The wheeler-dealer who 'taught tanks' to Tom Hanks and Brad Pitt: Wartime memorabilia fanatic is star of new series dubbed 'Antiques Roadshow plus guns'

• Bruce Crompton has always been fascinated by wartime memorabillia
  
• He now makes a living from his passion, supplying tanks to film sets
• Films that have featured his tanks include Saving Private Ryan and Fury

By Jenny Johnston for the Daily Mail

Published: 10:55 EDT, 29 April 2014 | Updated: 14:46 EDT, 29 April 2014

Think Del Boy crossed with Bruce Willis, with just a hint of Dale Winton in the mix (if you can), and you've got Bruce Crompton.

As real-life wheelers and dealers go, they don't really come bigger than this, certainly not if we're talking actual wheel size - because Bruce buys and sells military merchandise, big tanks mostly.

And his tanks are stars. You've probably seen some of them in war films such as Saving Private Ryan.

Bruce Crompton (centre) is described as the Del Boy of military vehicles

Brad Pitt on location in Oxfordshire filming WWII movie 'Fury', pictured with one of Bruce Crompton's tanks

Brad Pitt getting to grips with his tank, on location filming Fury, set during World War II

'All those big important scenes when they blow up the tanks in Private Ryan - those were my babies,' he says proudly.

Was he on site? Of course he was. 'I make a point of being there for something like that. These are historic vehicles, worth tens of thousands of pounds. I'm there to make sure that when a director says, "Blow it up!" no one takes him too literally.'

He has 'taught tanks' - if you can do such a thing - to the best in the business. 'Tom Hanks (who starred in Saving Private Ryan) was surprisingly knowledgeable. He's quite a buff himself, and a real gentleman, with a passion for history.

'And Brad Pitt (who's recently been filming Second World War blockbuster Fury) knows his motorbikes. He's got a real collection. Whenever I'm on set with people like that they're always interested in hearing what I have to say.'

Bruce is coming out of the shadows for his own starring role in a new series called Combat Dealers

Tom Hanks and his troops taking on one of Bruce's tanks in Saving Private Ryan

Bruce, originally from London but now based in Suffolk, is coming out of the film world shadows for his own starring role soon - at the helm of a new series called Combat Dealers, tracking his journey across the world hunting for rare and eye-wateringly valuable military memorabilia.

It's a kind of Antiques Roadshow with guns, which might sound like a curious idea for a TV series but as it happens is quite a riot - mostly thanks to Bruce's penchant for pink trousers teamed with tan leather jackets.

It's not too macho either. Yes there's quite a bit of footage of weapons experts trying not to blow their own feet off, and a man who thinks he's Steve McQueen trying, and failing, to get to grips with a wartime Harley-Davidson. But since he ends up wrapping it around a tree, it doesn't take itself too seriously.

Bruce is a former paratrooper himself but his passion for all things military started at a young age. 'I had an Action Man with a tommy gun at the age of seven, and there was no turning back.'

By 11 he had his first bona fide piece of history in his hands in the form of a German helmet. 'I walked past a house on the way to school every day and noticed that there were daffodils planted in this upturned helmet. I was obsessed by it.

Bruce has been collecting war memorabilia since the age of 11

'On the last day of primary school I plucked up the courage to ask the owner if I could buy it off him. He tipped the daffodils out and said, "Have it". I've never forgotten that feeling. Once I'd got a German helmet, I wanted a British one. Then I started picking up gas masks, berets… that's how it started.'

It wasn't designed as a business venture, but when he came into a job lot of gas masks and sold a few on he began to realise he could make a living from doing what he loves. Now he employs a team of experts, and together they scour the world for increasingly rare examples of wartime memorabilia.

'There's still an awful lot of stuff out there,' he says. 'We're finding interesting things in Norway at the minute, and Tunisia is fascinating. The big markets are in America, Japan and Russia, where collectors are willing to pay hundreds of thousands for a piece - maybe £200,000 or £300,000 for a tank.'

Which they, er, drive around their big gardens? 'Some do, yes. For some, these are just playthings. But the serious collectors have entire collections, museums.'

