
This man is an absolute treasure, his legacy needs to be preserved
UA-cam is hopefully the long term preservist(?) of his legacy along with the tank museums own archive of course
Put a statue of him outside the Tank Museum
@Pixy Wine but still a nice statue of him would be great or maybe a bust with a plinth commemorating his time and effort to giving different generations knowledge, it doesn't have to be a statue of him just because he's dead, just give him one to immortalize him
Don't tell anyone but rumour is when he shuffles off, they are going to have him mounted in a class case next to the Covenanter with his tank chat, playing on a constant loop.
@@Co_Vesta I'd say at least a framed photo and a plaque, paired with a multimedia terminal with all his video recordings (not just the YT stuff).
A truly good man that is more valuable than anything in the Tank Museum. When the day finally comes that he is no longer with us, a whole hall in the museum must be named in his honor (at minimum). Lets hope that is still many, many years from now.
Agreed
Well
As long as the tog ll isn’t included
He’s the most valuable
If it is included
Nobody is allowed to say anything
We don’t upset the tog ll
If anything the vcc should be named for him
It makes me shudder to think of.
His hearse must be a tank.
@@HandFromCoffin tog ll
Wonderful interview! Thanks for sharing more of David's life story. Chatting with David was certainly a highlight of our visit to the museum.
David, your moustache is out of shape today!
By the way i love the David s tank talks!
Its so weird to see you guys here! Lol
Just imagine enjoying a weekend stroll down a country path and you see David Fletcher coming from the opposite direction
Sir David it is.
Mr. Fletcher isn't just a British national treasure, he has to be declared as a UNESCO world heritage site. This man needs to be eternal.
I'm thinking of the comment "when I can't walk, they say they'll wheel me in." To damn right. I'm expecting them to wheel him in on a hospital bed if need be. The Tank Chats are the only thing keeping us tank fans going through Lockdown.
There is UNESCO List of Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity and David Fletcher belongs on that list. His expertise and desiccant wit are simply worth keeping.
And an absolute icon to any tank enthusiast.
Based
I refuse to believe that the mobile home Fletcher lived in wasn't the TOG 2*
@mandellorian Well, a mobile home is about as static as the TOG.
@mandellorian
Came here to make sure this had been said.
And no one should dare state that Fletcher didn't host any small ballroom dances in that same TOG 2.
@@ratleader90 When Fletcher says you can hold a dance in there, one must assume he's speaking with personal authority.
👍
It's hard to think of mr Fletcher being a young person once, or having a previous life. It always feels like he must have appeared, fully formed (with moustache), suddenly out of the hatch of a Cromwell in the Tank Museum and people just didn't know how to get rid of him.
Legend has it, that in the event of Mr Fletcher's life ending, the moustache comes off and stalks the halls of the museum, waiting for The One Who Is Worthy, to latch itself onto said person and thus creating the next David Fletcher to continue the legacy.
@@agp11001 if only it were possible......
LOL I agree.
The one dislike was from the Covenanter.
Looks like the Valiant showed up for a 2nd one.
@@VosperCDN Just can't get rid of the darn thing.
I suspect that it was both members of the Covenanter Appreciation Society.
@@VosperCDN The third one was from the Boys anti-tank rifle.
@@laszlokaestner5766 tbf to the Boys AT rifle, it was about as useless as all other AT rifles.
Anyone who would publicly bad mouth this man should be set adrift.
Just give them laser beams in their freakin buttholes for the treacherous talk
@go away Pogonophobes might :)
Not at all sure what Dr. Willey was talking about. I've seen every David Fletcher video and not once have I ever seen anybody slagging him in the comments.
@@harveywallbanger3123 got to second you on that one
@@harveywallbanger3123 there's several i've found on the Bottom 5 Tanks videos
Bilbo and Gandalf, such a heartwarming friendship..
Brilliant.
Was taken aback at how small Mr Fletcher is.
@@heinrichzerbe He could have been a tanker himself.
@@Briselance a tortise crewed by 7 davids
Meanwhile Willey's like "I hate being Bilbo! I wanted to be Aragorn!"
He's an absolute national treasure! Love the Tank Chats!
