OUR GROUP- OUR AIMS AND ETHOS
We are a small group of like-minded people with an interest in this period of WW2, ‘Authenticity’ is our byword. We take great pains to ensure that the way we dress and every thing we do is as correct as is practicably possible for that period.
As a group our ultimate goal is to fully involve the public and let them leave with knowledge and a smile, that’s what gives ‘us’ a buzz! We don’t sit and let people pass by just posing for photographs, we love to engage with anyone that will listen! Education for all to enjoy !
We have attended all sorts of 1940’s, History and Educational events, from small local events through to the IWM Duxford – Battle of Britain weekend.
We actively pull people in to the display as they walk past, letting them look at all aspects of the display, handling and exploring the artefacts and answering any questions they may have.
Please check out the different sections of our group by clicking the ‘Dodwick Village Groups’ on the drop down menu top right of your screen.
To see what others have said about our group and our display – please click the ‘Reviews’ link on the top menu 🙂 .
Our little group, the fictional Dodwick Platoon of the 2nd Isle of Ely Battalion – Local Defence Volunteers, the unofficial ladies Dodwick Watchers, 693 Squadron – RAF Dodwick and the Emergency Ops Room portray 1940’s important Summer months of British history.
(14th May 1940 to end of July 1940)
Our Backstory
Dodwick is a ‘fictitious’ Village that lies between Benwick and Doddington, just between Chatteris and March, out in the Fens of Cambridgeshire.
Early in July 1940, Dodwick Village Hall was hit by a bomb dropped by the Luftwaffe after the air raids on Norwich. However, we suspect it was no ditch and run accident and that the bomb was actually destined for the RAF Station rather than the village, join us at an event soon, where the story continues…..
Dodwick Homefront
The Home Front display, Dodwick LDV, is set in the ruins of the Village Hall that has been bombed by the Luftwaffe. We have fake walls/door/window that surround the display so you walk in to what remains of the hall. Unlike some displays, all our items are fully hands on, so people can actually pick them up and investigate. There is nothing that is out of bounds, we actively encourage people to be curious. We also have a period hand crank Air Raid Siren in case of another attack on the air field or Dodwick Village.
We always surprise people, talking to them about ‘The Watchers’, a Women’s home defence movement of the same period, its not so well known as the LDV. We researched this personally, it always fascinates visitors and is another example of how Women played a huge, massively important role in all areas of the war effort .
Our vast display items range from the improvised weapons and protection items of the LDV, communication and personal items through to all sides of wartime home front living.
Free copies of an information sheet in the form of our local Village Newspaper are given out to all display visitors. It explains the history of the LDV, the Watchers and the RAF as well as real news items from the time mixed with fictitious stories introducing the members of Dodwick Village. (these are marked true or false so not to confuse) We also give away copies of a wartime recipe sheet and have a large display of WW2 homeware that would have been used in a war time kitchen.
RAF Dodwick Station
The other half of our Display is a ‘Battle of Britain’ RAF Dispersal, complete with Dispersal hut featuring 2 rooms which include the C/O’s office and various outside display items including a Lewis Gun AA nest, and airfield NAAFI and first aid post. Its an interactive display where the public can come in and experience what it would have been like at a dispersal. We have authentic admin and communications equipment along with their day to day living items. The RAF display is equally as interesting to view as a walk by with many authentic items outside that would have been present on a WW2 airfield. This even includes the security hut and gate that you would have to pass through to enter the Airfield, manned by the local airfield RAF SP (Service Police).
Both sides of the group, LDV & RAF can provide group talks about the subject to the public at events, fascinating information and interactive with the public again. The RAF talk includes dressing volunteers in a WW2 pilots uniform and accessories so they can appreciate what they went through on a daily basis.
*NEW*
Emergency Ops Room
Step back to 1940, The Battle of Britain, the Airfield has been bombed, the main Operations room has taken a direct hit! The Emergency Ops room comes on line, quickly set up in the local bakery’s backroom, hidden from the enemy but still fully functioning. Plotting incoming enemy aircraft, tracking our own response, scrambling Hurricanes and Spitfires to intercept, checking at all times for the friendly IFF signal ! The RAF are short on pilots….cant afford costly mistakes!
The show includes around a 10 minute talk at the beginning explaining how the Operations room worked, each area and section’s role and how the RAF brought it all together to keep one step ahead of the enemy! Followed by just under 20 minutes of live, tense and exciting action including aerial dog fights and culminating in a tense air raid.
The Displays in general
The entire display is fully interactive with the telephone system linking across the two sides of the displays and the sector control scramble telephone system actually working so members of the public can answer the calls and speak to real people on the other end of the line, either in the Dispersal or the Village Hall.
OUR FULL DISPLAY CURRENTLY MEASURES 30m X 15m AT ITS MOST COMPACT AND FOR SAFETY – HOWEVER FOR MAXIMUM IMPACT WE PREFER ‘FROM’ 35m X 20m >
