News

The Band of Brothers' Veterans Land at War and Peace 22nd and 23rd July

A Rare Jeep makes it's second public appearance at this years War & Peace Show - its now fully restored! By Mark Askew. The Ford Pygmy & Budd/Ford ¼ ton 4x4, 23rd November 1940

Hop Farm News Release 020406 Rommel's Staff Car on its way to the 2006 KM War and Peace Show

Hop Farm - On Yer Bike! Tuesday 18th July

Hop Farm News Release 190506 10,000 Toilet Rolls and 25,000 Pints Of Lager

Hop Farm News Release 240306 The Show Must Go On

Hop Farm News Release 150306 Hop Farm Welcomes New Owner

The Band of Brothers' Veterans Land at War and Peace 22nd and 23rd July

For the first time ever Aces High Fine Art, the world's leading specialist in aviation and military art, will be exhibiting at the War & Peace Show. They will be joined by a number of World War II veterans of Easy Company including Don Malarkey, Buck Compton and Forrest Guth who are being flown over from the United States by Aces High especially for this event.

Easy Company's WWII campaign began in 1942 when members of the newly formed unit began training to become some of the Army's most elite soldiers -their remarkable story inspired the 1992 best-selling book and the subsequent major drama series 'Band of Brothers'.

The veterans will be attending the War and Peace Show during Saturday 22nd and Sunday 23rd July and you can meet these distinguished guests at the Aces High display (R 6- 7) from 10.00 am through to 3.00pm on both days. All will be happy to autograph and personalise items for customers and purchases made with Aces High at the event of £40 or more can be signed free of charge- any other items will be subject to a signing fee of £15 per item. There will also be a huge selection of military and aviation art work available within the Aces High exhibition area.

Opportunities to meet and obtain original signatures of Easy Company veterans are exceptionally rare so this is the perfect occasion to have your cherished items such as prints, uniforms, helmets, books or even military vehicle parts autographed by these legendary veterans, adding authenticity and provenance - a unique opportunity not to be missed.

Aces High Fine Art stock tens of thousands of signed aviation and military fine art prints. For further information or a complementary brochure pack tel 01296 625681

PRESS RELEASE
2 April 2006

Rommel's Staff Car on its way to the 2006 KM War and Peace Show.

The KM War and Peace Show regularly welcomes the worlds rarest military vehicles and the 2006 show will be no exception. Making its way to the UK for the first time this July is Field Marshal Rommel's staff car from the Western Desert, a Horch Feldmarschall Cabriolet (Kfz 21). Now fully restored, this masterpiece will be just one of the vehicles Michael Gibb and the SdKfz Military Vehicle Foundation (The Foundation) will be showcasing at the 2006 KM War and Peace Show 19 to 23 July 2006.

Rommel's staff car joined the Foundation's collection almost by accident.
The vehicle was obtained in 1997 when it was thrown in as part of a larger deal with a collector in Frankfurt who insisted Michael take the car. Back then the car was a shell. The interior had been completely stripped out, not even the steering wheel remained. Back in the United Kingdom Michael set about the challenge of tracing the car's history and was pleasantly surprised on identifying its origin.

Michael said of his find:
"I couldn't believe I had stumbled upon Rommel's staff car after having initially been hesitant about buying it. Horch only made 36 of these Glaser bodied off road luxury cars so the search was narrowed down fairly quickly.
After months of matching photographs, registration plates, chassis numbers, where possible, to the relevant units they were dispatched to we traced the background to this particular vehicle. One remarkable piece of the puzzle was how a British Army officer had driven the cabriolet down from Libya to Kenya in 1945 where it served as a hunting vehicle on a farm. The car eventually found its way home to Germany, to the UK and back to Germany where the restoration work progressed for over 4 years."

The Horch Feldmarschall Cabriolet (Kfz 21) will make its first public appearance on 6 April at Techno Classica in Germany together with her original driver, Hellmuth von Leipzig, who drove Rommel in the Afrika Korps in this car in 1942/1943. He is returning to Germany from his farm in Namibia for the first time since WWII. The car will then make its way to the UK in time for the 2006 KM War and Peace Show.

During the 4 year restoration Michael and the team in Germany have collaborated with Mr von Leipzig, collectors, and other museums including the Audi Museum to ensure near total authenticity in its restoration.
Michael commented on the restoration project: "This particular vehicle has been an intense effort for the team. We had to spend considerable time searching for pieces of the car and for information on how to rebuild the interior, as we really had nothing to work with. The end result is a real credit to the team."

Michael Gibb bought his first military vehicle back in 1994 and attended War and Peace for the first time in 1995. He set up The SdKfz Military Foundation which was established as a charitable trust in 2003. The Foundation is a long way down the road towards its aim of recreating a Schwere Aufklarungs (Heavy Armoured Reconnaissance) unit circa 1944. There have been some distinct diversions from this objective, most notably a Jagdpanther and, of course, this car of Rommel's from the Western Desert.

