THE “Dad’s Army” decade burst back to life last Saturday and Sunday (September 14-15) with an 80-year time-warp and thousands of nostalgia buffs flocking to West Somerset Railway’s Forties Weekend, hailed as perhaps the best in the event’s six-year history.

“Everything was on our side, including the weather,” said organiser Robin Wichard, who dreamed up the idea in 2018. “Visitors poured in and everyone was intent on having a good time. Despite the world’s problems, it was a chance for people to let their hair down and enjoy themselves.”

Centred around WSR stations in Minehead, Watchet, Blue Anchor, Washford, Williton, Stogumber and Crowcombe Heathfield, the feast of nostalgia brought out hundreds of re-creation enthusiasts in period uniforms, supported by visitors and locals in the kind of clothes their grandparents wore, creating a stunning ‘40s atmosphere. 

Vintage cars and military vehicles and painstaking re-creations of everything from wartime shops and Home Guard posts to jitter-bugging on station platforms, brought alive the distant days of the Roaring Forties and attracted enthusiasts from as far away as Wales, Scotland and Cornwall.

To help roll back the clock celebrity lookalikes of the period, including King George VI, Winston Churchill, Generals, Charles de Gaulle and Montgomery and Laurel and Hardy, chatted and posed for selfies throughout the weekend.

“The towns and villages along the line once again excelled themselves to make a truly memorable event,” Robin Wichard said. “There was a great feeling of nostalgia and camaraderie and a lot of people said it was a success beyond their expectations.”

This week, hundreds went on line to say how much they’d enjoyed themselves. Typical comments included: “Another huge success - an absolutely stunning two days,” “We come every year and this was the best so far” and “Superbly organised events, all the way along the WSR line.”

One of the Watchet organisers, Fiona Payne, of the town’s 1940s Home Front Group, added: “It was an absolutely brilliant community event and what was wonderful was the number of elderly people who arrived from local care homes to share the enjoyment and recall their own wartime memories.”

A highlight of the Minehead weekend was the sold-out Saturday night dance on the station platform when more than 200 residents and visitors in the fashions of the forties, high-stepped the night away. Singers including the Liberty Sisters, Johnny Victory and Pashy Pops also entertained crowds over the weekend.

Down the line, Stogumber station featured a wartime shop, a manned sentry hut, vintage vehicles, an unexploded bomb display and performances by singers  Dickie Lines and Helen Pearson.

Williton station’s attractions included wartime cookery displays, classic vehicles, civil defence and air-raid precautions and an air-raid alert, while visitor to Blue Anchor enjoyed a 1940s wedding display and a peep into the still-used 1930s-style booking office. 

At Washford station a period road repair gang were digging for victory. There were also a 1940s-style police station, a NAFFI refreshment van and performances by Helen Pearson and May Blossom.

Visitors to Crowcombe Heathfield enjoyed displays of period decorations, vintage cars and 1940s artefacts.

Watchet’s festivities started on Friday with a tea dance at the Royal British Legion and a  pie and pint session at the Boat Museum.Traders provided an authentic Home Front look with sandbags and  bomb-blast tape on their windows.                 

Saturday and Sunday brought a full entertainment programme on the Esplanade and non-stop music featuring Watchet community choir, Watchet Town Band, West Somerset Brass, Amy Rose, Jeep Johnson, Cath and the Backup Boys, Tabitha Payne, Ali and the Jazz Cats, Emmi and Dan and Beau Norton.

Massive crowds visited a vintage market, an antique and flea market, a pop-up tearoom and special menus in the town’s pubs and cafes. A remembrance service at the war memorial on Sunday was well attended.

“The local community has really taken this event to its heart,” Fiona Payne said. “And as usual the town pulls together to make sure we have a weekend to remember. We can’t wait for the next one!”