“If it ain‘t raining, it ain‘t training” is an expression often heard from the military during exercises. Tim Gosling considered this when he attended the 2024 Capel Military Show over a wet July weekend
When I visited the Capel Military Show last year I came away with the impression that it was one of the best military vehicle events that I had ever attended, given a superb venue, excellent organisation and a very diverse range of military vehicles and re-enactors. I had been looking forward to the 2024 event on July 5-7, which had now been extended to take in a third day. However, the weather forecast was a little bit grim, with heavy showers expected over the weekend. Military vehicles are, of course, designed to work in some of the world's most hostile conditions, but would 500+ in muddy Surrey fields present a problem for the organisers?
As I arrived the rain had just stopped and the organisers were laying down some matting and woodchips in some of the muddier areas, with a total of 30 tonnes of woodchips being applied throughout the event. They also tried to minimise vehicle movements to preserve the ground surface, but still maintain an active arena display for the visitors.
The central field…
