THE 2018 Haworth 1940s Weekend will be marching triumphantly back into the village in just over a month’s time.

The keenly anticipated event takes place on May 19 and May 20, and will once more be attracting thousands of visitors from across the UK.

The weekend is the biggest event in Haworth’s annual programme of public entertainments and includes military and civilian vehicles, outfits, and music from the 1940s, and a huge range of stalls, food, demonstrations and displays.

People are encouraged to attend dressed in the civilian and military fashion styles of the 1940s.

The event has been running for 22 years, and has raised tens of thousands of pounds in the last five years alone for military charities.

A new committee took over the management of the event following last year’s highly successful weekend, and they are promising another colourful, evocative and nostalgia filled couple of days.

Haworth resident Andrea Leathley, one of the main organisers along with her husband Brian, said she was delighted with how people had rallied round the new committee.

“It’s gone brilliantly and I can’t fault just how many people have wanted to help us,” she said.

“The community has really come together to support us.

“From the start we wanted to include everyone in the event and to put something back into the community. We’ve had meetings with people and the response has been so positive.

“Everything is now ready to go, we just have a few last tweaks to make.”

As in 2017, proceeds from the weekend will be going towards the charity Pilgrim Bandits, which helps severely injured members of the military to rebuild their lives.

The charity was founded by a small group of Special Forces veterans in 2007, with the sole aim of using their unique training and experience to help and inspire wounded personnel to live life to the full.

Mrs Leathley said the 1940s Weekend would also be making a £2,000 donation to Haworth Primary School, in recognition of the school’s support in staging part of the event.

New for this year will be a “Second World War Battle Re-enactment”, featuring tanks, pyrotechnic displays and much more.

This will be at 2.30pm on both the Saturday and Sunday on the school playing fields off Acre Lane. Each re-enactment will last 20 minutes to half an hour.

As in previous years, weather permitting, there should be a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypast over the village.

For this year’s 1940s Weekend the aircraft due to participate will be an iconic Dakota transport plane. People should look out for it at 10.55am on the Saturday.

It wouldn’t be the ‘40s Weekend without plenty of music from this era, and a stellar line up of talented entertainers will be on hand to create the appropriate, vintage mood for the occasion.

International vocalist and trumpeter Ricky Hunter will be at the American Cafe in West Lane, while Hattie Bee will be live at Haworth Central Park Bandstand and Amanda Beaumont will perform in the Black Bull car park.

Kitty LaMare will be singing at the bottom of Main Street and the Kal’s Kats vintage swing band will accompany a series of dances in a marquee at the Bronte Parsonage Car Park.

On both days at 11.30am there will be a procession down Main Street, setting off from the parsonage car park.

This will feature a band, several military vehicles, Scouts, cadets and Pilgrim Bandits ambassador lance bombardier Ben Parkinson, who survived severe injuries in a bomb blast in Afghanistan in 2006.

Ben was at the forefront of fundraising for his charity at the 1940s weekend last year.

Haworth Central Park will host a variety of goods and memorabilia stalls, living history groups, singers and a 1930s-style fairground, with many more stalls in the parsonage car park.

History enthusiasts will be treated to authentic displays of weapons, vehicles and other military equipment in Main Street and West Lane.

A home guard re-enactment group will man an outpost at the bottom of the street, while members of the North West 101st Airborne re-enactment group will be on duty in West Lane.

There will be a tea room in West Lane Baptist Church and on Saturday the royal wedding of Prince Harry and Megan Markle will be screened live in the nearby Haworth West Lane Methodist Church. This same church will also be screening war films.

People can visit haworths1940sweekend.com/ or go to the weekend’s Facebook page for more details.