THOUSANDS of people took a time trip along Haworth Main Street as the village held its annual 1940s weekend.

Locals, visitors and traders got into the swing of things by wearing a massive range of period costumes.

Mingling with British soldiers, American airmen, coppers, air raid wardens and Land Girls were civilians from all walks of 1940s life.

If anything it was the visitors wearing modern-day clothes who looked out of place amidst the military vehicles, displays and shopfronts decked out in wartime style.

The main organiser of the hugely-popular annual event was thrilled to see how more people were getting into the spirit of the event every year.

Andrea Leathley, 56, said that those who went along embraced anything to do with the era and are becoming less reluctant to dress up.

She enthused: “We get more popular every year. I think people embrace the singers, military vehicles and battle reenactments.

“They give us a real atmosphere. The village is always buzzing and friendly.

“A lot of people still don’t know the event exists though and for that reason, they don’t get dressed up.

“But people who did come when we first started were reluctant to dress up too. Now everyone who doesn’t looks out of place and people now want to be a part of it.

“I’ve been part of the 101st Airborne Unit re-enactment group for 15 years and I wouldn’t get dressed up at first. Now I add to my outfit every year.”

Ms Leathley admitted that this year’s event stuck largely to the successful formula of previous years, but she was delighted to add a flypast on both days.

Other members of the organising team said the event attracted crowds to see the many attractions at locations like Main Street and Central Park.

Paul Cowling said: “It was slightly quieter compared to last year due to the weather perhaps, but didn’t take anything away from the atmosphere and fun. The re-enactment was great and well worth watching.”

Attractions along Main Street included a display of jeeps from various war zones, a 1940s photography studio, shooting range and stalls selling military uniforms.

Shops and pubs along the entire length of Main Street looked authentically 1940s, with posters, books, fashions and memorabilia filling the window displays.

Staff and volunteers were on the cobbles outside, vying for visitors’ attention with a group of ‘spivs’ hawking hard-to-find goods like silk bloomers.

Mingling with the tourists were paratroopers, WAAF officers, area wardens and French resistance fighters, while a soldier, sailor and airman kept a watchful eye from the parish church steps.

From “across the pond” were American pilots, a member of the US Airborne who took part in D-Day, and dashing naval officers.

Looking a little incongruous amongst the many others in period costume was a woman dressed as a Land Girl but vaping on a very-modern electronic cigarette.

The Home Guard had set up a base in a house at the bottom of Main Street, surrounded by sandbags, and at one point the volunteer soldiers stood guard as ‘Winston Churchill’ gave one of his famous speeches.

Central Park was also packed with people, enjoying a host of fairground rides and refreshment stalls along with dancing to 1940 jazz and swing tunes by the bandstand.

The Keighley and Worth Valley Railway were running steam locomotives typical of the war years.

On the programme for this year’s event was a Battle of Britain Memorial Flight flypast, vintage tea dances in the village hall, living history displays and battle re-enactments, and live music from the war period.

The volunteer team who put together the 1940s weekend provided marshals to keep traffic moving and help people cross the road, and a park-and-ride service ram from a field in Cullingworth.