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Thursday, 26 April 2018

WWI military camp


2018 marks 100 years since the end of WWI, the so-called Great War. (Sadly, it was not 'the war to end all wars'.) As part of the World Heritage Day event, there was a WWI military camp in Roberts Park and displays related to Saltaire's WWI history, which attracted lots of interest from visitors. 



The re-enactors take their history very seriously and are at pains to make things authentic and accurate. The unit was named as '6 Platoon B Company 1/8 Manchester Regiment' but I'm afraid I can't find any more information about the re-enactors. There is, however, a diary online detailing the horrors of the war in France and Belgium for the actual battalion (HERE).

The medic (right) was offering 'chloroform' to anyone willing to try it!


The older I've got, the more pacifist I've become. Nevertheless, I find these historical re-enactments (which usually centre around one or another of our wars, whether it's the English Civil Wars or the two World Wars) very fascinating. I think it's important that people should have the chance to learn about the past, and those involved are pretty knowledgeable and try hard to make it all interesting. They don't convey the horror of the war though. My own eyes were opened to that when I visited the battlefields and museum in Ypres, Belgium in July 2015. (HERE)


Boys and their guns though... (rolls eyes!)



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3 comments:

  1. Barbara Rogers26 April 2018 at 13:25

    Great that people do remember events, even the horrors of war...and the guys do like to see how it used to be carried out. I have finished a series of historical novels about an English nurse in WW I, enjoyed them immensely (can't think of the author right now, sorry)

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  2. RedPat26 April 2018 at 14:20

    People really get into those re-enactments!

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  3. William Kendall26 April 2018 at 15:41

    Re-enactors certainly do take it seriously. There's a local group here that take the British army, early 19th century, as their inspiration, and can be found participating in various events, especially during warmer weather.

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