War & Peace 2013 - has moved from the Hop Farm

[J.Klinsmann]

http://hmvf.co.uk/forumvb/showthread.ph ... w-Location

[Peiper]

Is this anything to do with what happened to our group Klinsmann??
I can't get the link as iam on the net using a phone
Cheers Pipes

[les hearn]

nothing to do with the reenactors

decision was made ages ago it seems

[carvillan]

Is this anything to do with what happened to our group Klinsmann??
I can't get the link as iam on the net using a phone
Cheers Pipes

What happened to your group?? Got snapped by that shit-rag 'The Sun' again?

[Peiper]

Hi Les glad to see you back on here, thanks for the heads up
If we have moved venues lets hope those trouble making land rover
owners who parade in the "vehicle show" will stop at the old venue.

Hi carvillan yes there is some info about what happened with our
brush with the gutter press on the Second Battle Group thread
Regards. Peiper

[carvillan]

Hi Les glad to see you back on here, thanks for the heads up
If we have moved venues lets hope those trouble making land rover
owners who parade in the "vehicle show" will stop at the old venue.

Hi carvillan yes there is some info about what happened with our
brush with the gutter press on the Second Battle Group thread
Regards. Peiper

Hey Pipes,

I posted about it on our own forum. I think it is a right joke mate. They have hyper-sensationalised the whole thing. And I bet the owners of Hop Farm didn't know anything about your uniforms!! That quote just sounds totally made up to me!

I must admit though that having a Christmas get together in uniform can look 'dodgy' to the outside. Had you been at a WW2 show in the uniforms, no-one would bat and eyelid. Did the photographer get any of you?

[Peiper]

I dont know who was there because i didnt go tbh, i was working away that weekend,
all i know is some proffessional photographer working for one of the tabloids (tomorrows
fish and chip paper) was hiding in a car in the carpark waiting with his camera, call me
Mr suspicious but that sounds suspicious lol....seriously it sounds like this creeping jerk
was tipped off imho, all this has been said on the other topic but the hop farm knew who
we were, apparantly the group has been going there for their Xmas party for ten years
so them saying they didnt know who we were or what we do etc is bullshit tbh grrrrrrrr
Pipes

[pepperpot]

there is more to this than meets the eye, why change a long standing event to a new location of about 25% area. speculations will run rife and i doubt if the real reason(s) will ever be known. What i have been told hasn't come up yet and (sorry) i have no intention to fuel the fire by giving my opinion on this forum, because i have no way of proving anything.
All events have suffered this year due to the weather and everyone's financial state, both beltring and detling in particular (i was at both), numbers were greatly down.
hope it gets better in 2013
Les nice to see you back
graham

[gottmituns205]

After going through 13 pages on the HMVF it seems as though the farm didn't want to hold it there anymore.

Moving it 60 miles south seems kinda odd though...I'd have thought they would have moved it further north slightly. Plenty of abandoned RAF bases along the way.

[Peiper]

there is more to this than meets the eye, why change a long standing event to a new location of about 25% area. speculations will run rife and i doubt if the real reason(s) will ever be known. What i have been told hasn't come up yet and (sorry) i have no intention to fuel the fire by giving my opinion on this forum, because i have no way of proving anything.

I have no intention of adding fuel to fires (if any ??)....it sounds though reading between the lines
that the hop farm after years of making money on the backs of us reenactors have suddenly
gotten cold feet and if i was being suspicious i would say whats happened recently is connected
imho...obviously somebody up there has stabbed our group in the back....without sounding
paranoid this seems like a grand conspiricy tbh ,,,,,grrrrrr
Peiper

[Schäfer]

Rex has written a full and succinct explanation on the War & Peace Facebook page, replicated below, which seems to fully explain the reasons behind the move.

The journey to War and Peace Revival – from the heart by Rex

It is reassuring to see the amount of talk about War and Peace, which underlines the incredible affection this show is held in. It has been a major part of mine and Barbara’s lives for 25-years and has given us some of our best memories, some of our toughest times and introduced us to some amazing and wonderful people. Many of these people we are delighted and proud to be able to call friends and it is only thanks to our involvement in War and Peace that we have these people in our lives.

But after 25-years at the Hop Farm we sadly regret that the relationship between both management teams has broken down irreparably. This year we were left with the strong feeling that we were constantly working at odds with the Hop Farm management and that what we wanted to do with the Show was completely opposite to what they wanted. I had such a fondness for The Hop Farm – having been an owner with my close friends Brent and Fiona Pollard for a number of years - that it is doubly sad for me.

It had been felt by many for a couple of years that the Show was becoming a little staid, so after a summer of considerable thought and discussion with my team, we came to the conclusion that it was time for a new start at a new venue. It was time to close The War and Peace Show that we all knew and loved and move on.

Once this decision was made, the entire War and Peace team – including both the office staff and Officials – felt rejuvenated and excited at the prospect of building something new, something even better. We all loved and enjoyed the War and Peace Show so it was important to keep this momentum and maintain the incredible feeling of community that it brought. It was a lengthy, exhausting and worrying few months finding a new location – after all this had to be right. We had so many “non-negotiable” needs that the list of locations available was all too short. We’ve visited fields and event sites, talked to the military and estate agents, and were despairing of ever finding the right location. We found one site we really liked, only to have our ideas dashed when the owner changed his mind.