He's not just a national treasure, he's an international treasure! I'm greatly enjoying his content from over here in Sweden. :D
David Fletcher: gift shop manager, head librarian, night watchman, lives in a caravan out back.
For the night watchman job, he trained his mustache to yell "OI!".
The best bit was he could walk to work easier.
@@Rutherford_Inchworm_III moustache*
and curator on top of that :)
The indespensible man
"With tanks, you can do as you like."
Gold.
Exactly the reason that I model them!
@@patclaydon6088 Same, I would be a messy aircraft modeller!
Words cannot express how delightful I find this video. Dave's the most feisty and informative 79 year old man I know.
David Fletcher is a national treasure. At this point, he's practically the jewel in the crown of the Tank Museum's collection. He should be preserved for future generations.
National or International treasure?
At least he will be immortalised on the internet as well :) i hope to see him whilst i still can
Director: (concerned) "Can you just... push your eyebrows back?"
Fletcher: "I'm trying!"
Gotta flip the slat armor up for better visibility.
David's facial hair has long puzzled the Crown's best scientists, but they all insist it be kept at a reasonable length lest it achieve sentience.
Eyetaches
David Fletcher: Only man alive who has bad eyebrow days.
@@j.mcq.8418 Definitely not the only one, we all get exploding brows as we age. Best to learn to love them.
David encapsulates the best of the British character, understated knowledge, wicked wit and acerbic with a twinkle in his eye. The Tank Museum is the best museum I’ve ever visited and I can’t wait to go back!
David 'I don't mess about with the underlings' Fletcher!
Classic quote right there -
From "Bloke in the library" to moustached legend
I love the fact that the bad tanks are in with the good. A museum shouldn't just show highlights of technology. The real learning comes from the progression, trial and error of a process. David should be knighted.
Absolutely!
Exactly a real understanding of any lineage has to include the projects that failed. There are many tanks that failed as a package but had features that carried on into generations, frankly that's how any successful tank came to be. And Fletcher is right to want to preserve that as much as the successful tanks. Sure, you don't have prioritize them but don't discard them like trash. Much can still be learned and gleaned from tanks like the Valiant, TOG or the Charioteer. If nothing else those have examples of what not to do.
@@adamg7984 Like with aircraft and the saying if it looks right then it flies right. You look at successful tanks and then the failures and wonder what were they thinking?
He is a MBE
David Fletcher, the real treasure of the Bovington Tank Museum.
Forget Tiger 131, keep this Chap running!!!
Thanks a lot Mr Fletcher for your knowledge!
He should be preserved as an exhibit when he croaks. Prop him up in a corner next to Valiant so he can frown at it in disappointment for generations to come.
@@pepperthekobold Is that how much you think the workshop can do? It's going to be a big series, probably the 24 episodes of Matilda will be left behind, but they will restore him. They deal with old blocks every day they can, so fixing an old bloke isn't that far away. After all they even have Tom who is only second to David with his moustache.
Literally his first words of the actual interview "I was born in 1942, which was at least a million years ago now..." What a legend. Where is this mans Knighthood!?
I remember meeting David Fletcher back in 1989 when I was in REME, we had a day visit out to the Tank Museum as part of my training as a Gunfitter. The museum was closed and we had the whole place to ourselves and where able to look and climb on all the tanks. My 2 standout memories was climbing inside the KingTiger and one of the civilian instructors getting one of my mates too pull the lanyard on a 25 pounder artillery gun and the staff had put a blank shell in it. Poor lad nearly had a heart attack :}
"We ought to show awful alongside good" The true meaning of heaving a tank museum in just a few words. As a mechanical engineer, I couldn't agree more.
Agreed. Even the best designs tend to have flaws and the awful designs usually have good (or at least interesting) ideas behind them even if poorly implemented.
@@Akm72 We have a saying in engineering: nothing goes onto an assembly (machine) for no reason.
It might not have been a *good* reason, or properly executed, but you need to figure that out as a big part of learning your trade.
It was a real honor for the staff of The Tank Museum to find David Fletcher and have him sign my honorary Patreon postcard. God bless you, David Fletcher sir. O7
Makes note: “Don’t cross David Willey in the comments.” 😉
Brilliant interview. Thank you both for the fine work you do.
