More Authenticity in Camp

[Transport]

Ahoy!

Sadly not every event we attend consists of trigger pulling and conducting battle scenarios. Most of the events we attend are simply Living History events where we try to educate John Q. Publik and family.

So here is my question, What are the finer points of authenticity that can be brought out in such a setting? The Gents I go to events with do the following:

Police our own gear- nothing outside the 1914-1918 era is allowed to be insight.

Barbed wire is "Faux" or jute with plastic barbs- lets face it what is the first thing a 3-4 year old is going to do when they see the barbed wire?- Grab it!

Food- Only what the Doughboys would have eaten.

We have considered things like- signage- "K OF C >" and "YMCA Canteen >" "H. Q." Various "road signs" indicating the name of a given village, town etc and distance in Kilometers.

We have sandbags, and a M1915 Colt made Vickers HMG, also.

So are we missing anything?

Suggestions welcome.

Transport out

[oskar2ndchev]

Sounds like you're hitting the "high points" there! ;D

That's an area I'm working on for our trenchworks. I've made up a number of signs and I've been accumulating various props. Now the trick is to get them all out there and set up.

Too bad we can't borrow the Vickers- that would REALLY add to the impression!

[rsm2ndbtnlf]

We all have our own interpritation of what 'Transport' has listed, but in the end i'm sure that we (each nationality's impression) will show the same amount of dedication.

Trench signs, trench stores, individual items, period clothing and equipment, household items, electronics.. the list is endless, but only limited to ones own dedication and enthusiasm.

One cannot be expected to have everything in place first-time-around, so as Adam has mentioned, research is required. With the research come improvements, with improvements more enthusiasm is gained. A combination of the latter brings a better understanding of the chosen period, and thus.. each member reaps a more indepth experiance from the attendance.

For our own part, we, the 2nd Battalion Lancashire Fusiliers are running on three consectutve plains: 1) Battalion, 2) Individual, 3) Location. Rather than concentrate upon one, we are developing these three areas together, thus growing independantly till the three become an interlinked effort. The finer details can then be targeted and refined.

As Adam can verify, our overall impression has improveed at a steady level with each showing. The main areas of concentrated importance during the past few weeks have been the trenches themselves and contempary trench stores, both areas to which great progress has been made.

On the subject of (in American speak) eye candy, we have sourced three period Vickers HMG's. One will be a much longer nagotiation project than anticipated, but the two remaining are workable before the end of this year... no promisses yet though!

Seph

[qms]

May I suggest that, for a camp impression, boxed stores are always a useful prop, both filled (or partially filled) with what they are supposed to contain (which allows for a kit/ration issue or cook-house restock scenario) and empty, as a last minute 'hide-away' for the odd items that inevitably turn up and can't be squared away in the vehicles in time before the public turn up.

Any help?

Tom

[oskar2ndchev]

Definately! You can never have enough boxes. :-)

[Transport]

Ahoy!

Thanks guys! Yes, I agree, that boxes and such to make a camp come to life. I have a few but need more for sure.

As for the Vickers here is a pic of it-

i17.photobucket.com/albums/b52/crcasada/WWI/IMG_0269.jpg

You can see some of the canned foods and such in the background and the "Faux" barbed wire.

Take care and thanks again. Practice makes perfect!

Chuck