1940's events in 2022 - yes or no

Yes, meant us not is, post corrected.

 

I sort of agree with this point. I am not a fan of wartime events in any shape. I found myself at one once and felt very out of place. But whilst the current war in Ukraine is horrific, events haven't been cancelled because of wars in Yemen, Syria, Libya, Iraq, Bosnia, Afghanistan etc. What is different about this conflict?

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Nothing. Dare I say it….we are now further down the woke wormhole. Perhaps not a bad thing, but are these things glorifying war, building pride in the achievements/sacrifices of past generations or simply just another Peppa Pig entertainment event for raising revenue?

 

I have never been keen on these events as living (and recently deceased) family members have first hand experience of the horror of war.
I wrote a blog article on this subject a few years ago and thought it might add to the debate.
http://www.desshepherd.com/blog-article20190614.htm
Remember this was written in 2019 and reflects the marketing by railways of three years ago.
Des

 

I dislike the language of “woke” and especially its use in this case. Personally, I think these events fall in all of the categories mentioned above, but are fundamentally in the entertainment category. And on that front, it doesn’t take much to change perspective when the subject of the entertainment is something like war.


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I did say “perhaps not a bad thing” and was trying highlight that there is now a certain sensitivity which is now coming to the fore around issues such as this. “Woke” is a thing that is not defined as negative! Although it is often (mis)used in a context as such.

 

Noted & understood; my issue and sensitivity is to the way that the language polarises discussion.


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Very well put. Interesting to read about the upset around the 1994 commemorations.

My closest brush with the military was only cadets, which I was terrible at. We got taught weapons handling, drills etc, which really drove home the message that a firearm is sodding dangerous. One senior cadet instructing us caught some lads messing about- "My best mate is in a 6 foot hole because of someone f***ing about with their rifle". Instructor would have been 18 at the time.

Couple of years later, I was in the workshop at Crich, end of the day, chatting over the fence to a re-enactor. Some of his mates drive by up the street, he pulls out a pistol, points and pulls the trigger, shouting "bang bang, you're dead!". I had some very choice words with him. This was a bloke in his 50's too, not just some kid.

 

The SVR have just announced the cancellation of their 1940's weekend.

 

I see the cosplayers and Mittys are upset at it going on about how they won't be donating to any fundraising the railway does. And vendors threatening to sue (go on, I'd love to see that one). Really weird angle to take and even weirder to be this upsetti spaghetti about not getting to dress up.

 

Credit where credit is due. The Severn Valley Railway have cancelled their 1940s themed event too. The event could be adjusted to Swinging 60s instead, providing you like that sort of thing.

https://www.kidderminstershuttle.co...els-war-themed-weekends-due-ukraine-conflict/

EDIT. Sorry I missed Andy's post just a little upstream.

 

I read your blog with interest and you raise a lot of pertinent points. Some years ago at a Gala on the K&ESR railway, we dispensed with such events due to the many issues raised in your post. I clearly remember Nazi reenactors that adopted the symbolism of their uniform with disturbing enthusiasm. Others here may remember the justified furore at the East Lancashire https://www.manchestereveningnews.c...forms-at-wartime-weekend-in-ramsbottom-689289 and also the fake assassination of a spy carried pulled from a carriage and summarily shot in front of families waiting on the platform at Horsted Keynes. Until recently, the SVR was undertaking mock battles with a train draped in Nazi swastikas though such insignia were later abandoned after complaints from members.

 

Like many others here I'm generally uncomfortable with certain aspects of the WW2 themed events anyway. I enjoy seeing the railway busy and operating an enhanced timetable, I like seeing the period dress and vehicles, and some of the music, and at one such event I even enjoyed seeing some people doing the Lindy Hop, which was completely alien to me and rather fun to watch. However the swarms of overweight middle-aged generals milling about the burger van completely destroyed any 40s ambience and the stalls openly selling weaponry (obviously not live), aimed at the re-enactment community, made me feel quite uncomfortable.

I should point out that I'm far too young to have experienced life in wartime; I accept that the event is pastiche but those aspects of it made for a very poor one. My Grandfather served in the Army throughout WW2 and rarely spoke about it, but what I did gather is that 2/3 of the soldiers he started out with, never came home. He spent many years in occupied France and one particular day stuck in his mind forever, when a lot of his mates died when the Americans bombed the wrong side. I also had a great-uncle who, at the age of 14 along with all of his classmates, lied about his age and signed up. He got injured a few days before the battle of the Somme which caused him to miss it, and from that class of 14 year old schoolboys, became the only survivor. He carried the guilt of that with him for his entire life as he felt he should have died with them.

