The joint winners were Invicta Military Vehicle Preservation Society and The War and Peace Show. The efforts of the club in building its annual show from such humble beginnings 21 years ago,into what is today the worlds largest military vehicle event were recognised in the award , in the memory of Bart Vanderveen, the renowned writer and prime mover behind the military preservation movement. IMPS are of course still very much involved in the show, which grew to such proportions that 3 years ago it had no choice than to become a commercial enterprise and is now run on such a basis .
The award was presented by Winston Ramsey, publisher of Bart's "Wheels and Tracks" magazine to Jon Burford, Chairman of IMPS and Rex Cadman, organiser of the War and Peace Show
The award is nominated by you and I'd ask everyone to send in their nominations for next year - the form is in the programme.
When Bart began restoring and writing about military vehicles back in the late 1950s, he could never have envisaged in his wildest dreams an event such as this.
This show had its early beginnings as a small rally organised by like-minded enthusiasts in 1980 at Chilham Castle. This first show led to the formation of the Invicta Military Preservation Society with the lovely acronym - the IMPS - represented here by its current chairman, John Burford.
The next show in 1982 was held at the Kent and Sussex Railway at Tenterden, and this combined military/steam theme continued until the show moved here to the Hop Farm in 1987. That year 185 vehicles attended.
Two years later it had grown to 400 vehicles and included tracked armour, and Rex Cadman came in to help organise a show which was growing in size and scope every year.
In 1994, 1,000 vehicles attended the 'Back to the Beaches' event to mark the 50th anniversary of D-Day, and there were even more entrants the following year in 'The Victory Show'.
The name War and Peace was adopted in 1996 and the show extended to run over three days. Like Topsy, it had grown out of all proportion to its early beginnings. I used to walk round with Bart who never ceased to be amazed at the variety of vehicles, some very rare, others which his discerning eye would quickly spot as not original.
Mock battles were introduced attracting much media attention, but behind the scenes the future of the show was threatened when the Hop Farm was put up for sale in 1997. Fortunately the new owners, Brent and Fiona Pollard, were very keen to see the show develop but the demands on IMPS to run it with more than 3,000 vehicles and hundreds of trade stands was getting logistically and financially impossible. So a long term agreement was put in place to ensure the future of the War and Peace show which is the now the largest event of its kind in the world.
There are over 13,000 exhibitors, traders and re-enactors taking part today, and some of the original club members organising the show today are the same as those at the first event 21 years ago.
Bart Vanderveen is no longer with us to see the show but I know that he would thoroughly support the nomination for this years award.
It goes to the War and Peace Show and I would ask John Burford to
come forward accept the award on behalf of The Invicta club and its devoted
members, and Rex Cadman to receive it on behalf of War and Peace Ltd and
his staff who work so hard to make it such a success."