Great news – we’ll be back at Betteshanger in 2022!
After a hugely successful first ever We Will Meet Again event at Betteshanger Park, the committee of the Hill 12 Memorial Foundation has announced that the show will return next year – bigger and better than before.
The committee has agreed to hold the show over three days, from Friday 16 to Sunday 18 September 2022, with the Friday earmarked as a special schools day.
“Traders, re-enactors and the public were all so thrilled with the success of the event that they were asking about next year before we had even finished the 2021 event,” said committee chairman Annette Oliver. “There was so much goodwill and so much enthusiasm over how well the show had gone that we felt we had to do it again.
“Our supporters, including the traders and re-enactment groups, need plenty of time to plan ahead, and so we made an early decision to build on the success of this year’s show by booking up for 2022. Please put it in your diaries and come back again next year – we are planning to make it even more exciting than this year!”
Living history groups, military vehicles, entertainers, food and drink vendors and a wide range of stallholders certainly made this year’s event one to remember, with lots to see, do and enjoy, as these pictures show.
Visitors came from across Kent and beyond, while the sun shone to help things along. Living history groups kept the visitors informed, while a variety of forties-themed entertainers added to the party atmosphere.
There was also a chance to learn about the former Kent coalfields from men who used to work there, courtesy of the Aylesham Heritage Centre. “We had a huge amount of support from a lot of different people and the Hill 12 Memorial Foundation wants to thank everyone for their enthusiastic help,” said Annette.
The event also raised money to support the foundation’s work to remember the men who took part in the battle for Hill 112 in 1944. The charity will shortly be releasing a documentary on the battle made by respected filmmaker Peter Williams and looks after an impressive memorial at the site of the battle just outside Caen in northern France.
