Craven Community Projects Group is looking forward to welcoming the Khaki Chums to our Living History Day on Saturday 31 March 2007 at Grassington Town Hall.

The chums will be representing the East Yorkshire Regiment and The Leeds Pals

The founders of the Khaki Chums, Taff Gillingham and Kev Smith, are both collectors of Uniforms and Equipment and, in keeping with many others of the 'anorak' variety, would often bemoan the lack of accurate military detail in film, television or theatre productions.

Rather than keep complaining they have decided to use their knowledge to offer a service to those Directors, Producers, Costume Designers, Art Directors and other interested parties who want to get the details right.

It rarely costs any more to make a piece historically accurate than it does to make it painfully inaccurate! They offer a full service of Historical Advice, Training, Uniforms, Equipment, Specialist Extras and Locations - including probably the finest purpose-built Great War Trench System in the UK.

Their knowledge and expertise is often in demand and Taff has been interviewed on many programmes such as World War One in Colour, The Christmas Truce, Blue Peter, Richard and Judy, Channel 5's Gallipoli, Time Flyers and was flown to Washington DC for an interview about the Christmas Truce for the History Channel in the USA. He is also often a guest on Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Suffolk and BBC Radio Wales.

For further information visit www.khakidevil.co.uk

    CRAVEN COMMUNITY PROJECTS GROUP is holding a Community Information Day at  Grassington Town Hall on Saturday 31st March from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.

                                                            
Following on from the successful launch of our website www.cpgw.org.uk on 11th November 2006, the feedback we received from visitors indicated that the community would welcome a day-long event to help disseminate information about what our research has achieved so far and what progress is being made on the website.

There will be exhibitions and stands representing community and local history organisations, musical entertainment and live interpretations from the Leeds Royal Armouries in the afternoon. Visitors, particularly existing relatives, will be given the chance to talk to local historians and researchers about Craven's Part in the Great War and other projects related to the Great War.

Admission is FREE and anyone wishing to bring a stand to promote their group or organisation should contact charlotte@cpgw.org.uk or telephone 01756 753609.

The local Yorkshire Lass Cafe will be selling snacks and refreshments throughout the day, and judging from the number of enquiries we have already received, it looks as though this event is going to be well attended with many different activities for all the family to enjoy.

We do hope you will be able to join us on the day.

On Saturday 31st March 2007, Craven Community Projects Group has invited professional actors from the Leeds Royal Armouries Museum to present three dramatic interpretations and different views of The Great War in the Octagon Theatre at Grassington Town Hall. These performances are part of the Community Information Day being held in the Town Hall that day from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. to commemorate Craven's Part in the Great War and to share information with the general public and existing relatives about the progress of our website www.cpgw.org.uk

The audience will be able to listen to real life accounts and the actual words of the men who were in the trenches and the women on the home front.

2 p.m.- 2.15 p.m.
Christmas Truce:
The remarkable events of Christmas Day 1914
A soldier talks about the remarkable events during the first Christmas Day of The Great War, when all across the frontline, an incredible thing happened. Soldiers on both sides put down their weapons and spontaneously celebrated Christmas in ‘no-man's land’ and German and Allied soldiers in opposing trenches called a temporary peace on the Western Front.

2.15 p.m. - 2.30 p.m.
The Shell Girl: 1914-1918
A worker at the Barnbow Munitions Factory in Leeds talks about the great danger faced, providing ammunition for the war effort. Nearly a quarter of the British Artillery shells used in the First World War were made in Leeds, many of those by women at the Barnbow Munitions Factory. The rush of male volunteers for the front had left a gap in the workforce, which was filled, for the first time, by women.

Many believe this wartime work added greatly to women’s campaign for equal rights, not least because of the self-confidence it gave to millions of women.

2.30 p.m. - 2.45 p.m.
When The Guns Stop Firing: 1918
A soldier who has survived the horrors on the battlefields of Northern Europe reflects on his experiences on the Western Front, November 11th, the day the guns stopped firing.  By the end of the Great War more than eight million soldiers from over twenty countries had lost their lives. Those who survived were expected to return to their previous lives and carry on as before. However, with the emotional scars they carried and little public perception or understanding of post-traumatic stress, many of these men found it impossible to step back into civilian life.

The interpretations will be repeated again at the following times:-

3.15 p.m. Christmas Truce
3.30 p.m. The Shell Girl
3.45 p.m. When The Guns Stop Firing

Thanks to funding from the Local Heritage Initiative and the Heritage Lottery Fund, entrance to these performances will be FREE, however the theatre has a limited number of seats, so tickets will be allocated on the day on a 'first come, first served' basis. By offering two separate back-to-back performances we hope to accommodate as many people as possible.

For further details please keep an eye on the local press or e-mail info@cpgw.org.uk or telephone 01756 753609