Home | Business News | Browse by Publication | C | Citizens Centre Report Magazine

Tanks for the memories: An Albertan pays homage to the past with his unique collection of military hardware.

Article Excerpt
BY ELI BYFIELD

AT THE END OF A WINDING DIRT ROAD ACROSS THE CLEARWATER RIVER, some 16 kilometres east of Fort McMurray, Alta., lives a man named Jack Cross. A member of an established family, his parents owned the old theatre and taxi service in town six decades ago. Mr. Cross, who also lives part of the year in Salmon Arm, B.C., founded Cross Contracting, a heavy-machinery contractor, in 1965. Robust at 60, he keeps busy by assisting community projects and managing his company, which does work at the Syncrude oilsands project. Mr. Cross is also a member of what must be one of Canada's oddest group of collectors. He owns two relatively modern 62-ton British battle tanks.

The older of the pair, which Mr. Cross has dubbed "Alberta Crude," is a fully operational Chieftain Mark 10, decked out in Rhine Valley camouflage. He keeps it at his country home. "Melissa," the newer model, is a partially operational Chieftain Mark 11, replete with Desert Sand camouflage. It is stationed outside his office in Fort McMurray. Although both tanks are in running order, they have had their attached guns removed and their main guns deactivated by way of large metal plugs welded into their barrels.

An avid collector of firearms, Mr. Cross began his collection of larger militaria in the mid-1990s with his purchase of an armored personnel carrier (APC). He now owns three. The APCs, also known as Trojans or FV (Fighting Vehicle) 432s, are heavily armoured, tracked vehicles used to transport troops.

In 1996, Mr. Cross' friend, Torchy Peden, returned from a visit to England with a photograph of himself in front of a tank. Never one to be outdone, Mr. Cross ordered his own personal Chieftain from a British artillery dealer. It took three years to close the deal, but in 1999 Mr. Cross had "Alberta Crude" shipped from Liverpool to Halifax and transported to Edmonton by rail. It was then trucked up to Fort McMurray. During the 1990s, tank purchases were usually conducted privately, as most governments had stopped selling them. Mr. Cross will not disclose what he paid, saying only "it cost as much to transport as it did to buy." However, he points out that, considering a Chieftain would cost $5 million to build now, it was "surprisingly cheap."

Its bargain price might have been connected to the fact that the vehicle would not start when Mr. Cross received it. So, with the help of Fort McMurray Councillor Tom Weber, a long-time friend and neighbour, the contractor...

View this article FREE - Now for a Limited Time, try Goliath Business News
Free for 3 Days!