Now in its third year, the Woodhall Spa 40's Festival appears to be going from strength to strength. Celebrating the rich history that the village shares with the Second World War, for one weekend in July, Woodhall is transformed back to a dark and turbulent, yet romantic time, some seventy years ago.
This was the first time I had managed to attend the event, missing the first two years due to work commitments. Not really knowing what to expect, I was pretty much blown away by the amount of effort that had gone into organising the weekend, and the sheer amount of people that had made the effort to get into the spirit of things, and dress up in period costume. The crowds across the two days were simply unbelievable, I don't think I've seen the village so busy. Moving to Woodhall Spa when I was eight years old in early 1979, I have grown up loving the place. Mucking around in the woods as a kid, using false I.D. to get into my first drinking establishments, ( I won't mention which ones ), and learning to drive on the many country lanes around the Spa, it really has been a big part of my life. But I have to say, I don't think I've been quite so proud of the village as I was this past weekend.
From soldiers camping in the woods near Jubilee Park, smoke from their stoves gently wafting skywards towards the leafy canopy above as they made another brew, to people on the pavement in the heart of the village, spontaneously breaking into dance as one of many singers belted out another 40's classic, there was quite literally, so much to see and do. One of my personal favourite things I kept seeing over and over again, and one I just didn't get bored of, was the site of an American army jeep cruising up and down the Broadway, soldiers hanging from any and every imaginable part, gun in hand, chewing gum. Just as I had imagined it would've been all those years ago during the war.
There were flypasts by the many planes of the Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight. Lancaster, Spitfire and Dakota were all present, as too was my own personal favourite, the Hurricane. There was a fantastic simulation of an air raid, which was organised with the help of the Golf Hotel. Using smoke canisters to simulate a real fire, three old fire engines quickly arrived, and the many spectators were treated to a reenactment by the fire brigade as to how they would have dealt with a blaze during the war. Once the fire had finally been extinguished, who else but Winston Churchill arrived in a lovely old, blood red Bentley, escorted by four army motorcyclist outriders. After thanking the fire crew for their hard work, he proceeded to give a rousing speech to the onlookers, which went down a storm. It really was a crazy 30 or so minutes, and considering I hadn't got a clue what was about to unfold, it made for an even more enjoyable and immersive experience. This was the sort of attention to detail that really made the weekend the special event that it was, and one I can't wait to visit again next year... Heck, I might even dress up.
Roll on 18-19th July 2015
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| Proper American jeep, proper gun. |
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| Vintage Austin and ration book |
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| Almost timeless. In many ways Woodhall Spa hasn't changed that much... for the better, in my opinion |
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| Shiny old car and tiny caravan |
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| Road closed |
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| Boot closeup. Look a bit like Redwing Iron Rangers |
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| Dancing in the park |
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| Forties dancing at the Golf hotel |
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| The Yanks take over Woodhall |
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| The Americans move in with their heavy machinery, while Churchill watches on |
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| General Patton even made an appearance |
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| Camp in the woods |
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| American Army truck in the woods |
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| Here come the cavalry, crowds are massive |
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| Balcony on fire |
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| Preparing the fire engines |
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| Up high |
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| Cleaning up |
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| Fire, smoke and water |
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| Waiting |
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| An important guest |
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| One of Churchill's army outrider motorcyclists |
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| Winston arrives |
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| Two of the injured guests from the Golf Hotel raid |
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| Young nurse |
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| The fire brigade salute Churchill |
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| A Winston Churchill or Timothy Spall lookalike delivers a rousing speech |
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| How rude... Not really. Churchill's V for Victory sign |
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| Doing the 'penguin' |
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| Strictly come dancing, Forties style |
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| Monty returns, after a quick detour to the cash and carry |
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| Laughing at Monty's hairy legs, no doubt |
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| Boot detail, again |
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| Shopping, Forties style |
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| Many jeeps along the Broadway |
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| Taking the 'no access except for residents' to a completely new level |