19:50 LOL
Right.. 2 rules to live by. 1 don't mess with people who handle your food. 2 DO NOT anger someone with access to a tiger 1.
The Mark 4 in the background goes so well with David Fletcher, he is the daddy of tank curators :)
“I was born in 1942 which was about a million years ago” 😭 Such a wholesome and funny chap
God bless this fine fellow
Two extraordinary gentlemen. My most heartfelt thank you for this interview.
King.
The moment I saw that moustache, I knew I was going to learn some great stuff.
Protect this man at all costs
"Cheaper than buying me a clock...." priceless.....
David Fletcher is a treasure
The Man, the myth, the Moustache! What a great insight into a truly fascinating man! Great interview Davids!
My Dad was based at Bovington with 14/20th Kings Hussars, and loved going to the museum on weekends loved it.
David Fletcher. The man, the myth, the legend.
the stache!
Mr. Fletcher, you are a treasure.
Not mentioned, in this video is David's love of fine English ales. I remember a conversation with him where he said to me he was going on a canal trip with his sister's family taking in Burton on Trent, the centre of English beer brewing. He said, to the affect of, " they can chain me to the railings, leave me there, letting me inhale the eromas forever." Beer, transport and tanks the perfect ingredients for a full life.
EDIT: "rails" changed to "railings"
Did you actually get to talk to him?! I'd honestly prefer david over any modern celebrity.
@@LowieDM Yes, that was from a conversation I was having with David on the phone late, 1980s or somewhen in the 1990s. David has endured my woffle/waffle on quite a number of occasions, going back to January 1967 when, as described in this video, he was a visiting enthusiast at the Tank Museum Library together with his friend from the British Army. I was researching there too. I was invited to join them for lunch, hosted at either David's family home or it may have been his friend's home, that detail now, 54 years on escapes me. Happy days. I had been a regular visitor to The Museum since 1958 but Jan. '67 was the first time I used The Library facility and my first meeting with 'The Moustache, MBE'.
Props to Mr. Fletcher. A stand up guy.
This gentleman is one for whom the words 'national treasure' apply.
This gentleman is one for whom the words 'national treasure' could have been mated for
Impossible not liking Mr Fletcher ! 👍😊 Greetings from Brazil🇧🇷 😊😊
To lose his father at such a young age and not become a big jerk, says a whole heaps about Mr.Fletcher's amazing character!
what a treasure. thanks for the chat
I think it is his ability to say what needs to be said and have done with it, that makes him so great at what he does.
Nevermind walking past Madonna or Katy Perry on the street, but if I were ever to bump into David Fletcher or David Willey I would be absolutely star struck!
when we do David Wiley will it be "The Man Behind The Beard"
No.
“The Man Who Cares for Finn.”
Finn's pet human
@@gastonbell108 you make it sound like thats a bad thing tho, having someone thats relatable is something that is always good for that type of thing as well
@@gastonbell108 yes, he has no cult for his person. Which is one of the characteristics of a perfect British gentleman, as he appears to me on the screen.
@@gastonbell108 YEah. But Finn does
Could listen to him all day
Should be named "British History Ambassador to the World".
David Fletcher mbe. A absolute legend!!!
OK TC....😺
My grandfather was due to be on one of the trains involved in that very crash. Had he not been late and missed it I may well have never been born...
So, better late than never.
Imagine breaking into the tank museum, and you encounter "Night Watchman David Fletcher" :O
I could just listen to him for hours and hours
My favourite Tank Chat by far
The legend, the myth.
David Fletcher truly is a national treasure.
The man, the myth, the moustache thank you David for the tank chats I've been bingeing them and you always cut through the rose tinted glasses of British tanks and give the real Indepth overlook warts and all absolutely brilliant 👍
With David Fletcher on our side, Britain will never be defeated. No foreign country can ever prevail against his moustache or eyebrows!
The armoured fighting vehicle world's David Attenborough speaks!
Spot on
There seems to be something about British gentlemen named David and being good at portraying the world.
Yes you have to keep making tank chats we love you David!
