Enthusiastic crowds stepped back to the past as they enjoyed Swindon And Cricklade Railway’s latest Wartime Weekend re-enactment

ANYONE visiting North Swindon this weekend would have been forgiven for thinking they had stepped back in to the 1940s as an army of military re-enactors descended.

The popular Wartime Weekend, organised by the Swindon and Cricklade Railway, has become a fixture of the summer event line-up.

The first day of this year’s event was blighted by the rain that put paid to outdoor activities across the town – numbers were down and the spirits of the many participants dampened.

But in true wartime spirit the organisers were not deterred and on Sunday they bounced back in style.

Adrian Brodie, of the Swindon and Cricklade Railway, said: “The rain wasn’t too bad for part of Saturday but it was enough to put people off coming out.

“But today is going really well, we’ve had more than three times as many through the door as yesterday – it costs a lot to stage this event and put on the big battles so that is good news.”

Now a decade old, the Wartime Weekend has established itself on the re-enactment calendar and attracts groups from across the south west and into the midlands.

Among the troops camped out around the site were American Paratroopers, German Wehrmacht soldiers and of the course the good old fashioned British squaddie.

The event was a bit more Walmington than Warsaw, so the presence of the Home Guard, complete with awkward drill movements and some ill-fitting uniforms, was quite appropriate.

Lorraine Childs, 62, of Royal Wootton Bassett, looked on as one platoon got inspected.

“It’s all good fun isn’t it,” she said. “They’ve got all the uniforms and they really get into character.

“I was looking at the Germans over there and they didn’t smile, it’s just like the real thing would have been.”

Alongside the soldiers, there was also an impressive selection of classic vehicles, vintage clothes stalls and live entertainment.

People’s favourite Jayne Darling wowed the crowds throughout the weekend with vocal performances that Vera Lynn herself would have been proud of.

Organiser Tony Norris was certainly a fan.

“She’s just infectious,” he said. “I’ve got a sore throat from singing because she gets everyone so enthused.”

Tony was pleased with how the event had gone despite the wet start.

He said: “We start organising this in January, it takes a lot of work from everyone - so to see the rain on Saturday was so disheartening.

“These guys come from all over the country – they take it really seriously, they’ll be at a different event each weekend.

“The marquee has doubled in size this year, we’ve got battles on across the site, and there are stalls all across the field selling vintage gear.

“It has gone really well.”

If one weekend of wartime action wasn’t enough then you can catch more vintage fun at the Bratton at War event in Wiltshire this weekend.