The Gathering of Eagles

[Dave L]

The 101st Airbourne division (505th parachute infantry regiment) were stationed here in the picturesque Wiltshire village of Aldbourne prior to D-Day. To celebrate and remember their sacrifice and dedication there was a special event in the village called 'The Gathering of Eagles' at which brits from various parts of the country came dressed in US military uniforms and displayed vehicles and hardware. A Mustang and Dakota flew passed and amazingly a few veterans turned up to the event. The local children were spellbound (some had taken part in a child evacuation re-enactment event two days before).

I spent most of the time with a camcorder rather than digital snaps camera - but here are a few I enjoyed and I particularly like the close-up of steve mcqueen lookalike brit in US military uniform ! looks cool ! The others are not spectacular but give you a flavour of the event. I took one or two b&w but wasn't so keen on the results.

Perhaps this could be a small tribute to those who took part in the D-Day landings....God bless you all !

[dave52240]

Interesting pics Dave, and couldn,t that Steve Mcqueen lookalike also be a dead ringer for Lee Van Cleef ?.

[Dave L]

..for a few dollars more he could look like Ken Dodd ! ....Ken Dodd ? most of our fellow forum members wouldn't appreciate the glories of Doddy mania ! ..uummm!

[gahspidy]

Dave,
good stuff, especially the bottom shot. Quality of these shots are good. I had no idea this went on over there. . .truly heartwarming.
Once again, that bottom shot has the real deal feel. Good tight crop and the look on the mans face is priceless

[Dave L]

Gary,

I was quite surprised by this type of re-enactment when I first saw it 2 years ago. In our village alone about 40 or 50 folk turned up in WW2 US military uniform and camped in a nearby field. For 2 days they are US soldiers ! ..and they came from all over Britain and Ireland. American friends who visited us 2 years ago where very impressed with accuracy of equipment (many genuine) and the detail these unpaid hobbyists went in for. For many of them this is a thank you to the troops who helped us retain our liberty - it keeps the memory alive. (There is naturally a lot of affection for our American cousins !) In the Band of Brothers Aldbourne gets a mention (I think) but was not used as a filming location - simply too small. Interestingly a block of stables used by the 505th was knocked down recently...and transported to the States ! It caused a lot of press interest locally.

Re-enactments are popular over here with English Civil War, WW1 and 2 and American themes.

At The Gathering of Eagles there was a surprise appearance by a long dead British and World Statesman......his name ? can not quite remember.....here he is anyway....