On Sunday 1st September I visited The Victory Show which takes place every year at Foxlands Farm near Cosby in Leicestershire. Most of the 1940’s themed weekends I have attended seem to be located where there is a steam railway. The Victory Show is somewhat different in a number of ways. It seems to specialise in battle reenactments which take place both on the fields and within the woods. They also have an airshow with a number of aircraft taking part, such as Spitfires, Hurricanes, Mustangs and many more. At most 1940’s weekends I’ve attended you will only get one or maybe two aircraft performing a flypast so The Victory Show might hold more appeal to historic plane enthusiasts.
The Victory Show Tickets
Tickets for The Victory Show can be purchased via their website. They sell Standard tickets, VIP tickets and Camping Tickets. You can also buy Standard tickets on the day at the gate but you will save money if you purchase in advance. An advance standard ticket cost £25.00 whereas paying on the day cost £32.50. There are other rates available for family tickets and the under 15’s. Children under 5 are allowed in for free.
The VIP ticket provides a number of additional extras including unlimited soft drinks, an event brochure, flight line walk, meeting the pilots and any veterans attending as well as a buffet lunch. VIP ticket holders would also get a better view of the air show, main battle reenactment and VIP parking.
The show takes place over 3 days (Friday-Sunday). I decided to only visit on the Sunday.
Photographic Opportunities
So what did I think about The Victory Show, from the perspective of a photographer? Well in terms of the battle reenactments I felt it was difficult to get excellent images of the battle taking place in the main field. You cannot move freely and are taking photos from a distance. I was also looking towards the sun so it wasn’t good light. The reenactments that take place in the woods offer much better lighting. However again due to the popularity of the show you cannot move freely so all your images will be from the same viewpoint.
It is possible to get individual portraits in some of the fields where groups have displays of vehicles and other related 1940’s equipment. Naturally there are also lots of mobile outlets selling food and drink so you don’t need to bring a picnic. The following gallery gives an idea of the sort of images you can obtain. This is only a small selection and more can be found if you visit my Facebook gallery for this event.
The Victory Show – Summary
Having now visited The Victory Show I feel able to give my opinion on the event. It certainly fills a very useful weekend in the 1940’s enthusiast’s calendar. I can’t think of another 1940’s weekend where you will have the chance to see battle reenactments like these. If you are lucky enough to get priviledged access (perhaps the VIP ticket gives you this) you can get some really good images of explosions and smoke that really help illustrate what these battles were like.
Another interesting aspect of The Victory Show is the fact that you get to see people who are representing the German side of the conflict. For some other 1940’s weekends people are banned from attending in German uniforms. I assume they are worried about the accusation of glorifying the Nazis or are responding to complaints they have had in the past. I myself have seen my Facebook account restricted because in the past I have uploaded an image of someone in a German uniform. We seem to live in a very sensitive world these days and trying to ignore some aspects of history doesn’t seem a sensible thing to do. Indeed if you speak to those who wear a German uniform you don’t get the sense they are glorifying the Nazis. Most take history very seriously and have undertaken great research to make sure every aspect of the regiments they are portraying are accurate. There is great friendship between these groups as well. When introducing a reenactment of the Nine Days At Arnhem battle, a man dressed as a British Paratrooper made a point of complimenting those on the other side of the wood, dressed as German soldiers, saying that they are very professional and show incredible attention to detail.
For those who prefer a 1940’s weekend with steam trains, live music and more people dressed as 1940’s civilians you could always check out a couple of my articles where I attended the Haworth 1940’s Weekend and The North Norfolk Railway 1940’s Weekend (often referred to as the Sheringham 1940’s Weekend.