What's the attraction for Bruce? 'It's about holding this piece of history, imagining the piece of equipment as it was, taking it apart to restore it. Sometimes you can piece together the entire story: learn about the person who would have sat in the vehicle, who perhaps died in it. You can touch the bullet holes. It's very affecting.'

He often displays his vehicles at fairs and shows - and has worked with veterans who know more than he will ever do about what it was like to operate the machines. 'That can be incredibly moving.'

So how does one go about acquiring a Second World War military vehicle? The first episode shows us. It features Bruce charging off to Normandy in pursuit of something called a Schwimmwagen - 'basically a German vehicle that's not much more than a bathtub on wheels'.

Bruce doesn't speak a word of French ('It's amazing how far you can get with hand gestures'), but against all the odds he finds himself in a dusty old garage gazing in disbelief at the very vehicle he was looking for after seeing it in an old photograph.

Bruce's tanks have appeared in films such as Saving Private Ryan

Frankly, it looks like a rusty old pile of junk. 'Ah, well, I'd call it more rusty gold,' he says, the thrill still palpable.

'Schwimmwagens were basically amphibious cars used by the Germans, and I have a photograph of one taken in August 1944, after the Battle of Mortain.'

This post D-Day battle is not as widely known as others from the period, such as those at Caen and Falaise, but experts believe it marked a key stage in the war, offering proof that the American Army could beat off heavy German counter-attacks.

This particular Schwimmwagen is highly prized, says Bruce. 'The proof of its history - the photograph with its markings - sends the value through the roof.'

The startling fact, of course, is that this priceless piece of history has been gathering dust in a farmer's barn for the past 70 years. Little wonder Bruce is almost in tears as he's led to it and allowed to examine it. 'I haven't been this excited since my wedding night,' he says.

Alas, the Hollywood-type ending to this story doesn't happen. The farmer, who doesn't seem remotely impressed by the fact he's dealing with a man who knows Tom Hanks, says a categoric 'Non, monsieur' when Bruce offers to buy it.

Bruce recently supplied tanks for the filming of the film Fury. He arranged for an entire fleet of them to be transported from his home in Suffolk to the set in Hertfordshire - at the cost of a cool £3 million

The cameras capture Bruce becoming more and more frantic as he ups the price. What's it actually worth? 'The sky's the limit,' he concludes, pointing out that bog-standard Schimmwagens, without this proven pedigree, can go for in excess of £120,000. But monsieur is not for budging, and Bruce is forced to leave empty-handed.

'It's tragic,' he concludes. 'But at least I know it's there. I know that this is my business, but the real passion for me is in the hunt. And I found it.'

With an eye on the profit sheet, though, he quickly finds - and snaps up for, gulp, £70,000 - another Schwimmwagen, with the hope of restoring it and showing it in a military display. What happens when he gets this model home to his workshop?

Well, it's revealed to have myriad leaks, of course. On the day he's due to sail it across a lake, even he is questioning his sanity. 'This could sink,' he says, as water starts to pour in. 'If it does, I might as well have thrown the £70,000 in the lake.'

Combat Dealers starts on 30 April, 10pm on Quest

The money changing hands in this business is truly spectacular. Bruce has recently supplied tanks for the filming of the Brad Pitt film Fury. He arranged for an entire fleet of them to be transported from his home in Suffolk to the set in Hertfordshire - at the cost of a cool £3 million.

'They wanted some original German vehicles - that's like trying to find 20 Fabergé eggs. Then you have the costs of security and transportation. Authenticity doesn't come cheap.'

At home he's known locally as Tank Man and his antics prove to be quite the talking point. 'Every year I do a military show in Holland and they actually send the Dutch Army over to collect the vehicles. That causes quite a stir in my sleepy little village.'

And what does his wife make of his passion? 'Well, she doesn't share it. We have special storage facilities for all the tanks and she insists that the smaller stuff, and all my research papers, stay out of the house. But she can drive a tank. She sometimes has to load and unload them if I'm away on a trip, so she's quite good at it. It's a handy skill to have.'

Combat Dealers starts on Wednesday 30 April at 10pm on Quest (Freeview channel 38)