PM'd Josh...
I've not set anything get but I've run an event in march for years. Ill try and go end of month if site permits. It will be a battle weekend so won't appeal to the hardened air softer. Leave it with me mate, ill have a look next week.
As Josh (and Pete!) say, his event will be of general interest but regardless, there is plenty of crossover - just look at all the players of 'ours' who have been at Gunman games these past years (its all of them!). So if his turns out to be 23/24 March and ours 2/3 March then that should be OK. Although since we can't hit the 'correct' weekend anyway I'm not overly fussed about syncronicity, so I'm perfectly happy to run this later. In fact it would be fantastic to get one of Pete's training weekends in before the game for preparation (concealment/movement/shelter/food/drink etc etc)
Training weekend: March
Hut 9: April/June/July/Aug
Z: May
I think the pricing is pretty reasonable for this site. We'd need access to more than just the aeksea farm part though (it's just a single building),as it's basically an e&e theme, which does require a fair bit of space. Dates wise, as my idea is using the actual escape only for its' inspiration, we can set it whenever we want and choose our date to fit in with that if we want to.
I've no problems with telling the punters "no SS insignia". The Axis will have a massive choice of what to wear, so there is something for everyone.
When I want your opinion - I'll tell you what it is!
For clarity I've split off this particular game discussion.
Any thoughts about the title? The Great Escape sounds great (I like misleading 'em based on assumption - might raise expectations though) but I was taken with the simple and easy to remember "Hut 9" so I've used that as a working title, subject to further discussion.
The Great Escape has too many connotations.
Hut 9 sounds good.
Hut 69 sounds better, but no-one would want to escape.
No reply from Ed yet? Been thinking about the German uniform thing - there has never been a problem with German uniforms at any other MoD owned sites before.The hardest-core Second Battle Group held a private blank-fire event at Longmoor just last weekend!
I was also wondering if we could start off at one of the wired compounds that look like a PoW camp, two or three of us dressed in German uniforms. We would take the part of the escape organisers and staying behind (due to injury or some-such) and hence still in officer's uniform. We can give the final sketch maps, forged documents and briefings and get the escapees away. A half or full hour later (by which time we will be changed back as Allied officers) the alarm would be raised and the searchers would be gathered, briefed and search sectors allocated.
Were you planning on having any of us three as part of the escapees? I'd rather not have a bunch of escapees led around like at Jedburgh - I'd much rather they were well-briefed and left to their own devices. They would get so much more out of it, whether or not they are captured - they are supposed to be living on their wits! And we wouldn't have the crazy possibility of them all being rounded up at once. Or would one or two organisers take the part of friendly agents?
Those photo's are of Nesscliffe Camp, not the training area. If I recall correctly (and, it's been a while!), there are some buildings very close to the Aeksea Farm area which are very similar to the buildings at the actual POW camp (minus windows and doors!). I like the idea of us acting as the escape ringleaders, in order to brief the Germans, it gives good control and no room for error.
I haven't really done much in way of a gameplan but, the ideas are all there in my head. I was going to play the part of a German agent, who would give out rv's, weapons and assistance to those on the run. By playing in civvies, I can quite easily walk up and chat to you guys if required and, perhaps even join hunter teams (possibly playing my part and throwing them off course!). The escapees will most definitely be split up and, I'll make a "pussy" contingency for those who don't want to rough it overnight.
What we really need is a site recce and an idea of how much of the area we can have access to.
When I want your opinion - I'll tell you what it is!
The other lot that ran events at Nescliffe offered overnight sleeping accommodation and access to the canteen IIRC so they must have been using the camp and then heading out to play? Anyhoo, are these the buildings you mean?
No, those are old ammo bunkers if I recall, some way from Aeksea Farm.
When I want your opinion - I'll tell you what it is!
Doh, you are right, we need a site visit!
I'll chase Ed.
No reply from Ed so far. Will chase at the weekend.
Ed replied!
Hi.
Should be no problem with event type.
I haven't confirmed dates with them yet as wanted to be sure they were ok with the event.
If everything is ok your end let me know def date preferred & I'll will apply for the license.
With regard to seeing the area, only way this can be done in the short term is if you come down when i am running an event there.
I am running a weekender using the fibua farm complex in mid January.
Cheers
Ed
Nice one. I assume it's the 0ne he's running 19th/20th January, if it is, I'm free that weekend, so could go either day.
When I want your opinion - I'll tell you what it is!
Yes, a site visit would be fine on that weekend, snow permitting!
As I'm on nights this week and, therefore bored out of my skull at work, I've been thinking about the gameplan for this. I thought it might be interesting to have a small team (say 4 men) of German FJ, who have been dropped in to assist the escapees. They could have their own sub mission of finding their drop crate, which contains weapons and other help for the escapees.
I'm leaning more to a summer of '44 date for this, using the Bridgend escape only as inspiration. This way, some of the escapees could have the incentive of getting away with information regarding the build up to D-Day. With this as a backdrop, we could allow British and US troops in the same area, with potential for possible friction there too (also allowing escaping Germans to dress in allied uniforms). The more I think about it, the more I think that this could mirror "Z", in that there may not be a German uniform at all!
When I want your opinion - I'll tell you what it is!
I'd really like to keep it as close to the real event as possible if we can. There were massive Royal Ordnance cordite and filling factories nearby (40,00 people worked there) so maybe they could be planning on blowing the plant sky high.
I don't see any need for German uniforms either - other than as part of their escape gear. Issue grey/green wool trousers, army shirts, naval polo necks and woollen jumpers. Plus any other civvie shirts/trousers/jackets/donkey jackets. Boiler suits even.
While in real life the last thing any of them either needed or could get hold of was weapons but it would certainly be a twist if external help was available - be it just local fascist cell (believable), air dropped kit (not impossible) or uniformed FJ (fanciful).
As for local forces - prison camp army staff, home guard called upon for local search, and there was a US Army camp at Bridgend and in the surrounding area for the D-Day build up (meh, not airborne - they were the 28th Infantry Division) so we could, at a stretch and if we must, have admin & support staff still in the area.
As I said, just bouncing ideas about 
It will become more concrete once we've got a recce under our belts.
When I want your opinion - I'll tell you what it is!
Absolutely - it's just that it is such a cracking story it would be a shame to deviate too much. The numbers that escape were greater that The Great Escape even if the outcome wasn't remotely successful. And they didn't have Steve McQueen banged up. 
The official figure was 70 but it seems it could have been actually 84 (14 caught straight away and therefore not counted).
The camp was occupied by the 28th Inf but they left for D-Day preparations in April 1944. So we could perhaps have those that were not fit for active duty retained in the camp? Not accurate but stretching a truth if we feel the need to include US.
What is weird is why the Germans bothered to break out so late in the war, from an island beyond which shores were occupied by allies! While a very few got to Cardiff, Birmingham and Southampton it would make sense to keep the story local - what was the aim of the bulk of the breakout? We could have stashes of explosives that the teams have to find, then rendezvous to carry out the sabotage. It would be nice if the hunters only have very limited ammo too - no blatting from a distance, shots have to count, otherwise get close and grab 'em.
Are we still up for a recce on the 19/20th Jan for this?
Ta
S