Beltring War and Peace Show, 2005
SHOW GROUND AND STALLS
Held on the site of the Hop Farm Country Park just outside the town of Beltring, it’s fair to say that this was a BIG show. The biggest I’ve ever attended – there were over 20 rows of stalls in one of the fields and thousands upon thousands of people milling around.
The show had already been running for three days by the time I got there on the Saturday, and although of course it’s a big spectacle for families and interested parties, it also acts as a kind of trade fair for militaria buffs.
{default}
Traders of all kinds were in attendance, from toy sellers to more serious traders dealing in deactivated weapons and military surplus.
This was one scary tent – knives, swords and other sharp implements could be bought, from Samurai swords to Klingon weapons!
Plus of course replica, airsoft and deactivated weapons of all kinds, ranging from muskets with obsolete calibres for which no license is required, to modern SA80’s. The Lancaster cockpit you see here was open for viewing internally and was helping to raise funds for a local charity.
[continued on next page]
