Hop Farm 1943

DANCING on the lawn, a brass band, sack races and three legged races, bottle stalls and guess-the-weight-of-the-cake competitions - all the fun of a village fete.

This War and Peace Show is turning back the clock to 1943, and staging a typical wartime fete as part of a 'fund raising effort to buy a Spitfire'.

"In 1943 a Spitfire would cost around £5,000," said Nicky Reynolds, of the "Soil Cinderellas", a Land Army re-enactment group that is organising the event.  "Or if you were really ambitious you could raise £17,000 and buy a Lancaster Bomber."

To emphasise what the fete is all about, the Land Army girls are putting up a huge banner bearing the legend:  "We plough the plains, you buy the planes".

There's also a chance that a real Spitfire will fly over.

Everything will be done 1943 style.  As the Tea Dance gets underway, GIs and their girls will swing to the music and dance styles of the period.  A wind-up gramophone will supply the accompaniment from old 78rpm Bakelite records.

There will be authentic NAAFI wagons serving austerity food, cakes made from ingredients available during wartime, and even the bottles on the bottle stall will have authentic 1940s labelling.

The produce show will be judged by "Mrs Felicia Coombes-Watson", a member of the "Soil Cinderellas" got up to look like a typical county stalwart.  And there will even be a stereotype vicar, "Rev St John Bowring".

Visitors to the fete will also be able to look over the Hop Farm's 'dig for victory' garden, complete with Anderson shelter.

Prominently displayed at the fete will be an authentic plaque, of the kind presented to villages by the Air Ministry, when they had raised enough money to buy a Spitfire.

The "Soil Cinderellas"  group was started by Nicky Reynolds in 1999 to make sure the vital work of the Land Army girls during World War Two, is not forgotten.

"Everything we do and wear is authentic," she said.  "All of our members must be able to drive a Fordson tractor, milk a cow by hand, and shear a sheep by hand.

"Some of us are taking up traditional crafts such as thatching and hedge laying."

The members scour charity shops, antique shops and auctions to find original Land Army clothing, right down to their underwear. 

Among the members is a contingent of genuine veteran Land Army ladies, who can advise members on what to wear.  They include a 93-year old former Timber Corps volunteer.

Nicky started the "Soil Cinderellas" in response to her husband, Nicholas's interest in re-enactment groups.  Rather than remain at home when he went off to displays, she decided to form her own group and go along too.

"I've always been interested in anything to do with the countryside," she said, "especially if horses are involved.

"Some really good books about the Land Army have been published for us to refer to.  And we have been able to get copies of magazines published for Land Army girls, which are full of useful material."

Membership of the "Soil Cinderellas" is more than just a hobby.  The group has become recognised as a historical reference point, and Nicky gives talks to schools and groups, to emphasise the vital role women played during both World Wars.

The Suffolk Land Army Association has even handed over its standard to the group, and Nicky is proud to carry this at Remembrance Sunday parades.

"Organising the fete has been tremendous fun," she said.  "Let's hope people enjoy it as much as we've enjoyed creating it."