David Fletcher is the man you wanted as a grandpa! Listen to him speak about tanks and others stuff all day :D
I cannot like this video enough!
David Fletcher, a wonderful man, just love his tank chats
God Bless you David, thank you
Man I remember David Fletcher from the good old days, back when America had the Military Channel (Greatest Tank Battles) and History military channel.
Terrific!
Congratulations David on stumbling about until you fell into a job you absolutely loved. You are an inspiration to others.
fantastic..never stop David, i could watch you talk forever
Looking to take a trip to the museum after Covid just to have Mr. Fletcher show and tell me about all the horrible tanks on display. Much thanks to him and The Tank Museum for fueling my love for tank history.
Bless you David and thank you.
"Not me, I have always done things by my own!" This makes Mr. Fletcher even more sympathetic!
“... I don’t mess about with the underlings.” 😀😀👍👍. The man is a treasure for a history museum!
I've read his articles in military heritage magazines and watched his clips, David Fletcher MBE is wonderful.
What a guy.
His future wheelchair would naturally have to be a scaled down Bren gun carrier.
A tracked mobile buggy would be so much fun for our Dave, especially for his walks in the countryside!
Oh. My. God.
Brilliant
So, where's the fundraiser and how do I fill it?
Hell yes lmao
All we need now is David Fletcher interviewing David Willey. Love this duo of Davids. And someone get this man that clock.
Having spent my teenage years there, I can just imagine The Moustache barrelling around Melbourne in a bloody great tram, no wonder David loves Tanks!
Fantastic story teller, I am big fan of Mr Fletcher.
Absolute legend and national treasure that man! I really hope they wheel him in when he can’t walk because his videos are pure gold, entertaining and educational at the same time 👌🏻
I watch these videos and I inevitably end thinking that it was a cruel fate that I was not born British. God save the Queen.
This was such a heartwarming and enjoyable thing to watch. Thank you very much Mr. Fletcher. Cheers to another 50 years of Tank Chats with David Fletcher and David Willey of course :)
The legend himself.
The most wonderful man is a man who is himself, and that is you sir!
What a legend. It's a shame this doesn't have more views.
This man is up there with Sir David Attenborough as national treasures
Nope, mr Fletcher is so much better!
Attenborough, Blessed, Fletcher. Deserve a museum of their own.
I was thinking that too!
Attenborough isn’t a National treasure, he made a Netflix film about Walruses throwing themselves of a cliff because of a lack of ice but he failed to mention the marauding Polar Bears on the cliff top, the producer of the programme later apologised
@@lesterbeedell9725 True. And he filmed starving polar bears, blaming global heating. When knowing polar bears have no natural enemies and therefore die when to old and weak to hunt.
A jolly and informative teacher with quite in-depth tank knowledge. This man brings history alive.
Thank you so much Mr David Fletcher for everything you have done for the Museum and for the UA-cam channel.
Mr. Fletcher is the kind of person you could sit on the front porch with for hours on in and never get tired of listening to his stories. Very kind soul indeed.
Mr. Fletcher is a genuine treasure. I greatly enjoy his Tank Chats, he always puts that dry British wit to precision use. It's a treat to watch.
Amazing man, keep going sir.
Great to hear some details of this early time at the museum. A great asset to the museum and us all.
Classic case of the right person at the right time. And that passion and curiosity often trumps education and qualifications.
Absolute legend, have always had an interest in David's origin story, great to hear it from the man himself!
The dislikes are Aussie drivers who had their vehicle damaged by Mr. Fletchers Tram.
Wonderful interview. Thank you both and continue to do what you enjoy.
The bit about the "mean ol' [BEEP]" (11:49) caught me off guard, nearly choked on my coffee. Good stuff.
This interview is just such a nice surprise and pleasure to watch. Two older gentlemen talking. In front of a nice tank. There is so much Britishness oozing from this video I think I have a leak in front of my monitor....
I can't imagine the Tank Museum without David Fletcher.
Keep the episodes comming. Greetings from Sweden.
i am also sweden
David Willey and David Fletcher have brought a lot of joy to my life in the last 2 years. Thank you both so much.