Playing Soldiers - Fortress Wales 2016

Driving around, frantically trying to park. The deep thuds of heavy machine gun fire echoes through the woods. We leave the car in a nearby ASDA and rush towards the action with absolute dread.

Caldicot.

We were late. We thought we missed the World War Two reenactment. Luckily what we heard was the fall of Saigon -Vietnam.

Fortress Wales 2016.

Wiermacht soldiers with Cornish accents chatting away happily whilst in line to buy overpriced burgers and Vikings rearranging their horns in the reflection of their three door Volkswagen Polo are a common sight. I've been to a couple of reenactments before but this was the first one my Girlfriend had ever attended. She is slowly getting in to it all so she needs less persuading these days to come with me to things like this.

Troops capture a man from the future. 

Near the entrance I saw a swastika flag and I made that my first port of call. Enthusiastic volkssturm chewed my ear off for a good twenty minutes without letting me get a word in. All I wanted to do was hold his panzerfaust. (Volkssturm were basically conscripted males between the ages of 16-60 forced to fight as a last ditch attempt at the end of the war).

There were a few German set ups from different parts of the UK dotted around the grounds of Caldicot Castle, the venue of the reenactment. It reminds me a lot of going on a school trip and there are other schools there. You are all there for the same reason, wearing your uniform, but there's always that unspoken rivalry often resulting in aggressive tutting. 

I went there this time with the aim to hold a few of the weapons and have a closer look at them but the majority of the re-enactors weren't keen to let me. Maybe it was for the best. It would probably be like handing over my offspring when they asked for it back.

We made it to the WW2 battle and it was a lot better than expected. A Sherman tank made an appearance and I spotted my mate from the volkssturm, limping away holding his panzerfaust.

Ordering takeout with the lads is always a pain in the arse.

Our journey ended where it began, beneath the toxic green glow of the ASDA sign. My Girlfriend enjoyed her day and didn't need buttering up, so no overpriced burger for her. I dressed up the meal deal and told her it would be romantic if we ate it in the car. It worked. Auf wiedersehen Caldicot.

These guys are slightly more authentic in monochrome.

Just me and a US jeep. Nothing more to say about that.

The Search for Heinrich Himmler's Death Mask

London. A place I have visited countless times. Although I have a keen interest in History, I have successfully managed to evade visiting any of the museums there properly. Four of us decided to make a point out of visiting them over the period of a couple of months.

My Girlfriend was keen to visit the Science Museum first but the rest of us soon put an end to that silly idea as we had found out that the Imperial War Museum (IWM) had Heinrich Himler's  death mask on display. She eventually gave in and the words "Heinrich Himmler's death mask" were thrown around in conversation an awful lot in the weeks leading up to this trip.

We arrived and it was pissing down as always. We had our bags checked at the door for bombs, guns and sharp objects so we could safely enter the museum to see their collection of bombs, guns and sharp objects.

Tube selfie.

The atrium of the building is pretty impressive. The ceiling has airplanes hanging from it with wires. It's like some rich kid wasn't satisfied with Airfix models and wanted the real things instead. I don't think I have ever seen a Spitfire that close before.

Something else that I was keen to see is one of the two original Eagle's that sat atop the Reich Chancellery in Berlin. Taken by the Russians after the Battle of Berlin and ended up in the London museum. There are a couple of chunks missing out of it from when it got caught up in the battle also. Very impressive thing.

If I could have gotten this back on the MegaBus, I would have taken it. 

A used Zyclone B canister sat unassumingly in a display case, the contents of which was probably responsible for the death of a room full of people in Auschwitz's gas chambers.

Used Zyclone B canister.

After seeing all these things, with one eye on them and the other scanning the room for the death mask. Everywhere we thought it may be, we were wrong. I did something I hate doing in any situation. I asked for help.

The enthusiastic museum employee told me that the mask was removed some time ago and they hadn't updated the website yet.

Brilliant.

By no means a wasted trip. The museum is very impressive and always worth a visit.
We have since also been to the Science Museum. I know what you're thinking, we went all the way there and there was no 'Science' as advertised on the website. Well, you thought wrong. There was plenty.

Battle damaged Japanese Mitsubishi A6M Zero.

German Helmet in Amsterdam

Whilst walking outside of Amsterdam's city centre, I spotted this earth dug German helmet sitting in a shop window. It was part of a display in a hardware shop and not for sale. There were also a few spent rounds which look like they were dug up too.

I love spotting these unexpectedly when out and about. I remember when I was a child and going to jumble sales/markets and spotting numerous Swastika branded bits and pieces mixed in-between Star Wars figures and cup and saucer sets from the Seventies. I never see anything about anymore in places like that which is a massive shame really.

Cardiff's Nazi Link.

Early last year (2014), I caught the end of a story on a BBC Wales News segment. News I never watch with any interest as not a lot happens in Wales. It's either rugby related or one of the Royals has gone to another obscure and unpronounceable village to feign an interest in the worlds largest Welsh cake.

Out of nowhere, I heard the words Hermann Goering and Cardiff. In the same sentence.

Goering, Hitler's Deputy and head of the Luftwaffe. He liked art. He had an impressive private collection. He took interest in a 16th Century Welsh Noblewoman, Catrin of Berain. The portrait was hung for centuries in family homes in North Wales but made it's way to Berlin and Goering in 1940.

In 1938, the owners decided to sell the painting and contacted a dealer in London. Somewhere along the line, it was offered to the National Museum of Wales but that transaction failed to happen. The London dealer had connections with the art market in Amsterdam and the painting was eventually bought by Walter Andreas Hofer, the advisor on art to Hermann Goering.

The painting became part of Hermann Goering's private collection.

Eventually, the art was rescued by a team which protect cultural treasures from damage during the war. A film called 'Monuments Men' (2014) was based on these guys.

The painting eventually found it's way into the National Museum of Wales, Cardiff. I went to visit it.

The painting is so unassuming and there was no indication to its link with Goering and the Nazi party which is not surprising.