A promotion of some of the best events coming up over the next few months.
THE HOUSEHOLD DIVISION BEATING RETREAT 2016, COMMONWEALTH – THE BONDS OF FRIENDSHIP COMMEMORATED
Set on the historic Horse Guards Parade, against the magnificent backdrop of St James’s Park, The Massed Bands of The Household Division, supported by The Mounted Band of the Household Cavalry, The Pipes and Drums of the Scots Guards, The Drums and Pipes of the Irish Guards,
The Band of the Honourable Artillery Company, and The Band of The Royal
Yeomanry, will perform a programme of rousing military and contemporary music.
This year, we commemorate the bonds of friendship that thrive between the 53 Commonwealth Countries.
Stirring music, precision drill, horses, cannons, lights, and fireworks all combine to showcase the best of British military music and ceremonial pageantry in an unforgettable evening.
WEB: www.householddivision.org.uk
DATES: 8 and 9 June 2016
WHERE: Horse Guards Parade, Whitehall, London
HOW MUCH: Tickets from £15.00 to £40.00
FRONTLINE WALK
The Frontline Walk is a 100km walk completed in three days. Not a challenge for the faint-hearted, it will push you physically and mentally as you march along the Western Front. Starting at Lochnagar Crater and ending at the Menin Gate with the Ceremony of the Last Post, the Frontline Walk is a tough but poignant event, with memories that will last you a lifetime.
The top three fundraisers will have the opportunity to lay a wreath at the Menin Gate, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to take part in the moving final salute to the fallen.
The Walk takes place 100 years on from the Battle of the Somme, one of the largest battles of the First World War, which resulted in the death of more than a million Commonwealth, French, and German soldiers.
WEB: www.soldierscharity.org/frontlinewalk
DATES: 5-9 October 2016
EMAIL: [email protected]
WHERE: Meeting at Wellington Barracks, Birdcage Walk, London, SW1E 6HQ. Travelling across France and Belgium to finish at the Menin Gate. Returning to Wellington Barracks, London.
PHONE: 0207 811 3960
HOW MUCH: £150 registration fee + £1,200 minimum fundraising target (with £550 due by 1st August 2016 to confirm a place on the walk). Final deadline for fundraising is the end of December 2016.
AN AUCTION OF ANTIQUES & FINE ART – MONDAY 29TH FEBRUARY 2016
Fellows Auctioneers regularly hold sales of antiques, as well as auctions of coins and medals at their saleroom in Birmingham’s historic Jewellery Quarter. The March auction of antiques features some interesting items of shipbreaker’s timber, whereas in quarterly auctions of coins and medals you can find military and commemorative medals, along with masonic regalia and coins.
Free valuations of your unwanted antiques, coins, medals, jewellery, and watches take place every Wednesday; call in to the saleroom between 10am and 4pm with your items for a no-obligation auction estimate, or email images to [email protected] for an initial valuation.
WEB: www.fellows.co.uk
DATES: The full auction calendar of events can found online, where you can also register to bid and receive auction alerts
EMAIL: [email protected]
WHERE: 3 Queen Street, Mayfair, London, W1J 5PA (by appointment only)
PHONE: 0121 212 2131
HOW MUCH: Visit www.fellows.co.uk to view online catalogues, condition reports, and item estimates.
THE DIG FOR VICTORY SHOW – A 1940s FAMILY FESTIVAL
The Dig for Victory Show is a 1940s-themed family festival being held near Bristol in North Somerset. Organisers want to ‘bring history alive and the generations together with a sense of nostalgia and pride – to learn, to remember, and have fun’.
The event is run entirely by volunteers through a not-for-profit organisation, and supports two charities this year – Walking With The Wounded and Weston Hospicecare.
Come and celebrate the ‘best of British’ and life in the ‘40s, with re-enactors demonstrating what life was like in wartime Britain, an exhibition of over 200 original, restored wartime vehicles (including the iconic Sherman tank), live music, swing dance lessons, vintage stalls, children’s trail, local food and bar, history talks, make-do-and-mend, classic cars, a campsite,
Saturday night Victory dance, and much more.
WEB: www.digforvictoryshow.com
DATES: 11-12 June 2016
EMAIL: [email protected]
WHERE: The North Somerset Showground, Wraxall, Nr Bristol, BS8 1NE
HOW MUCH: Adult tickets £10, Family Tickets (2 Adults + 2 Children) only £22. Tickets and further information available from the website
ELEVEN WOMEN FACING WAR
In 2001, Nick Danziger photographed eleven women, all living in the world’s major conflict zones of the time, for an International Committee of the Red Cross study to document the specific needs of women facing war. Ten years later, he set out to find each one and learn what had become of their lives. Danziger’s photographs and short films will form the basis of the exhibition, which explores themes of personal struggle and the lasting impact of war on women’s lives.
WEB: www.iwm.org.uk
DATES: 4 February-24 April 2016
EMAIL: [email protected]
WHERE: Imperial War Museum, Lambeth road, London, SE1 6HZ
PHONE: 01789 403493
HOW MUCH: Free
WWI FRENCH NARROW-GAUGE RAILWAY CENTENARY
The ‘P’tit Train de la Haute Somme’ (‘Little Train of the Upper Somme’) volunteers will celebrate the centenary of their narrow-gauge railway line during a big event in May. This line is the last remaining railway line of several hundreds of kilometres built in 1916 by French and English armies to supply the frontline during the Battle of the Somme.
Visiting WWI locomotives will come from England, Wales, and Germany to join historic locomotives and wagons of the railway. A model railways exhibition, historic displays, re-enactment WWI groups, and societies will take part in this four-day event. The narrow-gauge railway museum, the biggest in Europe, will also be open to help you to learn more about the history of those railways.
Open each day from 10am to 7pm. Take-away food available. See our website for train timetables.
WEB: www.appeva.org
DATES: 5-8 May 2016
EMAIL: [email protected]
WHERE: Hameau de Froissy, La Neuville-lès-Bray, France, Somme department, 40km east of Amiens.
PHONE: +33 322 83 11 89
HOW MUCH: Adults, €10.50; Children (aged 5-12), €7.00; free for children under five years old.
REMEMBERING 1916: LIFE ON THE WESTERN FRONT
With a collection of over 500 objects, many from private collections and never before displayed in public, ‘Remembering 1916’ marks the centenary of WWI and the momentous events of 1916.
Not only does the exhibition examine the battles of Verdun, Jutland, and the Somme, and such characters as Lord Kitchener and the Red Baron, it also reveals the untold stories, and uncelebrated individuals on both the Western and Home Fronts. Packed with fascinating individual stories, the exhibition will draw on the voices, recollections, writings, and opinions of British, French, and German soldiers and their families. It will feature a large array of personal items belonging to soldiers, providing an insight into their day-to-day lives.
The exhibition themes and exhibits will reflect the approaches, attitudes, and actions of each country.
WEB: www.remembering1916.co.uk
DATES: 12 March-31 August 2016
EMAIL: [email protected]
WHERE: The Whitgift Exhibition Centre at Whitgift School, Croydon
PHONE: 020 8688 9222
HOW MUCH: £7 entry
To see this article as it appeared in issue 66 of Military History Monthly, click here.
