Vintage Tractors, Living History and a Trip to the Allotment Mark the WW2 Role of SMGWA

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Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome turned the clocks back to World War Two at the weekend, for the second Back to the WW2 Farm event of the summer. Despite the changeable weather, visitors enjoyed living history, vintage farm machinery, historic military vehicles and some great family activities based around the wartime allotment – all helping to celebrate the site's role as a working farm during World War Two.

Visitors had a chance to chat with living historians presenting as members of the Women's Land Army, the Women's Volunteer Service and the County War Agricultural Executive Committee of Essex, as well as handle wartime weapons and equipment brought by Essex Historic Military Vehicle Association. Local historian and author Stephen Nunn spoke about the air crashes and battles that took place over the area in WW2, and on the Saturday, young visitors were able to harvest fruit and veg from the Museum's WW2 allotment, forage in the woods and try their hands at wartime baking.

The Aerodrome usually focuses on its fighting role in World War One, but the weekend's events recalled a time when the WW1 pilots and aircraft had left the site and it had reverted to its agricultural role as Flambirds Farm. It's latest exhibition, Feeding the Nation: Fighting Without Flying, tells the story of the struggle to feed the nation during wartime – an experience that was vividly brought to life over the weekend.

Ian Flint, Chief Executive Officer of Stow Maries Great War Aerodrome, comments: "Our role at Stow changed dramatically between WW1 and WW2, and this weekend's events celebrated the vital role that we played as a farm, feeding the nation during a time of national crisis."

The next event at Stow Maries will be the Large Model Air Show on Saturday 13 September, when the skies about the Aerodrome will be filled with amazingly detailed, radio-controlled aircraft. For more information and tickets click here.