Redline Home Guard once again took part in The Great Tommy Sleep Out this year, returning to the historic surroundings of Howbery Park for another memorable weekend in support of Royal British Veterans Enterprise (RBVE) and homeless veterans.
As always, we embraced the challenge properly, sleeping out under canvas in authentic wartime conditions using period tents, blankets and equipment. While the weather was kinder during the day, temperatures overnight on Saturday dropped sharply, leaving us to wake to a distinctly frosty start on Sunday morning. Thankfully, a good fire, plenty of tea and a hearty breakfast soon got everyone warmed back up.
Our 1940s encampment once again recreated a small Home Guard position beside the Thames, helping bring the story of Britain’s wartime defences to life for visitors across the weekend. The setting at Howbery Park continues to provide the perfect backdrop for immersive living history.
The nearby WWII pillbox was once again brought back to life as part of the weekend, carefully set up with Bren guns, ammunition boxes and other period equipment to recreate how it may have appeared during the war as part of Stopline Red. Throughout the night, members also maintained a guard rota in true Home Guard fashion, standing two-hour stag shifts around the camp and pillbox until morning. While it made for excellent immersive living history, spending a cold night under canvas also served as an important reminder of the very real hardship faced by homeless veterans and others forced to sleep rough.
During the weekend we made full use of the site for training and demonstrations. Members spent time practising spigot mortar drills, working through loading and deployment procedures while discussing the role these unusual weapons played in Britain’s anti-invasion preparations. We also took the opportunity to make a bit of noise with several blank firing weapons, which certainly added atmosphere to the camp and proved popular with visitors.
Alongside the demonstrations, visitors were able to explore our displays of Home Guard equipment, weapons and wartime kit, while chatting to members about the role of local defence units during the Second World War. As always, one of the best parts of the weekend was seeing people genuinely engage with the history, asking questions and sharing stories of relatives who served in the Home Guard or wider wartime services.
Most importantly, this year’s event has so far raised around £1,400 for RBLI, an increase on last year’s total and a fantastic result for such an important cause. Every donation helps support veterans facing homelessness and hardship, making the cold night under canvas more than worthwhile.
We would like to thank everybody who came along to support the event, donated, or spent time talking with us over the course of the weekend. We are also hugely grateful once again to Howbery Park Estate for hosting the event and continuing to support both living history and veterans’ charities in such a unique setting.
After another successful year, we are already looking forward to returning again in the future.
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