Then we found Folkestone Racecourse. We tried not to become too excited – there was so much riding on this that we couldn’t get it wrong. The permanent facilities are much better than those at the Hop Farm – with plenty of toilets, a large restaurant with a grandstand view of the show ground, several bars and lots of lovely grass and tarmac. The acreage available to us is greater than we use at the Hop Farm and with many acres of adjoining farmland, expansion is always possible. There are several entrances to get various types of vehicles in and out – public, trade and vehicle exhibitors will each have their own entrances - and there is even an accommodation block for our Officials! For our Living History participants - there is plenty of space and we’ll be able to have an area for those that need to dig and those that don’t.

The local area has such an enormous military history that it is perfect for the new War and Peace Revival. Right in Hellfire Corner, ten minutes up the road is Ashford, famed as a WW2 transport hub. RAF Lympne is practically around the corner and the Racecourse site itself was better known as RAF Westenhanger during WW2. Ten miles in the opposite direction is Folkestone, from where millions of soldiers departed for the battlefields of WW1 France, and further along the marshes is the proposed location of Hitler’s Operation Sea Lion invasion of Britain, while Dover, Ramsgate, Canterbury, St Margaret’s Bay and many more historic locations are just a short drive away.

With the decision made on the site and designs being started, a last minute name change gave us our new show, and The War and Peace Revival was born. The websites were bought, Twitter feeds acquired and Facebook name changed.

Meanwhile talks were continuing with people including the local council, which is very supportive of our new show. Knowing the impact our old show had on Paddock Wood and the surrounding area, they are keen to help us with the new venture – this will be a very positive step in Shepway’s regeneration programme and we are delighted to also have the full support of Kent County Council and Visit Kent.

This move to the new venue and launch of the new show gives us the opportunity to introduce aspects that we’ve never had before with the old show. I will be drawing upon our Officials to help with this and in fact we’ve already started with some major plans. There were many things we wanted to introduce but weren’t able to at the Hop Farm due to budget issues or structural layout. For example we’ve wanted to increase our Vintage element for some time so now we have the chance. Working with Terry Elliott we will be introducing a Vintage Village which will cater for the more glamorous side of our audience! Home Front re-enactment will be another expanding area, showing the impact of war on civilians and the breadth of roles they were required to fulfil.

Of course we know that the location is key for both our visitors and exhibitors alike. From the Dartford Tunnel it is just another 24 miles further on for visitors north of there, or 28 miles further from Clackett Lane on the M25 – and apart from the last mile its motorway all the way! The amount of time it would take you to get the 9 ½ miles from J4 of the M20 to the Hop Farm you would be nearly to Ashford. The access is far simpler than at the Hop Farm, with the new venue being just one mile off junction 11 of the M20 and having ample parking. For rail travellers there is a mainline train station right next door – in fact you could hop over the fence and be straight into the showground – not that we recommend it! And of course it is much closer for visitors from the continent. The Channel Tunnel Terminus and Eurostar are just 10-minutes away and the ports of Folkestone and Dover are also very close. Our friends at DFDS Seaways have confirmed they will extend the special War and Peace travel rates to the new War and Peace Revival.

Now that we’re doing this on our own, the responsibility will stop firmly with War and Peace for toilets and showers. No longer will we be reliant on our venue for facilities that were often sub-standard. However we do need visitors and exhibitors to respect this and these facilities and treat them as you would your facilities at home.

Our team is totally committed to bringing our loyal visitors and exhibitors an exciting new show, which will be as well-organised as my former show. The entire team is behind this new event and we are all looking forward to it and to welcoming our friends both old and new to this new show – and hopefully reaching a wider audience at our amazing new venue.

Updates will be posted regularly going forwards from here. We realise that without you there is no show and we want to ensure that we include you in everything we’re doing between now and July. If you have questions, please don’t hesitate to ask them – you know our email addresses and phone numbers.

With its closure, we’re now in talks with a publishing company to produce a 30th anniversary book to chart the history of The War and Peace Show.

So on behalf of Barbara, Georgie, Andrea, Alison, Paul and all the Officials, I’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for your support and for bearing with us over the next year while we move forwards with this new show.

Wishing you and your family a very happy Christmas, a joyful New Year – and an incredible visit to the brand new War and Peace Revival!

Best wishes
Rex Cadman

(Hopefully, that will stop the rumour-mongering.)

[Sturmschar]

Well Yippee - I will not be sad to see the back of the Hop Farm and will look forward to Folkstone Race Course!

[schwarz engel]

as some of you are aware, this has been on the cards for a while ,for those that have supported this event over the years ,you will know that the events facilities have been on the slide for some time !and there has been a fair few green vehicle tug alongs impacting on this event .
Change is good after 30 years of it and i have been involved with a fair few of them !.
Although its a few miles further for our northern friends for those who transit through the dartford tunnel its a fair run down , those from the west , more mileage.
Have a look at your maps , for the lads from europa they can almost unload there panzers from the euro tunnel and drive to the event !
There is plenty of ground space ,i know that greg and his boys will sort the display areas out , and once the bit is between our teeth the event will happen .
Facilities are good , the food is good and hopefully we wont have to drink poop lager !maybe the prices will get sorted to !.
Plus side you can always send the chuntering familie to the beach , or dump them on the ranges !!!!!!!.
The offensive will continue ! bring on the amis !

As for the the SBG and the story of naughty people in uniforms and a childrens play park !this is historical reenactment, not the real thing 2012 not 1944 .

Food was tosh there anyway , should of charged asda for advertising !

mr no comment

[Sturmschar]

Well said Harry Hatecrime the food was indeed tosh, the drink overpriced and served by a pair of threetoed Sloths on mogadon!

[Schäfer]

At least you lot were only photographed in W-SS uniforms. During the same weekend in North London I was photographed in a claret and blue jacket and matching scarf adorned with the notorious crossed Hammers hate symbol!