"World War 2 Weekend 2007 Part 2" by Britannia2

Here are a group of men showing how food was prepared for soldiers in the field. They were at Goathland station in the station yard. I must admit I do not know what was cooking but I do not think it was for sale - I think it was to feed their Home Guard colleagues.

The Home Guard were defending Goathland station and here is one of their brave chaps doing his bit. In 1940 when the threat of invasion came the government appealed to men too old or too young for military service to form a local defence organisation and millions volunteered. My grandfather was such a volunteer and he guarded the railway station in Hull with a long staff! With the benefit of history we now know there never was to be an invasion but as you can see from the photo below England was ready.

Here are a 2007 family doing a very good impression of a wartime family waiting for a train at Goathland. I would estimate at least half of the visitors to this event were in wartime dress - a mix of military and civilian. Unfortunately the paper bag and plastic cups spoil the 1943 image here.

If you attend this event and take a train from Pickering station sit on the left side of the train. This is because the far platform is reserved for people in costume and you can see an entire platform length of 1943 people as you sit waiting for the train to depart. In my case I had a zoom lens on my camera and I stood at an open window just taking photos until the train departed.

Well it is of course 2007 but look how easy it was to have a platform full of people in 1943 dress and the adjust the digital photograph in an art programme and make a sepia style 1943 type photo.

Levisham station and our last stop of the day. The train stopped and as we got off we were met by German troops at Le Visham - a French town in occupied France. Whereas the day had been good fun until then I got a little uneasy with the degree and sense of menace. The Nazi flag flew over the camp the soldiers had made for the weekend and although each person in German uniform was British something worried me here. The soldiers even shouted in German when enacting small cameos and I guess some form of authenticity is needed I am not sure this is a good idea. The people taking part as Germans were certainly made fun of and some insults were even traded by visitors.

I have deliberately put this photo in to black and white. Its strange to think it was taken in England late one October afternoon in 2007. The German officer is an SS man and the other man is a French collaborator. The woman is a German Red Cross nurse.
I can easily think such a scene would offend any elderly French person visiting the area on holiday and coming across this who did not know this was a nostalgia weekend. Or is it just historical accuracy telling us how it was?

Here the French policeman checks a civilians papers as he enters Le Visham. I wonder why someone wants to dress up as a French policeman?