The New Year celebrations have hardly had time to subside, and yet already the new militaria show season is underway in England. There are two ‘must attend’ shows for militaria enthusiasts in the UK; there is of course the huge War and Peace show that takes place in Kent in July (see ACG’s report on the 2005 event), and the rather less-excitingly (but rather aptly) named Militaria show that takes place in Stoneleigh near Coventry in January.

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The two main halls. The eagle-eyed among you will see the ACG
banner in the distance of the second picture

Throughout the entire day, the whole venue was heaving with
people from all walks of life

Whereas the War and Peace Show is a glossy extravaganza of stalls, amusements, re-enactment displays and literally thousands of military vehicles, the Militaria show concentrates purely on the buying and selling of those hard to find (and also not so hard to find) pieces of equipment and items of uniform.

Not far from the ACG stand, a stall selling film props and another
with vintage leather jackets of every variety

As this latter show takes place early in the year, a period very likely to be greeted by cold weather and liberal quantities of rain, it is held at the Stoneleigh Exhibition Centre – a very welcome indoor venue! This is especially true for those representatives of the Armchair General team in England who, in spite of their native hardiness, prefer a warm, dry environment as much as the next man.

The Armchair General stand proved to be a very popular venue

Ignore the bloke in the cap – that’s just Andrew, he loves
to pose for the camera

The ACG stand became a familiar sight on the militaria scene in England last year, manned by ACG’s staff photographer, Seimon Pugh-Jones and a variety of helpers, including Andrew Summersgill, the current ACG Website Military History Editor. Both were on hand at Stoneleigh to promote the magazine, chat with interested passers-by, make contacts, and occasionally enjoy themselves.

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