Wednesday 10 March 2010

Re-enactors Prepare to Salute Vast Wartime Airborne Airborne

The 39-45 Living History Society will be at London’s Firepower, The Royal Artillery Museum on the weekend of 20-21 March to mark the 65th anniversary of Operation Varsity, the Allied invasion of Germany. The team of expert re-enactors will be portraying airborne Royal Artillery Gunners who took part in Operation Varsity, the vast airborne operation of the Second World War that took place on 24 Mar 1944.

Operation Varsity was a joint American and British airborne operation and involved more than 16,000 paratroopers and several thousand aircraft. It was the largest airborne operation in history to be conducted on a single day and in one location. The re-enactors will salute the men who took part in the operation by using and wearing original wartime clothing, equipment and vehicles (including a Jeep and motorcycle) alongside relevant exhibits from Firepower's world-renowned artillery collection. The 39-45 Living History Society pride themselves on the accuracy of their equipment and recreations which have been scrutinised and verified by historians and veterans alike.

Firepower, The Royal Artillery Museum is based at the Royal Arsenal in Woolwich - the birthplace of the Royal Artillery which was founded there in 1716. The Museum is acknowledged as the world’s oldest and premier artillery museum. Firepower tells the story of the Gunners – the more than 2 million men and women of the Royal Artillery, and the part they have played in history and their role today in the front line with the British Army. Tales of extraordinary heroism and endeavour are presented alongside explanations the technological and scientific advances driven by the development of artillery from Roman times to the present day. Experiences at Firepower include the ground-shaking Field of Fire audio-visual show where visitors are put in the midst of battle as shells and aircraft fly overhead and guns roar all around, giving an insight into the experiences of an artillery gunner.

Firepower, The Royal Artillery Museum, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, London, SE18 6ST.


http://www.firepower.org.uk/

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