Overlord 2017

The show team is currently working hard at planning the Overlord Show for 2017.

We hope to make vast improvements over previous years with an all new Show Team, so lots of new ideas to be considered for implementation.

There will be a lot of work going on behind the scenes to improve the way the show operates in terms the application process for exhibitors, re-enactors/living history and traders, new improved forms and dedicated contact links for each department. We will be opening up for applications in the coming months, so keep an eye out.

Flyers have been designed and we are just waiting on a decision from SOE as to what will be the headline charity for 2017.

We are looking at ways to improve the showground, access, drainage and appearance. Teams will dispatched to tend to these matters throughout the year. There may well be some changes to the arrangement of exhibits around of the show ground.

Make sure to mark 27th-29th May 2017 into your calendar.

We hope to see you there.

 

 

Our Chosen Charity for 2016

Each year we support a charity with free stall space, advertising in the programme, shout-outs over the PA and free range of the showground with collecting buckets. We pledge a proportion of any surplus we are lucky enough to make and try our best to make the charity welcome. This year the club members voted overwhelmingly for Scotty’s Little Soldiers – a charity begun to help bereaved children of services personnel by someone who had lost her husband in Afghanistan. Best to let Nikki Scott tell it in her own words:

Inspired by the experience of Army widow Nikki Scott, the charity honours husband Corporal Lee Scott’s memory – both as a loyal soldier and a loving father – and provides a practical yet personal way for the public at large to show their appreciation for those brave individuals who make the ultimate sacrifice in the service of their country.

Nikki and Lee have 2 children, Kai and Brooke, so Nikki saw first hand the effect the loss of a loved one in these circumstances can have on a child. It was on a family holiday some 9 months later that Nikki saw her son Kai, 5 at the time, laugh and smile for the first time since his Dad’s death. She realised that there must be so many more children who had also lost a parent in the British Armed Forces but hadn’t had that opportunity to smile again.

She decided to set up the charity Scotty’s Little Soldiers to do just that, to help their children smile.

The charity provides opportunities for the children to smile again by offering holiday’s at it’s Scotty Lodges, gifts at difficult times of the year, special experiences and an amazing Christmas party.

 

As well as these fun activities the charity also provides access to professional bereavement counselling and a range of grants to help with the children’s personal development. These grants can cover the cost of music lessons, swimming clubs, after school activities, driving lessons and even University tuition fees.
The charity now supports hundreds of bereaved British Forces’ children across the UK, many of whom are still very young and will rely on the activities offered by Scotty’s for years to come.

We are proud to help the charity and hope that you will be too!

Visitor tips for Overlord 2012

This year’s show promises to be the best ever but a few tips should help make your experience even more enjoyable!

Head for Junction 3 of the A3(M) and follow the yellow and black signs to the show

Parking is free!

Wear shoes suitable for a walk in the country

Plan plenty of time to enjoy the newly enlarged event – stalls open from 09:00, arena events from 10:30

Bring plenty of film / memory cards / batteries – there’s a great deal to photograph!

Be aware that there are three fields of exhibitors, traders and re-enactors!

Plan ahead – get your outfit together ready for “40’s Sunday”

Feel free to chat with vehicle owners and living history groups

Some arena events are both exciting and noisy, please warn small children and the nervous

Marshalls will warn you of heavy vehicles moving to and from the arena, please keep clear of the roadways if asked.

A wide range of food and drink stalls are planned for 2012

Whatever the weather there are plenty of trade stands to sell you sun hats or waterproofs, sandals or wellingtons, sunglasses or sou’westers …

Dogs on leads welcome, please clear up after them if necessary
Above all – enjoy yourselves and if there is anything you think we can do better for 2013 – let us know! :

Overlord 2011 – The best yet?

Now the clearing up is almost done (Sunday and I have just unloaded my trailer!) it’s time to reflect on Overlord 2011, our most ambitious show yet. The culmination of 12 months of planning and hard work was anticipated with a certain amount of trepidation by the SOE committee and members, a new site bringing new and unknown challenges.

Thanks to the generous support and encouragement of our exhibitors, our traders and our living history groups we were able to put on a great show to entertain the public, both our regular visitors and the locals of Denmead who had never experienced a show of this scale at the Lawns. We have had a brilliant time staging this show and have had many positive comments from visitor and exhibitor alike. Nice though it is to bask in praise we are not complacent enough to let things rest and we realise that there is a lot that we can do better for next year, it’s a new site and we are still growing into it.

So watch this space!

Praise and constructive criticism are equally welcome so please use the comments box below to let us know your views on what we have done and what we still need to do.

Don’t just take my word for it – links to pictures and comments below:

External Sites:

Rambo’s report on the Historic Military Vehicles Forum

Kev Shaw at UK Airshow Review

Mark Rutley’s portraiture set on  flickr

Barry James Wilson on flickr

Thank you!