These human aspects, of course, would not make for good entertainment, but these stories tell me far more about what life was like for that generation than a WW2 event at a heritage railway ever would. Most families will, I am sure, have their own stories in a similar vein.

Up thread someone asked why the current conflict in Ukraine should be treated any differently from other conflicts elsewhere in the world. I think it is different, not only because it is geographically closer to home, but because there are some clear parallels with the mid 1930s, an aggressor state annexing neighbours while the rest of the world stands by and waits. I distinctly remember my Grandfather telling me that "everybody knew there was going to be a war"; it may not yet be inevitable that we're heading for another one, but it feels like it could easily end up there. Not diminishing at all the suffering of those in other conflicts further away, but this feels more pertinent somehow, and more likely to affect us all. There are bombs near the Polish border, and Poland is only a day away by rail.

 

One of my Grandfathers lied about his age and joined up in August 1914. His Father retrieved him, but he then absconded again and joined up for a second time! He served right the way through the war, being wounded twice and was at the Somme amongst other notable battles. On of my Cousins did tape record some of his memories shortly before he died, which captured the conditions in the trenches and elewhere on the front remarkably well. I could only bring myself to listen to them once, and that was over 30 years ago now.
The other Grandfather wasn't old enough in WW1, and was in a Reserved Occupation in WW2 (Police), but his wifes parents house was wrecked in the London Blitz (East Ham), and she and my late Father were evacuated at 1 hours notice from Ipswich when Invasion was threatened here in 1940 - so the current refugee situation from Ukraine does have echoes with what I have been told over the years about WW2.
The fact that my Father and his Mother ended up on a farm at Rothley after their 1 hour notice ordeal did, in the long term, affect rail preservation efforts in that area though!

 

Do you have to make snide remarks about people who enjoy re-enactment?

 

I'm open minded about such events. I've nothing against them - only attended four over all the years they've been held - and I do find it interesting to see all the 1940s paraphernalia given an airing. I do find it somewhat amusing to see "fighter pilots" who are obviously in their 70s and GIs in late middle age. I do have misgivings over people wanting to dress up in German uniforms though with the possible exception of a POW scenario. Unlike some who have posted on this thread though I do not feel the need to make disparaging remarks about people who enjoy attending or participating in these type of events.

 

I think overall, it's going to be a difficult decision for any railway to make. Dammed if they do, dammned if they don't.

Our "War Weekend" at the S&CR is more focused on celebrating those who serve/d in the Military and last year we complete changed the asthetic to be a "Military Weekend" rather than a "War Weekend." with no re-enactments, just lots of people dressing up and having different vehicles on display - it was very successful for us so it's a tough decision to pull a very popular event. Being considered a "small railway" by many, replacing the event with a Gala of sorts would probably push us down the pecking order over say a larger railway with a bigger budget.

It's going to be very interesting to see what plays out in the future. Either way, the railways will ultimately suffer long term if another decent event can't replace them.

 

Have those actors wear their 50s/60s outfits and get some decent same-era tribute artists putting on a show either at stations or nearby theatre. Johnny Cash performed some immortal train songs!! for some reason Swanage comes to mind,Elvis gets off his "special" train and walks down to the Mowlem to put on a show. Someone can no doubt dig up the image of the "Bill Haley" Express coming up from Southampton. Had his picture on the front!!

 

You make it sound as if railways are hiring re-enactors for those events. In practice, mostly it is people who like recreating a specific, often quite niche, period: there is no reason to suppose that a re-enactor whose primary interest (and investment in clothing etc!) is World War II will suddenly be happy to turn up as a 50s rocker just because the railway changes its theme.

The other point is that not all periods of history are equivalent in the eyes of the public. The 1940s taps into a vein of nostalgia far greater than either the 1930s or 1950s. You could have a long debate about why that might be, but railways generally want to put on successful events. This year is clearly exceptional circumstances, but I suspect in due course, railways will revert to holding 1940s events in preference to any other period. It would be nice to think that in the future such events might be a bit more nuanced, but I figure a Spitfire display will remain perennially more popular than one from a 1950s aeroplane; and a Jeep parked outside the station will always turn more heads than a 1950s saloon.

Tom