Salute to the '40s
Throughout the weekend of 18th and 19th September, step back in time to the summner of 1940 and experience the drama of Dunkirk. See the 'Invasion Summer' recreated with air raids, troops, vehicles, fashion and an exciting programme of wartime entertainment with humour, music and dance.
Salute to the '40s, one of the most atmospheric Second World War events in the country returns to The Historic Dockyard Chatham on 18th and 19th September. This hugely popular event, supported by Best of British Magazine, will mark the 70th anniversary of Dunkirk with a unique tribute to the miraculous evacuation of the British Army from France in 1940. The National Destroyer Memorial Ship, HMS Cavalier will assume the guise of HMS Greyhound for the Dunkirk Tribute each afternoon. With a naval crew aboard she will be ‘alongside’ the mole in Dunkirk as exhausted troops stream aboard under air attack. Anti-aircraft guns will fire skyward as the ship makes its way across the Channel to safety, and as the ship comes alongside in Dover Harbour the rescued troops will hurry ashore to hot drinks and salvation at the hands of the WVS and shore parties.
Using a real wartime ship as the stage, with pyrotechnic detonations and sound effects, the tribute will present a view of the Miracle of Dunkirk in a manner probably not seen since the historic event itself. Either side of the Dunkirk Tribute The Historic Dockyard will resonate to a multitude of sights and sounds that will come together to recreate a typical Dockyard community at war
A real air raid siren will shriek its unforgettable warning into the sky; the Dockyard steam locos will chug around; troops and convoys will rumble up and down the dockyard; and following the ‘air raids’ the fire service will rush to extinguish any fires. Another 70th anniversary of high importance will also be marked. Following the Miracle of Dunkirk, Britain stood alone awaiting invasion. But first the RAF had to be subdued in what became the Battle of Britain. In celebration of this historic episode in our Island History a full-size faithful replica of a Hurricane fighter will be on ground display alongside a ‘shot down’ German ME109 fighter.
Entertainment always figures big at Salute to the '40s and as a tribute to the multitude of entertainers who joined ENSA and the USO, or trod the boards in provincial theatres, no less then four entertainment areas will showcase the songs and humour that kept Britain going
Each day there will be a parade of military vehicles as we all ‘Welcome the Troops Home’ on this the 65th anniversary of the end of hostilities.
A great event for youngsters too!
Throughout the site there’ll be vehicles lining the street, hundreds of re-enactors in uniform providing authentic military displays, camps and ‘tableaux’ and many walking civilians, evacuees, spivs and children riding bicycles and tricycles all in period clothes.