The Royal Marines Museum will be bringing the 1940s to life from 23 to 25 September with their 1940s weekend. The event will showcase all that is fabulous about the 1940s with make do and mend crafts, a 40s fashion show, weapons demonstrations, re-enactors, vintage vehicles and wartime cookery talks. ‘Edna’ from Vintage Sweethearts will be cooking up a storm with her ‘wartime kitchen’ talk and will let us in on the real secrets for cooking on rations.

The 1940s event at the Royal Marines Museum (23-25 September) is an opportunity to reflect on the fact that this was a momentous decade for the Royal Marines, especially during the Second World War. Between1942 and 1943 the first Royal Marines Commando Units were formed and they played a major role on D-Day. Marines also served at sea and helped to man the guns on big warships as well as manning smaller vessels such as landing craft and even canoes known as “cockles”. The Royal Marines Boom Patrol Detachment was a cover name for a forerunner of the Special Boat Service and it used cockles for the famous raid on enemy ships in Bordeaux Harbour in December 1942. This became known as the story of the “Cockleshell Heroes”.

Paul Morgan is following a long family tradition when he steps back in time with a 1940s Military display, as part of the 1940s event running from 23 to 25 September at the Royal Marines Museum.

Paul is born and bred in Portsmouth and his family served in all three services along with the Merchant Navy, Portsmouth Dockyard and the NAAFI throughout the Second World War.  Whilst listening to their stories of Portsmouth through the blitz, service overseas and on board convoys, he soon developed a keen interest in all things military from an early age.

The occurrences at the Royal Marines Barracks, Eastney during wartime were not always as you might imagine them to be. The following report from an around the divisions section of a 1940 Royal Marines magazine, the Globe and Laurel, highlights the ‘keep calm and carry on’ attitude of wartime Britain.

“Towards the end of June H.R.H The Duchess of Kent honoured the Division by inspecting the W.R.N.S. personnel serving at Eastney. This charming visitor caused much fluttering in our "Wrennery"; however, they acquitted themselves very creditably.

Friday 23 September at the Royal Marines Museum is the kick off for the 1940s weekend. A film screening of ‘The Cockleshell Heroes’ followed by a talk with items from the collection will be the first of many activities happening over the weekend celebrating the best of the 1940s.

For one night only the very mittens that Lt Col ‘Blondie’ Hasler wore during the legendary cockleshell heroes raid, and the boots given to him by a French farmer whilst he escaped will be on show. As part of the Royal Marines Museum special 1940s weekend, the museum is holding a special evening telling this amazingly brave story.

A 70 year old machine gun is being prepared for public demonstration as the Royal Marines Museum gets ready for its 1940s event running from 23 to 25 September. The 1942 manufactured Vickers Machine Gun was one of thousands produced from 1912, when the gun was first designed, up until the end of the Second World War.

The Second World War was a time of huge change within the Royal Marines. Having started the war with a strength of 12,000 marines, by the end this number had risen to over 80,000. The biggest change in the Marines had come with the birth of the Commando units in 1942, ultimately changing the role and the direction the Royal Marines in the years following the war.

The Tony Strudwick Big Band are confirmed to play on Saturday 23rd September at the Royal Marines Museum's 1940's weekend.

Dance to the big band sound at our 1940s dance with the Tony Strudwick Big Band. The Big Band re-creates the authentic sound of Glenn Miller, Count Basie, Woody Herman, Duke Ellington and many of the famous bands of the 1940's. There is even a special section dedicated to The Andrews Sisters.