East Yorkshire Regiment Living History Group Morley St Georges Day 2019

East Yorkshire Regiment Living History Group Morley St Georges Day 2019

In order to make an early start, I packed the jeep up on Saturday evening. I had decided to take the radio tent as the weather was unsettled.

After a short and uneventful drive, I pulled up at the side of the road to drop the Jeep’s windscreen so as to make a proper entrance. As I got back into the Jeep I noticed a car pull in behind me. This turned out to be Pte’s Dixon and Hallet. With them following we entered the rugby ground and found our designated place. We had cowboys to the left of us and the Home Guard to the right.

We soon had the tent up and our small display laid out on the ground. With a bit of time to spare between the show opening and the public arriving, I dispatched Pte Hallet off in search of water. Meanwhile, I unpacked the Hurlock stove and prepared it for lighting. As soon as I had the water I set about getting the stove going while Pte’s Dixon and Hallet had a look around the other displays. The stove was a bit slow and had just got up to temperature when they returned. We had a warmish cuppa and chewed the fat. There were one or two folk about mainly from the other stalls so we were gently eased into the display routine.

There was a brief lull just prior to the parade returning so we ate our sandwiches and had another cuppa. Eventually, I managed to get the stove working properly and were able to keep the char flowing.

Just after midday the parade, led by Sir Kevin of Morley on his horse, arrived back and so did the public. We were soon flat out explaining the kit and equipment. There were many and various display in the arena covering the many ages of conflict. The grand finale was the WWII battle. The German contingent dutifully took its place in the arena but the P.A. was in the hands of a lady overseeing a tournament between some knights. The tournament didn’t sound like it was going to end but was eventually cut short and the battle began. The Germans were “dug in” around a 1970’s Ford Escort with a Jago Jeep body kit on it. First, they were attacked by some airborne chaps in a Jeep who were then backed up by some British infantry. That sort of just fizzled out. Then they were attacked by the Russians and after that by the Americans who won the day.

While all this excitement had been going on we had got the tent down and packed. As soon as the last of the public had disappeared Pte Dixon fetched his car. Both the Jeep and the car were quickly loaded and we departed.

Despite the weather having been very good I felt that there weren’t as many public as in previous years. My attempts to turn the conversation towards the East Yorks on D-Day did not succeed and I was a bit frustrated by this. Having said that we had a good day and it didn’t rain.

Cpl Lycett