After months of planning Eastbourne AFD 24 was held on the 5 Acre Field on Saturday 29 June and what a resounding success it turned out to be.
The gates opened at 9:30 am to the general public and they kept coming all day.
The Food Village and marquee with entertainment went down a treat along with the Dive Tank and divers, mini army tanks and climbing wall doing a roaring trade throughout the day.
The Kids Zone had loads of activities and one of our veterans volunteered to be locked in the stocks and have the kids throw wet sponges at her, lovely to see them having so much fun.
We had more stands and vendors than last year, with a larger arena to accommodate a more spectacular display from the Solent Stars Motor Bike Display team with Eddie Kid joining them in the arena and allowing the team to jump over him, what a legend. The bike team also performed all the usual stunts including jumping over cars and rings of fire. Always a great crowd pleaser.
The chinook helicopter fly over was met with cheers and enthusiastic waves from everyone on the field.
The Dog Show was well attended and they were all very well behaved.
Many of our local veteran’s associations attended along with military vehicles and other armed forces themes, and of course a big shout out to the Dinosaurs that put on a great show, although they were a bit difficult to control.
We could not have asked for a better turn out from the public, their support and enthusiasm to take part in Armed Forces Day grows each year and as we add more themes and displays we hope this continues in years to come.
A huge thank you to all that gave their time and efforts to make AFD a massive success and for taking part on the day.
We are already planning for AFD 25 and looking forward to another successful day.
Look out for updates on our website…
Pictures from Sussex World, Jon Rigby
