It gets bigger every year and, if I say so myself, better. The 2005 display at the Hop Farm, Paddock Wood, followed two successful trips to Kent to meet with the organisers and to mark out our pitches.

Again we filled the main display and over-filled the overflow pitch on the second field, more new members were welcomed, and indeed some more joined the Association.

On arriving early in the day, on the Friday prior to the event, I met the Show Marshals responsible for both pitches. As a result of negotiation we wound up with 40ft extra frontage on the main display, and a 3-fold increase in overflow area—it’s amazing how much room nearly 40 vehicles, trailers, tents and accoutrements takes up!

An early arrival on the main display was Stenar and Dag with their Norwegian 109 and Arctic display. An immediate operation was undertaken to turn the grass white before pitching the ‘bell’ type Arctic tent, and all the necessary. I am assured the rolled up ‘Wookie’ skin is an essential for camping in the ‘Wild North’—and I thought Yorkshire was grim! The assemblage was then cammed up with the first half-acre of netting. This was later to be added to as our ‘Winter Wonderland’ expanded with thanks to Ant and Sarah, Steve Marsh and, later in the week, Mike O’Connor. It wasn’t very long before Ken and Angela Pattison were up to their necks in the clay-dug slit trench (“Thanks Mam!”). It all helped to add atmosphere to a dusty and sometimes wet show.

The general feel of the display was soon added to with the arrival of Steve Saxton and his family who managed to save fuel on the journey by towing their Ambulance in on an A-frame before concealing it all in a cammo ‘hide’. I think that the assembly of 109 and Ambulance would make a good working exhibit on another occasion.

Sue Cummings soon arrived to share the ‘wet pit’ with Steve, and her immaculate Series 1 was soon being breathed upon by experts (did you ever find the missing bolts Sue?), maybe next year we can site the pit somewhere else…..good luck! But nobody fell down it and it stayed fresh!

Peter Barratt’s Carawagon and HQ tent arrived (complete with Pledge) and was soon set up to form the second end boundary of the display. Peter unfortunately had to leave before the week finished and his place was soon occupied by John Butcher and his 101. We had a 127 Ambulance, 101 Ambulance and a rare, if not unique, NI Panther road block vehicle forming the entrance, ably supported by George and his ‘Gunship’, a mixture of RMP and security vehicles filled the front line along with Dave Fish’s protective Wombat emplacement. The rear row was filled with an assortment of all types of military Land Rover from Series 1 to Wolf and I think the only variant missing was a Vampire.

In the second field, managed on my behalf by Jonathan Knight and his family plus Keith Harwood (thanks guys), was an ever-changing vista of vehicles, tents, pets, masts, etc which, although not in the main public eye, plays a vital contribution to the overall success of the week, with vehicles being ‘called forward’ to fill any gaps in the main display. My thanks must go to those valiant souls who ‘upped sticks’ to appear when needed. The event would not have happened as it did without your support as members.

In all we provided the public with a very interesting and varied display which included, for the first time in several years, an Arena Call. Several members were able to increase their collections of valuable and assorted essential military equipment during the week. (No Steve—I am NOT going to call it TAT!) It was very interesting to see the display improve as things disappeared under more and more cam, webbing, deacts, chip wrappers, dust, mud, Germans, Yanks, Vietcong, Hungarians, Japanese etc as the week went on!

Thank you all for a great week which left the organisers happy, the punters interested, the Association’s profile raised still further, members smiling and me physically and mentally exhausted!

The Scout Jamborees of 2006 and 2007 are going to seem like a rest… they have only a minimum of 3,000 Scouts to worry about!

Thanks for all your help and cheerful assistance, best wishes to 2006’s volunteer marshal(s), I am sure you will continue to give them all the support they will need. See you somewhere—sometime.

Rex Hunt