The Group in Pictures
Who We Are
The 4th Wiltshire's Living History Group was founded by David and Kevin Smart over 20 years ago. Thanks to Kevin’s continued leadership, the group is proud to have retained a close-knit family feel over that time, putting all efforts into two key things: having fun and enjoying our hobby when 'off duty,' and delivering authentic and historically accurate displays to the general public when 'on duty.' By doing so, we strive to educate the public and, most importantly, keep alive and honor the memory of the veterans we seek to portray.
Like our predecessors in the wartime battalion, a number of us have previously served in the Armed Forces and members of the group come from what can still be described as the Vale of Wessex – Wiltshire, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire, Hampshire, and Worcestershire. Some members have close family ties with the wartime 4th Wiltshires, such as our Bren gunner Ray Besant, whose grandfather served in S Company as an Assault Pioneer.
The group retains a high level of cooperation, and we all tend to 'muck in' in terms of how we go about doing things. There is next to no 'hierarchy,' and we all do what we can for one another, sharing tasks and ensuring that our attention to detail and accuracy, together with the high standard of our displays, speak for themselves.
Whilst we take our hobby seriously and of course the fact that we are portraying a generation for whom we all have total respect, we also retain a relaxed posture when the General Public are not watching. You won’t for instance, find us doing PT at 06.00 or mounting sentries on our display at 02.00 !!! We respect those that do, but for us, it’s just not our thing. Anyway, these days we are built more for comfort rather than speed !!!
