Configured to handle up to an eight-person crew, with turret and rifle ports, Armet's Gurkha is robust in all senses of the word: armoured, powerful, and easily maintained.
It's the latter that gets little attention, but is the reason Armet chose to build the Gurkha on a Ford F-550 platform, with parts easily sourced around the globe.
Armet claims a top speed of over 150 km/h, which for the sake of God, country and my license, I didn't attempt.
Designed by pioneering Googie architects Lundberg,
Armet & Davis, the 1959 residence marries newfangled technologies and updated kitchens and bathrooms with classic midcentury finishes and features like floor-to-ceiling windows and glass sliders, a mix of terrazzo and wengewood floors, and a sensually curved walnut wet bar.
Tod Booth, of Armet, a re-enactment group formed especially for the event, has been heavily involved in the preparations, describing them as "a labour of love".
On the day, Armet will be joined by members of other re-enactment groups such as the Border Clansmen, the Company of St Margaret and Northern Alliance.
With its head office in King City, Ontario
Armet Armored Vehicles Group has existed for the past 26 years providing armor for vehicles for militaries, governments and heads of state.
Plans to mark the anniversary next year of the Battle of Flodden have seen history enthusiasts from across the country come together to set up the Armet group, which will re-create scenes from the early 16th century.
The Armet event will be run on Sunday, September 2, alongside the annual Etal Horticultural Show.
* Stephen
Armet is a professor and researcher of Intercultural Studies with the Universidad Evangelica de las Americas (UNELA) in Bogota, Colombia.
