Pickering's 1940s weekend: a look back

Pickering has spent the last few days dressed as a 1940s town, and the weekend is now over. The Pickering 1940s Weekend, also known as the Pickering 1940s War Weekend, ran from Friday 9 October to Sunday 11 October, turning the North Yorkshire market town into a living tribute to civilian life during the Second World War.

The town itself was the centrepiece. Live swing music, street dancing, costumed characters in authentic period dress, historic vehicles and themed decorations in local shops, cafés and pubs were the backdrop throughout. Dressing up in vintage or Allied uniform was encouraged but not mandatory. Friday opened with a Victory Ball at Galtres featuring The Lahdidahs, Johnny Victory, a 1940s wedding, the March of the Evacuees, the Grand Old Dukes of Jazz, a 1940s quiz, Marine Mae, DJ Murray Rose, DJ Paddy O'Kaye, the Stape Silver Band and a Tuneless Choir. Across the weekend, the pubs kept the live acts going, the Vintage Emporium was open, the 'Pickering at War' exhibition sat at the Beck Isle Museum, the Kirk Theatre put on live performances, a military vehicle display filled Pickering Castle, Barry Noble appeared as Winston Churchill and the North York Moors Railway ran its heritage steam trains.

Over at Eden Camp Modern History Museum, the 'Back to the 1940s' event took place on the Saturday and Sunday within the grounds of the original Prisoner of War Camp 83, which still stands with 22 original POW huts. Saturday brought Kyle Evans as George Formby, singing 'Leaning on a Lamp Post' and 'When I'm Cleaning Windows', alongside Hattie Bee, Karen Colin and Don Gentile, the York Vintage Dance Group and The Mike Brown Swing Band, a nine-piece big band playing Glenn Miller, Benny Goodman, Count Basie and Duke Ellington, plus 'We'll Meet Again' and 'A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square'. Sunday saw Karen Colin, Don Gentile, Hattie Bee and the York Vintage Dance Group return. The Saturday evening dance, a 1940s-style night with live music and drinks at the Yorkshire Bus Bar, was fully sold out with no tickets being accepted at the door.

For anyone who went, the practical side was well-covered. A free shuttle bus ran between Pickering, Galtres and Eden Camp on the Saturday and Sunday, with the last return from Eden Camp leaving at 22:45 on the Saturday and 17:00 on the Sunday. Parking was spread across Galtres Park & Ride, the Pickering Recreation Club, Old Trout Farm and the council car parks at Eastgate and Vivis Lane, with the Ropery as a short-stay option. Public toilets at Eastgate and the Ropery closed at 18:00.

There was a clear dress code and a set of rules. Period civilian or military clothing was encouraged, but weapons of any kind — deactivated, blank-firing, imitation, bladed or loaded — were banned in public spaces. Uniforms or insignia that could cause alarm or offence were prohibited, Axis uniforms representing the SS or Gestapo were strictly forbidden and Russian-style clothing or equipment was discouraged. With the weekend now finished, it's one to keep an eye on for next time rather than a plan for this one.