Rationing, make do and mend and blackouts - what was Christmas really like on the home front during World War II? Visitors to Kent Life will be able to discover exactly how their
parents and grandparents celebrated the festive season when the heritage farm attraction hosts its first World War II Christmas experience on 27 November.
However cold it maybe outside, visitors will be warmed by the villagers’ attempts to keep up morale as the top end of the 28 acre site and historic buildings will be transformed into a small village community during Christmas and sent back in time to the middle of World War II.
Visitors will be met by a road block with soldiers guarding the village but after showing their papers they will be allowed entry and given the freedom to explore the village. Once through the road block there will be plenty of things for all the family to get involved with as the faithful re-enactment happens right before their eyes. The whole family can make wartime decorations with the wounded blitz victims in the rest centre, watch a 1940s family making Christmas puddings, gather around the piano for a dance and sing song, send a telegram to a loved one and visit the warden’s office. There will also be the chance to tour Kent Life’s 1940s house, complete with Anderson Shelter, decked out with wartime decorations.
“This is the first time a re-enactment experience of this kind this has come to Kent Life and it promises to be a great event for all the family. WWII is a fascinating time in our history and a glowing example of when everyone banded together to work through tough times. So if you have a memory linked to WWII and what it was like on the home front at Christmas, we would like to hear from you,” says Kirsty Vernon, Kent Life’s Events manager.