The 'Allo 'Allo team will be back again at War and Peace this year, based in the Victory Marquee, signing autographs and photographs.  More news once we have confirmation of who is attending.

 
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The Show, which takes place at The Hop Farm, Paddock Wood, from 18 to 22 July, celebrates its 30^th anniversary this year.

It's also the 30^th anniversary of the Falklands War, and to mark this, all Falklands veterans have been invited to attend free. Second World War veterans can also attend free as usual.

"I love history," said Simon. "And I just love the fact that people are keeping history alive through living history and by buying military vehicles and displaying them.

"I think it's just wonderful and admire these people so much. In their own way they are paying tribute to those who served in the wars. Indeed many of them were in the armed forces."

Simon, a former Welsh Guardsman, was severely burned in June 1982 when the RFA ship Sir Galahad was bombed in Bluff Cove. As a result of his injuries he has undergone more than 70 operations and has had to cope with severe psychological trauma.

Since then he has written books, campaigned for numerous charities and built a first class reputation as an inspirational speaker. Today he is also a businessman working on a range of projects.

"What appeals to me about the War and Peace Show is the emphasis on peace - people dressing up in 1940s clothing, land army girls, how people coped with rationing, children in old fashioned prams dressed up for the period. I just love all that. It's nice that's it's done in an entertaining way, not glorifying or glamorising war but making it interesting.

"To look at the scale of the Show I just thought: ‘Wow'. I've been to military shows where there have been a few vehicles and one or two living history displays. But something of this size is amazing."

Simon said it's important that the sacrifice made by so many servicemen in the Falklands should never be forgotten. "The recognition by the War and Peace Show will go a long way to ensuring this doesn't happen," he said.

The sentiment was echoed by Rex Cadman, organiser of the War and Peace Show. "We have always paid tribute to our Second World War veterans," he said.  "But it's important that we don't forget the men who died or were wounded in later conflicts.

"We are planning a major display at this year's show to mark the Falklands War anniversary."

The War and Peace Show is the biggest military extravaganza in the world. It features the biggest display of historic military vehicles on the planet, a vast range of living history displays, 1940s entertainments and fashions, breath taking arena displays and acres of militaria stalls.

For further information please contact: Peter Cook, 01795 536915 or 07796 172680 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Jacqui Curtis, marketing manager The Hop Farm, 01622 870804 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

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The War and Peace Show, the largest military vehicle spectacular in the world, will celebrate its incredible 30^th anniversary in July 2012, when the annual event comes once again to The Hop Farm, Paddock Wood in Kent.

To provide a unique memento of this special 30^th anniversary show, The War and Peace Show is delighted to announce that it has awarded the contract for filming the DVD to Leicester-based film company, SinVision.

Headed by David Sinclair, SinVision has worked directly with SKY, ITV and the BBC.  David has completed 212 films for various small to very large organisations, charities and companies such as B&Q, Honda, Subway, Vidal Sassoon, Living.tv, Porsche Club GB, Royal Windsor Horse Show and Royal Tattoo and the Special Olympics.  He has filmed in America and all over Europe bringing his attention to detail through the lens onto the screen. 

The War and Peace Show Organiser, Rex Cadman, said of the choice: "when we met with David and his Project Manager, John Sims, we were instantly impressed with both their experience and enthusiasm towards the War and Peace Show. Their professional approach and ideas made the choice of SinVision an easy one and we are very excited about the end result.  The War and Peace Show is such a huge event covering so many different activities from Living History, to military vehicles, re-enactments, fashion and dancing, that it is important for DVD viewers to gain a full taste of the Show.  We are confident that SinVision will provide a thrilling and lively DVD that will be treasured for many years to come.

The War and Peace Show will be held on 18-22 July 2012 - for more information or to book tickets see: www.thewarandpeaceshow.com

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The War and Peace Show is held every year at The Hop Farm, Paddock Wood in Kent.  This year's Show will be on from 18-22 July and will give visitors of all ages a thrilling day out. The Show welcomes over 100,000 visitors each year and includes 23 acres of Living History from WW1 to current. During the five days of the Show visitors can see events and exhibits covering all elements of both the war and the peace side including military vehicles, battle re-enactments, fashion shows, dancing displays and lessons, book signings, big bands, singers and burlesque dancers.  2011 saw in excess of 3,250 vehicles, including 120 period bicycles!  Over 1,000 trade stands provide an interesting opportunity to get engrossed in military and vintage finds.

The War and Peace Show is the only event to provide free entry and entertainment to all WW2 veterans, welcoming over 700 veterans in 2011.  2012 will commemorate several anniversaries including the 30^th anniversary of The Falklands War and all Falklands veterans will also be extended an invitation to attend free of charge.

