Back To The Forties - Woodhall Spa

Attended the Woodhall Spa 40s weekend yesterday and I have to say it was a really enjoyable day. I was taken aback by the amount of people who were actually in costume. My estimate is that about a third of all the people, and there were a huge amount of them, were dressed in the clothing of the period. I would have thought that those in military garb would have been in the ascendency but in reality it was people that were in normal civilian clothing of the time that were most numerous. There were some really surprising outfits. I noted two guys dressed as miners complete with miners lamps and knee protection and also a couple of policemen, one of whom must have been the most photographed person there as he was standing in front of a police box and was complete with a Raleigh cycle of the period. In addition there were a group of cleaning ladies complete with cleaning equipment! It was quite obvious that many people really go to town with the costuming and the accessories and they looked fantastic.

The following images are not mine and I do hope that the photographers that took them are happy for me to use them. Mine are still not available.

This 40s thing really does appear to be big business. I was surprised by the amount of stalls that were located in Jubilee Park dedicated to retro clothes and household items such as crockery etc.

There were a lot of Militaria stalls which I did expect and they all seemed to be doing a roaring business.

Woodhall Spa really lends itself to the 40s theme with the history it has relating to World War Two. Jubilee Park is an absolute gem of a place and if you have not been it is worth an afternoon in the sun. The town seems to have a really strong community ethos. Shops were decorated as were some of the streets with the Union Flag out in abundance. I am led to believe that the whole event is organised by the community themselves and they really did themselves proud.

A highlight of the day was the battle re-enactment that took place in the grounds of the Petwood Hotel. It was very professionally done and attracted a large crowd. It was an excellent way for some of the Military Groups to show off their prowess. As the commentator said it would have been acceptable if the guy playing the bagpipes had been taken out early!!

The whole day was topped off for me and for the large crowds that went almost completely silent and became enraptured when the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight in the shape of two Spitfires and a Hurricane provided a display over the town. It lasted about 15 minutes and included some really low passes. It was fantastic to see.

More details of the day can be found on the Event Website at http://woodhall-spa-40s-festival.com/
If you have not been to this event, which I had not prior to yesterday, I would thoroughly recommend it. Hugely enjoyable and I will be back!