1997 Events - Latest

31 March Guildford Lions Show, Shalford Park, Guildford. See event report in next issue!

3/4 May Bourtange, Holland Fortress in North east of Holland close to German border. Liberated from the French by Russian and Prussian troops in Spring 1814. Contact: Mike Freeman 0151 648 6592

24/25 May Vignoux sur Barangeon, Vierzon, France. Grand Armée event. Food, camping, accommodation etc. provided Contact Hamish MacLeod 01705 652301

14/15 June Folkestone This is one of the big ones in the year. Not to be missed. Many of our friends from across the water are coming to join us. Shows all day, both days, massive period camp Contact: Hamish MacLeod 01705 652301

28/29 June Chatham Historic Dockyard Staged by Victorian military society in celebration of Queen Victoria's diamond jubilee. Details to be confirmed at later date. Contact: Hamish MacLeod 01705 652301

5/6 July The Redoubt Fort, Harwich Great venue. Lots of skirmishing, frontal assaults and desperate defence. Contact: Hamish MacLeod 01705 652301

week of 4 July Lonarto, Italy Lonarto is a superb fortress at the southern end of Lake Garda. Event featuring revolutionary period / first Italian campaign. Contact Steve Vickers - 01623 443915

12/13 July Rivoli Italy Bicentennial of this great battle Contact Steve Vickers - 01623 443915 12/13 July Wirral Show Large public display event. Camping, 2 displays each day Contact Mike Grove - 01484 685615

26/27 July Bolougne, France New date, new better site. Period camp, food, accommodation provided. Contact Hamish MacLeod - 01705 652301

26/27 July Bovington Camp Regular event managed by the 9th Foot Contact Keith Philips - 01296 670324

23 - 25 August Bolsover Castle, Derbys English Heritage event Contact Mike Grove - 01484 685615

30/31 August Fishguard Celebrating the 1797 last invasion of Britain. Massive support from the Welsh tourist board. One of the big ones for 1997. Don't miss it. Contact: Mike Freeman 0151 648 6592

5/7 September Moscow / Borodino Special package being put together by one of our units. More information at a later date

20/21 September Chateauroux, Deols, France Good old Chateauroux. Another great event by the Grand Armée. More info at a later date

4 October Research conference, National army museum, London Contact: Paul Chamberlain - 01582 616674

18 October NA Tattoo, Fort Amhurst, Chatham Details at a later date

Events For 1998

Yeah! we've started looking forward to next year already - and we've got a couple of 'good uns' lined up already: Guernsey. You will have noticed from our revised List that the planned 1997 event will not be happening. After meetings with the Guernsey Tourist board it is evident that they want this to be a big, big, event which is going to need a lot of planning, and a lot of time to put together, so it looks like August 1998 for what will be another cracker. English Heritage - May Bank holiday

May 2-4 1998 Bank Holiday weekend

English Heritage will be sponsoring a major event at Battle Abbey, Hastings. Invitations will be extended to our overseas colleagues. Expect this to be a real big one.

Special Travel Deals For Overseas Events

Great news for Re-enactors travelling to overseas events. We are in the process of finalising a deal that will provide you with coach travel and ferry ticket for just £35. Sounds good to me!

The plan is that the coach will depart from CHELMSFORD for the ferries at approximately 6.30pm on the Friday evening before the event, returning on the Sunday afternoon / evening. In fact the coach will start from HULL on the Friday morning, making one atop an-route. Somewhere around Leicester on the M1 or Peterborough on the Al would seem good spots. Any thoughts on this? let us know your views.

Surf The Net With The NA

We have very nearly completed the NA web site, we're just completing the last edits, checking the content and including the individual entries from those regiments requesting it (Well done the 95th/60th Rifles, the Foot Guards, the 42nd Highlanders, the 4eme Regiment D'Artillerie and the 30eme De Ligne) For those of you who are regular surfers our call sign is: www.n-a.co.uk

Media Coverage Of Our Events

We will as a matter of course be sending press releases in advance to all local media in the areas wherever there is an NA event taking place.This will bring the event to their attention and should increase the amount of coverage we receive. If you live in the locality of one of our events please keep an eye on your local newspapers end if you can send me copies of any coverage we receive I would be grateful, as we want to build up a good record of our achievements .

Keeping The Publicity Bandwagon Rolling At the recent NA Officers meeting we discussed a number of initiatives that we are working on, among them are our plans to increase the number of UK event opportunities in future years and to improve the NA's presence at our events and other public occasions . The following is a summary of what was discussed.

Showman's Show

The Showman's Show will be held at the Newbury Showground on October 15 & 16. This, as the title suggests is an outdoor exhibition aimed at event and show organisers. We shall be there. After all, when it comes to major shows we are in competition with every other re-enactment society and group in the country. So it is imperative that we put the NA at the front of the minds of the people that matter. As part of our presence we have the opportunity of conducting a number of displays, so we will be calling for volunteers to help us out at this very important event. More of this at a later date.

Promoting the NA and the regiments

It is imperative for our future success and growth that we take advantage of every opportunity to promote ourselves to the public. The better we get at our PR - the more likely we are to attract publicity for future events and get more recruits. We are evaluating the possibility of providing an NA visitor centre, which we hope to position at the entrance / main access point to our period encampments. We may not have the funds to provide a new unit this year but we would like to work towards this. The centre will of course include a display of the NA and its activities and are hope to include a small number of vendors. The NA is only an umbrella organisation, it is you the units and regiments that make up the Association and it is you the public have come to see. We therefore hope to include publicity material representing every unit in the Association,

If the centre is to work it must be staffed, particularly during the times the period camp is open to the public. But that doesn't mean just standing around giving out leaflets, we want it to be proactive. We want uniformed members of units becoming involved - welcoming, talking, recruiting, even taking people around the camp. In fact making it fun! - for you and them! What do you think?

Filming

As you know we occasionally get requests (As do some regiments) from film / TV / Commercial companies requesting NA members / regiments to participate in filming for one reason or another. How do you feel about this? Is it a good idea? Would you welcome the chance to get involved or don't want anything to do with it?

Would you like to be sure that the deal on offer is fair? Indeed can you tell if it is fair and that you and your mates will be fed and looked after properly, do you have that knowledge? Would you like your committee to pursue more of this work and put our expertise to work on your behalf? How do you feel about this? We want to know your views - so get in touch?

Ed Parker
Napoleonic Association Publicity Officer
22 Wood End, Little Horwodd, Bucks, MK17 OPE
Fax: 01296 715236

More Napoleonic Newsdesk:

Politics and the Period We Study!
Martello Tower No. 3
Forthcoming Books 1997
Napoleonic Asso. Event Update

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