YOU will see enough guns, of one sort or another, to arm a small army, as you wander round the War and Peace Show.

Everything from a Lee Enfield bolt action rifle to a 50 calibre Browning heavy machine gun will be there, not to mention weapons from Germany, Italy, Russia, America and other countries.

Re-enactment displays, which have grown in popularity in recent years, would not be very convincing without the right guns.

But groups have a problem. Members are not allowed to own the weapons, unless they have the necessary Government permits.  For most people, that is out of the question, because you need the right business set up, the right storage facilities and the right experience.

The answer for most is to hire the weapons from a recognised company. Two companies have come together to supply guns for this show under the name War and Peace Weapons Supplies.

One of the companies, War and Peace Weapons run by Show organiser Rex Cadman and Yorkshireman Paul Dalby, supplies armaments from the Second World War. The other, North Coast Armouries, based in Devon, provides First World War guns, and weapons from the post War period. It's run by two former RAF men, Dave Main and Steve Vickers, who have a passion for guns.

"We have Lee Enfield rifles and Maxim machine guns of the kind used by soldiers on the Western Front in the 1914 to 1918 War," said Steve. "But we can also supply weapons of the kind being used in Afghanistan today, such as the AK47.

"Perhaps the most interesting gun we have is the 2PUZ anti-aircraft gun, which was used by the Viet Cong. That's usually let out to Rolling Thunder, a Vietnam War re-enactment group, at the Show."

It's not just re-enactment groups who hire the weapons. They are used in television dramas, films, commercials and documentaries. The History Channel has been a frequent customer. Recently WWI arms were supplied for an episode of Downton Abbey.

The North Coast Armouries store houses more than 2,000 guns of different kinds. The company also de-activates and restores guns for collectors. Steve reckons that more than 10,000 have passed through their hands during the two years of their existence.

War and Peace Weapons' armoury is growing fast, with new and sometimes rare examples coming in every day. Recently Rex bought in some Sten guns. They also have a couple of Maxim guns, because the use of these continued into WW2.

There are Bren guns, Vickers guns, an American Thomson sub machine gun, a rare Italian M38 sub machine gun and even Russian Mosin Nagant rifles. And of course Lee Enfields by the score.

"Serious re-enactment groups can't get away with using any old rifle or machine gun these days," said Paul Dalby. "People know too much about it.

"If they are going to be credible, they have to have the right weapons. It's the same with films and documentaries.

"Our aim is to make sure authentic guns are available so that these groups can make their displays true to the historical reality of what they set out to portray."

So if it's a gun for hire that you need, you can contact www.warandpeaceweapons.co.uk  or www.northcoastarmouries.com.