Michael and his team have a specific event planned for the arena at the 2006 KM War and Peace Show utilising a 150mm Nebelwerfer multiple barrelled rocket launcher and a Pak 40 75mm Anti Tank Gun, the team will recreate the workings of a reconnaissance unit which will then be followed by a kaleidoscope convoy of German vehicles.

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A Rare Jeep makes it's second public appearance at this years War & Peace Show - its now fully restored! By Mark Askew.

The Ford Pygmy & Budd/Ford ¼ ton 4x4, 23rd November 1940

Last year some of you may recall the Budd/Ford Jeep in it's un-restored condition, on show at the Jeep Books Ltd stand at last years War and Peace Show. Well the owner Fred Smith has managed to restore her back to her former glory and this year she is back. Now fully restored and can be viewed by one and all! The Ford Pygmy still survives today, it lived in the Ford Museum until the early 1980's and was then sold. Randy Withrow bought it and in fact it is still in remarkable condition and now lives in the Alabama Centre for Military History, USA. The Budd version however was lost in time and was thought to be one of those myths that would never be found. But back in 1998 Jeff Polidoro (USA) managed one of the most spectacular finds in Jeepdom, when he turned up the Budd-bodied Ford prototype. How this rare Jeep found its way into the California desert is a mystery, but Jeff was in the right place at the right time to bring this one-of-a-kind home. It was found in great shape and almost 90 percent complete. Jeff had plans to restore her, but as we all know this things take a lot of time and a lot of money. But by late winter 2004, Jeff decided to put her on the open market - ebay, and then tried to sell her on to a good home. The reserve was not met and it looked like Jeff was going to keep her. Then Fred Smith the owner of the Willys T-28 Half-Track, Willys 6x6 Tug and many other very rare Jeeps, stepped in. A deal was struck between Jeff and Fred and the Budd Jeep was on its way to the UK in early May'05. Fred Smith is regarded as one of the world's greatest collectors of rare WW2 Jeeps, in fact he has that many rare and wonderful Jeeps it's a question of what hasn't he got, rather than what has he got! After last years show and once the Budd was returned to Fred, he began to strip her down to start the restoration. The body and chassis was sent to William Galliers Sports Cars for them to work there magic, while Fred began to rebuild the engine, axles and gear box etc. Lots of old photos where obtained to start researching what was missing and what was needed. With a lot of help from Lex Schmidt and Jaap Reitveld in locating many hard to find parts, the Budd began to take shape. Cutting it fine, Fred has managed to get her finished just in time for this years show. So its with great joy, that Fred has allowed us (at Jeep Books Ltd) to have on display at this years War & Peace Show. So if anyone would like to come and see this rare and wonderful Jeep, then feel free to come and visit the Jeep Books stand (Row A, stand number 4) at this years show - open 9am to 9 pm. Or in the meantime visit www.jeepworld.co.uk

ON YER BIKE!

To launch the 2006 KM War and Peace Show we are holding a bike ride on Tuesday 18th July. We need people to participate who have war time bikes and are also asking that participants wear authentic war time dress.

Leaving The Hop Farm at 7pm the route quite simply goes to the pub. The first rest point is in Collier St where The Woolpack will be delighted to welcome you for a half way drink or two. From there we head over to The Chequers at Laddingford for the 2nd rest point before heading back to The Hop Farm for a well earned drink!

It's not a race and we're not taking it too seriously but we do want to highlight the variety on offer at War and Peace.

If you are interested in taking part please contact Susan Murphy at The Hop Farm on 01622 870809 or email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

NEWS RELEASE
19 May 2006
10,000 TOILET ROLLS AND 250,000 PINTS OF LAGER!
IT CAN ONLY BE THE KM WAR AND PEACE SHOW

The largest military vehicle show in the world heads to The Hop Farm 19 - 23 July for the 24th War and Peace Show. Regularly attracting crowds of 100,000 the staff at The Hop Farm have already placed the mammoth toilet roll and lager orders for this years event.

This spectacular show is by far the largest peacetime gathering of military vehicles. 2005 saw over 4000 vehicles make their way to Kent from all over the world. Visitors from Poland, France and Russia are not uncommon at this spectacular event, many of them camping on the site with fellow troops. In fact, 15,000 people are expected to camp on site for the 2006 show.

Rex Cadman, Show Organiser, commented on this years preparations; "The War and Peace Show continues to grow every year and the quantities of commodities we have to order for an event of this size amaze me every year.
There can't be many events in the UK use enough toilet to wrap around the
M25 several times over!"

Simon Hagen, Head of Catering at The Hop Farm, commented; " We serve enough lager to fill a swimming pool and enough burger buns to fill a 40ft artic so the KM War and Peace Show is definitely the busiest week of the year for the Hop Farm's catering team."

