Tanks, artillery, amphibious vehicles, motorbikes have all arrived in the Garden of England for the world’s biggest military vehicle show.
The five-day military at vintage festival is taking place at The Hop Farm, in Paddock Wood, Kent, and is full educational opportunities and incredible action packed battle re-enactments.
And by re-enactments, it’s not just a few soldiers wandering around a field, but full-scale choreographed battles to give visitors an immersive experience of what it would be like.
Thousands of military vehicles are expected to be at the show, representing a number of armies from the 20th Century- with a large number of pieces from World War II.
Historical reenactors fire a 1926 18-pounder field gun during the annual War and Peace Revival show at Hop Farm Country Park in Paddock Wood, Kent. The 18-pounder was a standard issue British field gun of the First World War era and formed the backbone of the Royal Artillery Field. In World War II it was typically used by the Territorial Army regiments in the British Expeditionary Force. Here the weapon, which could be easily maneuvered using the wheels attached is being fire by four men
Visitors walk past a display during the hot weather at the show. The jeep is adorned with an American flag at the front with a canvas sign saying ‘Don’t Shoot! American’, to ward off friendly fire from allies
Historical reenactors sitting in their fatigues taking a break from the hot sun and sharing a smile and a drink. They are relaxing under army tents with a swastika in the background, clearly indicating they are pretending to be the German side. A number of re-enactments are set to take place over the five-day festival including a Vietnam battle, a show focusing exclusively on Jeeps from World War II, and World War II skirmish
A man drives a military vehicle to the show ground as he takes part in the annual War and Peace Revival. The augmented vehicle has a gun turret on the front and the rear of the vehicle, with a number of water bottles slung out the side
An attendee dressed up in full military fatigues and clutching a gun is taking a photo. In the background you can see visitors wandering throughout the grounds and a large number of military exhibitions on display
US troops full geared up in the hot weather and telling visitors the story of Black Hawk Down. In October 1993, an elite US crack-team launched, what would turn out to be, a disastrous raid on Mogadishu, the capital city of Somalia. The aim was to capture warlord General Mohamed Farah Aideed. However, the team met fierce resistance and two Black Hawk helicopters were shot down (one of them pictured in the background). In the ensuing bloody battle, hundreds of Somali’s were thought to have been killed, as well as, 18 Americans and two UN soldiers. The sight of dead US soldiers being dragged through the streets reverberated around the world and played a fundamental role in making the US more wary in intervening in future crisis in Africa
One of the people taking part in the historical re-enactments riding a motorcycle while smoking a cigar. In the background a number of military tents are can be seen. Including a flag showing there is a medical tent
A boy clambers over a sand coloured Land Rover. The Land Rover has played a prominent place in British Military history and has been modified and altered by the army for a number of different conflicts. It first became adapted for military use and used for special operations during World War II.
People wandering around the revival show perusing the 800 stalls. A man is dressed up in combat style fatigues adorned with the British flag and plays on his phone while people walk past
A lot of war memorabilia is on display, including this portrait of Adolf Hitler. There are more than 800 stalls at the War and Peace Revival selling badges, uniforms, vehicles, clothing, books, tents and de-activated weapons
A bevy of deactivated luger pistols sit atop a black blanket. The luger pistol was a semi-automatic handgun which was first manufactured in 1900. It was invented by George Luger, an Austrian, in 1898. It was the standard issue pistol for the German forces from 1908 to 1938, but dispute the perception in Hollywood films, it has also been used by other countries. It was also used by Brazil, Turkey and Switzerland at times in their history
A collection of artillery shells and hand grenades on display. There appear to be a number of different types in this collection including the Mk2 grenade which was first used by the US forces in 1918. The grooves on it gave the appearance of a small pineapple, but gave it better handling when throwing it. A number of different versions were available with most of them having a delay of 4-5 seconds from when the pin was pulled. They were in stark contract to the grenades used by the German forces which were called ‘potato mashers’ by UK forces due to the long stick and bulbous head
Two visitors browse the book shop at the Revival show. A wide assortment of educational and historical books are available so you can brush up on your military history or discover something new about a war-time gun or piece of artillery
A child grabs hold of a rocket launcher while a man dressed in military fatigues and a woman watch on. The ‘Bazooka’ as it is colloquially known is a portable anti-tank rocket launcher used widely by the United States military. They were secretly introduced in World War II by the American forces to the Russian front in November 1942. A number were captured by the German who reverse engineered them and introduced their own versions. It was also widely used in the Korean War and the Vietnam War
A stall owner smokes a cigar as artillery shells and grenades sit on display during the annual War and Peace Revival show at Hop Farm Country Park
Two young men look over the airsoft guns. Airsoft is a competitive shooting game where people shoot small spherical objects at each other. The guns are often very well designed and look very realistic. It is often compared to paintball, however the small pellets do not mark the target with a large paint splodge
A German shepherd dog stands next to a swastika flag. The German shepherd served with the German military in World War I and performed a number of tasks on the battlefield such as sentries, and also to carry ammunition. In World War II the dogs were used by both the Germans and the US side to communicate on the battlefield and as search and rescue dogs. They were also used as sentry dogs during the Vietnam war
Historical reenactors take a break and stand by their heavy duty vehicles. One man is busy rubbing sunblock into his face to protect from the intense British summertime
A replica of a spitfire being looked at by a visitor. The Spitfire was probably the most famous airplane of the Second World War and the only aircraft that could really rival the feared German fighters. It featured heavily in the Battle of Britain and was complimented by British pilots as very easy to handle
A large collection of Nazi badges for sale during the Revival as well as the cases that would have been presented to brave German soldiers or members of the SS
A visitor watches a parade of military vehicles during the annual War and Peace Revival show at Hop Farm Country Park
Historical reenactors take part in the annual War and Peace Revival show at Hop Farm Country Park on July 24, 2018 in Maidstone, England. The world’s largest military vehicle show features historical re-enactments and a number of stalls selling war memorabilia, with a particular focus on World War II
The world’s largest military vehicle show features historical re-enactments and a number of stalls selling war memorabilia, with a particular focus on World War II