#TheMonumentalProject at Chalke History Festival 2025
- darrenscivilwarpag8
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
#TheMonumentalProject at Chalke History Festival 2025 By Darren Rawlings
📸 Pat Patrick
At the end of June, Gina Denham, Tom Sainter, and I attended the 2025 Chalke History Festival, representing the Monuments for UK Veterans of the American Civil War Association. I attended the festival the previous year to evaluate its potential for our presence. After that experience, I concluded that it was indeed the ideal venue for #TheMonumentalProject.
The Chalke History Festival is often described as the "Glastonbury of history festivals," and I wholeheartedly agree. It did not disappoint; in fact, it exceeded my expectations.
During our week at the festival, we experienced tremendous engagement. As always, Gina and I learned on the job. Before attending, I suggested that we conduct two talks a day at our display. However, after the first morning, we quickly realised this would not be feasible. The first three days of the festival—Monday to Wednesday—primarily catered to school-age children. Monday featured primary and early secondary school students, Tuesday focused on secondary school students up to sixth form, and Wednesday catered to children of all ages with disabilities. As a result, we decided to make our display more interactive, which was part of our initial plan, but it turned out to be even more effective than we anticipated.
Gina crafted four wooden rifles for a basic rifle drill, allowing us to engage willing participants.
We encouraged visitors to take part in this simple drill while Gina shared the story of her Great-great-grandfather, George, and his experiences during a three-hour night battle.
The Battle of Wauhatchie which took place in November 1863.
📸 Gina Denham
We received positive feedback for our interactive approach, and many attendees were genuinely surprised to learn about the involvement of British soldiers in the American Civil War. Our monument display stand attracted a great deal of interest.
Additionally, Gina and I announced our presence to the general public by walking to the entrance in full uniform every day.
Naturally, this attracted a lot of
attention; when dressed in military
attire, it’s hard to go unnoticed.
📸 Gina Denham
Tom Sainter did a fantastic job discussing George's story, engaging with attendees, and answering many questions about the London branch of the U.S. Civil War veterans.
📸 Darren Rawlings
During the event, we had the opportunity to meet many celebrity historians. The most notable was of course James Holland and
Al Murray, the pub landlord. I even tried to convince Ian Hislop to join the Union Army for thirteen dollars a month on two occasions I couldn't convince him. I referred to Ian as a British institution, to which he smiled and laughed.
Ian has been a part of the TV show "Have I Got News for You?" since 1990, which is quite impressive.
📸 Tom Sainter
📸 Gina Denham
📸 Gina Denham
We also attracted the attention of Instagram influencers and content creators, including History Extra magazine. I had the chance to put one of the hosts from History Extra through their paces and teach
them Acw Rifle drill.
📸 Gina Denham
History Extra 👇
I met the wonderful Alice Loxton, who has a massive following on Instagram—1.7 million followers. I also showed Alice how to perform the ACW rifle drill. Additionally, I was asked to participate in a filming session with a fellow YouTuber Catherine Warr who has over 10,000 subscribers, discussing the American Civil War, while Gina had the opportunity to discuss George's story and the London branch of U.S. Civil War veterans
📸 Alice Loxton
Check out Alice's Instagram page
Check out Catherine Warr's YouTube Channel
One of the nicest people I had the pleasure of meeting at the festival was a young lady by the name of Katie Kennedy, who recently released a book called. (The History Gossip: Was Anne of Cleves a Minger? and 365 Other Historical Curiosities) Katie also has a significant following on Instagram and TikTok. She made the effort to visit our camp to learn more about the American Civil War and the London branch of U.S Civil War Veterans. While there Katie filmed some content for her platforms,
Katie was also put through her paces and taught ACW rifle drill. Katie has a fantastic attitude and is a real asset to the field of history, particularly in engaging with younger audiences through her unique presenting style.
I had the opportunity to watch Katie's talk with Alice Loxton.
📸 Darren Rawlings
Katie's Book
Check out Katie on Instagram & TikTok.
Tiktok
You can also find Katie on the History Channel UK https://www.history.co.uk/shows/history-crush
I want to extend a huge thank you to Chris Lean, a good friend of mine and fellow reenactor, who generously lent us equipment that allowed us to showcase the life of an American Civil War soldier in camp and on the road. We learned a lot from this year’s event, and one key takeaway for both Gina and me is the importance of continuous improvement for next time. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we hope to be in attendance at next year's
festival We will come back
bigger and better.
📸 Gina Denham
I also had the chance to take part in the Chalke History Festival official photo shoot.
📸 Chalke History Festival
I want to take a moment to acknowledge the people behind the scenes at Chalke History Festival. I’m referring to everyone involved in making the festival the best in the country, if not the world —everyone deserves a huge round of applause. They all work incredibly hard to ensure that everything runs smoothly throughout the week. The dedication and effort from everyone made this event a success. This festival doesn't happen without them, so thank you all.
A special shout-out to Royale Class Catering for looking after us all week.
📸 Darren Rawlings
All that is left to say is Cheers 🍻
📸 Darren Rawlings
Just a little reminder of something coming up in October. As we remember the last veteran, if you're interested in attending this event, please contact us at 👇
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