Visitors to the 2006 show can expect 5 days of non-stop action and adventure. Visit the living history camp to experience life as a soldier and browse the trade field where you'll find everything from uniforms and toys to parts for military vehicles. Tanks and armoured vehicles will be battling it out in the arena and the Miller Marquee is the place to be to enjoy 1940s music and fashion.

Tickets for the 2006 KM War and Peace Show are on sale now. Visit www.thehopfarm.co.uk <http://www.thehopfarm.co.uk> for advance booking offers.

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NEWS RELEASE
24 March 2006
THE SHOW MUST GO ON

The KM War and Peace Show will continue at The Hop Farm says new owners at The Hop Farm, Kent Attractions LLP*. Owned by the Kent-based Hume-Kendall family, Kent Attractions acquired The Hop Farm on Wednesday 15 March and already have extensive business interests in the county in the shape of
Lamberhurst Vineyard and The Smart and Simple Hotel.

Simon Hume-Kendall has confirmed there are no plans to change the busy events schedule, including the KM War and Peace Show scheduled to take place 19 - 23 July 2006. Now in its 24th year War and Peace has been hosted by The Hop Farm since 1987 and is now regarded as the largest military vehicle show in the world regularly attracting audiences of 100,000 from all over the globe. Bookings for the 2006 show have been flooding in since the curtains closed on the 2005 show.

Simon Hume-Kendall commented on the show:
"I have heard a lot about War and Peace and look forward to being part of the largest military vehicle show in the world. The Hop Farm has emerged as a leading event venue in Kent in recent years and we are keen for this to continue with shows such as War and Peace. We will continue to rely on Rex Cadman and his team of experts to co-ordinate the show."

Rex Cadman, Show Organiser added:
"The War and Peace team are delighted that the change of ownership will not affect the show. The Hop Farm is an ideal venue for the show in terms of space and location and there aren't many venues would be able to welcome over 4500 military vehicles at the same time! Brent will still be involved in the 2006 show and we look forward to working with Simon in the future. On behalf of everyone in the War and Peace team I would like to thank Brent and Fiona Pollard for their hospitality in recent years and wish them well for the future."

Kent Attractions acquired The Hop Farm from Brent and Fiona Pollard who purchased the Hop Farm from Whitbread in 1997 following 10 successful years in the city. In over 8 years at the reins they have enjoyed unrivalled success in Kent tourism, increasing the visitor numbers from 60,000 in 1997 to 505,000 in 2005. Much of this success is attributed to the introduction of some of the counties most popular events. Brent will continue to play a vital role in the running of The Hop Farm for the next 18 months to ensure a smooth handover.

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NEWS RELEASE
15 March 2006
HOP FARM WELCOMES NEW OWNER

Kent's landmark tourist attraction The Hop Farm today welcomes a new owner, Kent Attractions LLP*. Owned by the Kent-based Hume-Kendall family Kent Attractions already have extensive business interests in the county in the
shape of Lamberhurst Vineyard and The Smart and Simple Hotel.

Brent and Fiona Pollard purchased the Hop Farm from Whitbread in 1997 following 10 successful years in the city. In over 8 years at the reins they have enjoyed unrivalled success in Kent tourism, increasing the visitor numbers from 60,000 in 1997 to 505,000 in 2005. Much of this success is attributed to the introduction of some of the counties most popular events.

The visitor attraction and varied events programme will be unaffected by the sale and customers can continue to expect the same high standards of customer service and high profile events. Brent will continue to play a vital role in the running of The Hop Farm for the next 18 months to ensure a smooth handover.

The Hop Farm will join Kent Attractions' other interests in the county, which include Lamberhurst Vineyard - a founder member of 'Seven Wonders of the Weald' - and the Smart & Simple Hotel in Tunbridge Wells. The move will bring Kent Attractions' assets to an enterprise value approaching £20 million.

Helen Hume-Kendall of Kent Attractions said: "The Hop Farm is synonymous with everything Kentish and we are proud to be its next custodian. We are looking forward to working with the Pollards and their team who have been involved in building on the success of the attraction and delivering its wonderful events programme.

Simon Hume-Kendall added: "Kent is an ideal place to develop a network of tourism-focused businesses. Not only are we close to London, the area will be on the doorstep of Thames Gateway, Medway Towns and Ashford, areas which in the coming years should see significant population growth and therefore demand for leisure activities.

As a tourism business we are interested to collaborate with other Kent companies who are seeking to grow. We are confident that through co-operation and acquisition Kent Attractions can become an important part of the county's tourism industry. By bringing together the Hop Farm and the Vineyard we will create a stronger marketing and management base from which we can offer ever improving affordability and accessibility for these, and in the future other, Kentish attractions."

ENDS