Keep out of your way? Who do you think you are? Also, you're not the only one who does battlefield tours, poppet. My group does them, as do many others I know.
There is some fairly strong rhetoric on this thread, from one side at least. What is it about WW2 reenacting that gives rise to this dislike ? Charley asked a very valid question earlier and it appears to have gone unanswered. "Are the Sealed Knot and those Roman legions acceptable? Does the fact that real veterans are alive and the war is within living memory make the difference? Is it just the Second World War that causes difficulty or does the First as well ? Presumably few English would worry about a Franco-Prussian scenario and most people seem quite happy with the vast pageant supported by the tourist industry that is Waterloo every five years. Some might find it a little silly, akin to Morris-Dancing but I haven't heard of anyone turning up by accident and then complaining that it interfered with their battlefield visit. There are obviously excesses in the hobby but I don't see why that should detract from those who do it well and with integrity. Surely those who put effort into doing it as well and authentically as possible are endeavouring to share knowledge and educate, whether that be themselves, their peers, locals or parties of bussed in school children. It may not be possible to 'educate' those well-read in military history, but most people aren't. There is a generation now coming to adulthood who have amost no idea about what went on here seventy or more years ago. Perhaps that isn't important ? It's certainly true that wearing a period costume makes one approachable. Maybe chatting with a veteran and re-assuring him that despite scores of films, people do remember that the British Army were in France, Belgium and the Netherlands doesn't count for much ? Talking with French and Belgians who were children at the time and are now explaining to their great grandchildren what it was like when the Germans came and how they were pleased when the Allies returned isn't particularly significant in terms of world peace but it isn't doing the entente cordiale any harm either. I have something of a vested interest in this although taking account of canuck's comments about vehicle owners, I'm not sure if he includes me under the term or not. 'The Observer' called me one last year though so perhaps I must be. I rather drifted into it. The rider of a motorcycle is particularly visible and modern gear looks incongruous. Rather than just drag on something green, I came to the conclusion that the BEF and its peculiarities of dress are often overlooked and with a lot of help and advice from people like Tom, I've done my best to look the part. I did agonise over it and there are times when I'm not particularly at ease but I think the positive moments outweigh that. I must admit that the suggestion of 'turning up uninvited' is one that I rather resent. Much of the time there are specific invitations and requests from tourist authorities and in France particularly with the active support of the local councils and Mayor. It's a pageant, a show for the locals that brings in tourists as well and perhaps a spot of publicity for the location. We may be mugs in doing it for next to nothing but we're certainly not uninvited gate-crashers. I was in Cassel last month, for the opening of an exhibition about the events of May 1940 there. It was about a week before larger numbers of Englishmen began throwing café chairs around all over France. We only made the local paper, but the organisers were pleased and we had nothing but positive reactions. It's a terrible thing to think that if Shaun had been there, I'd have been in his way. http://ena-master.lavoixdunord.fr/8607/article/2016-06-07/hardifort-et-cassel-satisfaction-le-mot-qui-resume-bien-les-commemorations
Fair enough, I can see the "keep out of my way" comment caused some offense so I take it back. I'll change it to "I'll keep out of your way". Actually, the whole point of that post was to bring a bit of humour back to the thread, but this obviously didn't work! Rich, you say the rhetoric here has been one-sided, but I'd point to the fact that nowhere have I called anyone "unimaginitive", "unoriginal", "supercilious" or "sad" - all of which could equally be applied to reenactors. Regarding reenactors from earlier periods, that is a good point and I meant to reply to this but forgot. I have less of a problem with them. The fact is that WWII is the most documented war in history. If you want to see what soldiers wore in WWII all you need to do is go to youtube to see original footage. Anyone can easily do this. Also, WWII kit and weapons are not too different from today and are fairly familiar to the modern public. Therefore I (personally) see little point in WWII reenactors. It's different with, say, the American Civil War when life was much more different and so was the kit and weaponry. I can see the educational benefits of holding reenactments for this period to demonstrate the different tactics and equipment used. The sight and sound of a field full of Conferderate and Union soldiers pounding each other is not one that can be experienced elsewhere. No problem with vehicle renovations - that's about preserving history. As I have stated, I have had some bad experiences with WWII reenactors. I admit there may be good ones out there, but even they make me feel a bit embarrassed and uncomfortable and I don't really see the point. Like I say, not my cup of tea, but then again the world sould be a boring place if everyone agreed. No more replies from me on this thread. Enjoy whatever you enjoy doing, Shaun
If you're embarrassed and uncomfortable, that's your issue and says a lot more about you than it does about decent re-enactors. I also preserve history but you'd not know that since you never bothered to ask. Just a quick point to note, WW2 weapons and kit are HUGELY different from today, so maybe you do need to pop to one of our events, for an educational talk. Anyway, enjoy your life, chum.
I remember another thread on the topic going down much the same way. Did very little to help me understand the enthusiasm for this whole genre, put me right off in fact. Time to take a deep breath and a step back.
If I may, I could give an explanation of why we like doing it and what we feel are the main reasons for it.
IIRC the last thread I read eventually spiralled down into another heated defence when not all of the contributors were as 'enthusiastic' about the hobby as you clearly are. So I suggest you start a new thread away from this baggage, and try (initially at least) to focus on the positives as you see them. People are entitled to their opinions without also having to balance them with 'the other side of the coin' (we're not the BBC): try and see comments you don't agree with as an opportunity for you to talk more about something you care about rather than as a personal attack. We'll see where it goes from there. Please don't put me further off anything with re-enactors/re-enacting in the title.
I've never seen a re-enactment of WW2, and don't want to, but to me anything like that must diminish the reality. OTOH , I'm fascinated by some of the better war films, which are also re-enactments. So what's the difference? Funny about the authentic underwear - but I bet it's not in the state it would be in real battle conditions
In that case, I don't think I will. If anyone does want to know anything about it, my group email address is on the link already provided. Cheers.
That reminds me of advice I once received from my grandfather, "in the event of an attack by a black bear, simply rub shit in his face". My naive response was, 'where are you going to get the shit?". His reply, "don't worry, it will be there!"
