Phil and Maureen say: "Unlike a lot of re-enactors, who seem to have come to the hobby via the Pickering weekends, we sort of wandered into re-enacting through our interest in steam railways. It all came about from a visit to the Severn Valley Railway in 2006. On that visit we learned of the SVR’s 1940s weekends and we both thought it would be interesting to go along and maybe get involved.  So we spent the end of 2006 and the first half of 2007 acquiring and assembling some outfits, aiming at the June 2007 SVR weekends for our debut.

"We were a little apprehensive on that first outing but we thoroughly enjoyed it and we well remember a seasoned re-enactor telling us to beware, because the whole thing can become addictive.  How right she was - it really does take over!  We think because when we are dressed as "someone else" we throw our inhibitions to the wind and leave our own persona behind. We find the whole thing an excellent stress buster, and we are both amazed at what a genuinely nice bunch of folk there are involved in this amazing hobby (is hobby the right word, we wonder, or is maybe "lifestyle" more appropriate?)

Now looking forward to our second full year, our only regret is that we didn’t get involved a long time ago! "

Enjoyable experiences: "Like many other members, we love to meet the veterans and senior citizens from the 40s era and are most proud if one of them comments that we look "right". Maureen does a Soviet woman sergeant impression, and at one event, an old gentleman came over and said to her "I was in Berlin in 1945 and you look just like the Russian women soldiers that were there at that time" -  now that’s a compliment for sure. I also enjoy taking part in the parades and the acts of remembrance, as my way of paying my respects to our war survivors and fallen and the memory of my late father, a Normandy veteran. Having spent many years in the TA, I am comfortable wearing uniform and my lifetime interest in military history and Militaria have stood us both in good stead when assembling our military realisations. Maureen’s main enjoyment however derives from being able to give a new lease of life to vintage clothes, shoes and those gorgeous hats - her collection of "old ladies" as she calls them!"

Less enjoyable aspects: "Thankfully these are few and far between, but we echo the remarks of other members who have been taken to task over uniform or dress details by the "experts" most of whom, we find, don’t know their backsides from a bike rack. We know every hobby has these negative types, but we don’t let their negativity spoil our fun.

"To sum up, in the short time we’ve been involved in all this, we’ve become firm 1940s fans, ever polishing our realisations and searching for something different to portray, and in Northern Forties, we seem to have found a lot of great folk, all of the same persuasion. Yes, it is addictive, and yes, we’re addicted!!"