For more information please contact The War and Peace Show on 01304 813945 or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it

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Extensive coverage of the 5 day War and Peace Show at Beltring, Kent, England in July 2011. Battle re-enactments and interviews.

Running time 2 hours

From the might of thundering tanks to the unused belt of ammunition, this DVD captures the whole essence of the world's largest gathering of military vehicles. It looks at action re-enactments with close quarters footage filmed from areas prohibited to public access and edited to reconstruct specific battle scenarios, along with a few short informative interviews with the people who are experts in the field - the re-enactors themselves. Whether they be vehicle owners or just a 'Private' in the Wehrmacht, they all play an important role. From model making to entertainment, living history, aerial shorts, vehicles from outside and within they all come together in this programme to cover every aspect of this year's show. There are a few surprises too! If you didn't have the time to see it all for yourself or didn't even make it to the show this year, this DVD is an irreplaceable addition to your library.

click here for additional info
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War and Peace Show Pronounced Success by Kent School Children

The 29^th annual War and Peace Show once again welcomed school children from across Kent recently for its annual Schools' Day.

The Schools' Day - which was launched in 2010 - was the brainchild of the War and Peace Show owner, Rex Cadman, with support from the then Cabinet Member for Education at Kent County Council, Mark Dance.  Passionate about giving the children the opportunity to learn outside of the classroom in appropriate settings, Mark welcomed the co-operation with The War and Peace Show in bringing history to life: "As the War and Peace Show is so varied - not just tanks but planes, cars, people, all bringing the world wars to life - it gives the young people something to reflect on, a real living history."

The inaugural Schools' Day in 2010 welcomed nearly 1,500 school children, while 2011 saw a little less due to it being the last day of term.

A full programme of activities and demonstrations is created each year by experts in their field to help stimulate the youngsters' thirst for knowledge and history. These include wartime rations, Home Guard, trench warfare and anti-aircraft, dance and lifestyle and living history presentations.

Hundreds of letters have been received from the school children, thanking The War and Peace Show for the day.  Favourite exhibits included the Lancaster bomber, the wartime food and catering demonstrations, the tanks and the trenches:  "My favourite was when I got to hold the real rifle"; "It was so cool when the tanks drove around going up hills. My favourite part was the Battle of Britain; I learnt a lot from the past"; "I liked the man who told us about what food the army had to eat at war - it was so fun it was a fantastic day"; "I enjoyed learning about the weapons used in the 1^st World War and the 2^nd World War. Thank you for the wonderful day out."
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Please click on the link to find out what the daily newspaper (paper and online version) for American military and government personnel overseas says about our show.
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WAR AND PEACE SHOW WAS AMONG THE BEST EVER

WITH official figures yet to come in, indications are that this year's War and Peace Show was one of the best ever.

Organiser Rex Cadman said: "Certainly people enjoyed the Show, judging from all the positive feedback on Facebook and on Twitter.

"And the guys who run the car parks, always good judges of these things, said they thought this year's Show was one of the best attended."

The number of military vehicles exhibited was a record for the Show with some rare and interesting examples on display. These ranged from the three Model-T First World War vehicles of Tony George, from Dagenham, to the Panzer IV restored by Steve Lamonby of Hampshire, on behalf of the Royal Jordanian Tank Museum, which took Best in Show.

There were a number of new faces at this year's event. For the first time the Second Royal Tank Regiment sent a team and are promising to return next year with one of their massive Challenger 2 battle tanks.

Sgt Chris Parsons, who was an undertaker before he joined up, said: "We see Kent and the South East as our principal recruiting ground so we wanted to be here to thank local people for all the support they've given us during our tour of duty in Afghanistan over the winter."

The granddaughter of Second World War hero General George Patton visited the Show for the first time and said she was very impressed. "It's good to see the respect living history groups here show towards our war veterans," she said.

One of the most exciting battle re-enactments was put on by the 502 MP Company Kelly's Heroes, who brought in four snow machines to turn their display area white, for a re-working of the Battle of Foy, which took place during the Battle of the Bulge. Malcolm Dunlop's team created a deafening performance with tanks, machine guns, false blood and stunts that would have satisfied any film director. And sometimes the Germans were allowed to win!

On the lighter side the team of ‘Allo ‘Allo cast members that squeezed into their costumes to be photographed with fans, did a brisk trade, raising money for the Not Forgotten Association. "It's been really busy," said Sue Hodge, alias killer tart Mimi Labonq. "Even after 10 years huge numbers of people remember the show with great affection."

After the traditional prize giving, Rex Cadman reminded visitors: "Next year will see our 30^th anniversary Show. We are planning big things for this milestone event."
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War and Peace Show 2011 Trophy Winners