Members who are also on the Great War Forum will be aware that recently I was part of a group that raised £80,000 to restore our local Centotaph and Roll of Honour. I also organised an exhibition on 'Barry and the Great War' with the help of WFA members and re-enactors on 10th Nov. We had 2,300 visitors in 6 hours! (Pictures on the site under 'Cemeteries and Memorials') I've been asked if I'll do it again next November and thought I'd broaden it to 'Barry and the Two World Wars'. The idea would be to raise funds for the upkeep of the restored areas over future years. I wonder if anyone would be interested in giving up a day to support us by taking a table and filling it with their WW2 artefacts? The public's response this year was amazing and all the volunteers (29 of us) are up for a repeat performance. I'd also love to hear from any WW2 re-enactors who'd like to join us in South Wales early next November. Thanks for reading this! Jonathan
Jonathan Would you be interested in military vehicles as well? I have some old vehicle contacts in the UK that I can spread the word to if you like. My best man is also in sales for aircraft parts and a keen aviation historian (and former assistant editor with key Publishing etc). Do you have a press release or something along those lines that I could pass to him for potential sponsorship/additional publicity? Congratulations on your success this year. I'd like to think we at this forum could help you out. We're not huge but we make up for it with enthusiasm!
Hi Lads. Thank you for your encouragement. I am awaiting final confirmation from the manageress of the Memorial Hall and then I shall be back with more details. Regards, Jonathan
The Memorial Hall contacted me on Monday - overwhelmed by the idea! We have booked Saturday 22nd November 2008, 10.30 a.m. to 4 p.m. (plus the afternoon before for set up) in the Main Hall, plus car park front and back. Fellow members of the South Wales Branch of the Western Front Association are booked, plus fellow members of the South Wales Militaria Group. They put on superb displays last month and are keen for a repeat. What we really need at this stage are some WW2 militaria collectors who would be prepared to take a table or two to show off items from their collections. I'll handle the advance publicity as I did this year by writing articles for the local papers and asking people to contact me with their Barry-related WW2 stories. Have a few other ideas to really make it a really memorable day. Andy, we now have the space for military vehicles in the front car park so any support would be most welcome. I have someone working on a publicity flyer and can send it shortly. If you need any further details at this stage please let me know. Thanks! Jonathan
