Military Living History and Reenactment Societies
A good web site for reenactors is Reenactor.net, organized by time periods so you can focus on the periods of history for your interests.
There are many other groups and web sites including the general ones listed here and the more specific sites in the sections which follow this one.
- Warplay
- The Texas Military Historical Society
- World War II Living History Association (UK)
- California Historical Group
- Northwest Historical Association
- World War Two Reenactor Ring
- WWII Reenacting Links: US, Dutch, German, Soviet
- Reenacting events listing, mostly in UK
10th Mountain Division Reenactors, "Camp Hale", Vail, CO 1997. Photo: Courtesy of Steve Harris, JungleSnafus.com and KnowledgePublications.com.
WW II United States Military Air Forces
WW II United States Military Ground Forces
- Fort MacArthur holds shows and Living History events at their museum facility in the Los Angeles harbor area.
- Roberts Armory traveling museum
- 2nd Armored Division
- 4th Armored Division Reenactment Association
- 4th Infantry Division Reenactment Group
- 6th Cavalry Group
- 9th Infantry Division, 39th Regiment, 2nd Battalion, Easy Company
- Tenth Mountain Division. The reenactment group has a permanent site in the Colorado Rocky Mountains which is depicted here along with their many other activities. This group has been in operation for more than 25 years.
- 26th Infantry Division "Yankee Division" WWII Living History/Re-Enactment Group
- 51st Engineer Combat Bn
- 376th Parachute Field Artillery Battalion, based in North Alabama.
- DOG Company, 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 101st Airborne
- Strictly G.I. based in Belgium
WW II United States Military Naval Forces and Marine Corps
WW II German Military -- Wehrmacht/SS
- 1.SS Panzer Division "Leibstandarte"
- Erste Zug, 7. Kompanie, 23rd SS Panzergrenadier Regiment "NORGE", 11th SS Division "NORDLAND", Re-enactment group
- Second Battle Group WWII Re-enactment & Historical Society
- 3rd Panzer Grenadier Division
- 7th Kompanie Grenadier Regiment Grossdeutschland Re-enactment group
- 10th SS Frundsberg 3./SS-Pz AA 10
- 43rd Sturm Pionier
- 'Hitler Jugend' Kompanie 1. - Batallion 1.- Panzer Grenadier Regiment 25 - 12th SS Panzer Division.
- Kampfgruppe Haase: 2nd Panzer Grenadier Division, 1.SS & 12.SS Division, as well as Fallschirmjaeger (based in Canada)
- Panzergrenadier, the international home for WW II Axis re-enactors.
WW II Canadian Military
- 1st Canadian Parachute Bn.
- The Perth Regiment, Canada
- The Prince Edward Island Reenactors. Contact by e-mail: THunter@kent.po.hollandc.pe.ca
- 'B' Company 1 Canadian Parachute Battalion (Living History)
- Queen's Own Rifles of Canada, World War II Living History company
WW II Military of Great Britian
The Victory in Europe Re-enactment Association is a well established World War Two Historical Group which carries out static displays,battle re-enactments and living history displays at public shows and private events all over the U.K.
- Battle For Europe, UK based re-enactment team specialising in the forces involved in the World War II conflict.
- Home Front Friends WW2 British home front -- historical interactive talks, educational workshops, living history, re-enactment performances and museum interpretation
- Summer of 44 WW2 Living History Group
- WW 2 Display Team
- 3rd Parachute Brigade, British and Canadian
- 7th Battalion, Black Watch
- 15th (Scottish) Division
- British 1st Airborne Division, Links page
- Coldstream Guards Living History Museum web site
- Long Range Desert Group (LRDG) Preservation Society
- Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry
- The Queen's Own Cameron Highlanders
WW II Allied Armies in Exile
- World War Two Polish Living History Group , dedicated to preserving the memory and deeds of Poland's armed forces 1939 to 1945.
WW I Reenactment
- Pershings Doughboys WW1 US Army living History Group.
- World War I Imperial German Army reenactor links
French Military
- 2e Regiment Chasseurs Parachutiste (2e RCP), WW II French Special Air Service (SAS)
- 13th Demi-Brigade Legion Étrangère
- French Army Reenactment Group (FARG), UK based with main focus in the Algerian conflict
Korean War Reenacement
Indochina/Vietnam War Reenactment
- Allied Forces Cold War Association
- 1er Bataillon Etranger de Parachutistes
- Grunts: Vietnam War Reenactment in France
- The Last Patrol
- French Indochina War (1946-1954) Message Board on Yahoo Groups
- Yahoo Directory of Vietnam Living History Groups
Israel-Arab Wars Reenactment
Locations for Reenactors
Fairgrounds and similar locations are often eager to have reenactors participate in events. Reenactors are invited to bring their encampment, vehicles and equipment to the venue, usually with low or no cost. This list has a few examples. In general, if there is an event going on, military or not, you should contact the venue management and may be pleasantly surprised by what they will offer your group.
- Skylark Showground (Cambridgeshire, UK) welcomes reenactment groups with free camping and exhibit space at certain shows.
Equipment for Reenactors
Living History participants will need uniforms and equipment that either are originals (surplus or militaria) or quality reproductions. The Olive-Drab.com pages on Soldiers' Clothing and Gear have extensive descriptions and photos of original equipment as well as a discussion of quality reproductions. Olive-Drab.com's advertisers and the extensive list of surplus and Militaria dealers in the Olive-Drab.com Supplier Database are your best sources for original gear.
Rations for Reenactors
World War Two Ration Technologies is a company that offers authentic reproductions of the packaging and labels for C rations, K rations and D rations from World War II. This is a service to re-enactors who want to have an experience as close to actual history as possible. In addition to the material on Olive-Drab.com about Combat Rations, MREs, and Food, World War Two Ration Technologies' website has a wealth of information about the rations, how they were made, and how they were used in the field. Another company making rations for re-enactors is ReproRations.
Recommended Book about Reenactment
Find More Information on the Web
There are many fine websites that have additional information on this topic, too many to list here and too many to keep up with as they come and go. Use this Google web search form to get an up to date report of what's out there.
For good results, try entering this: living history or reenactment. Then click the Search button.
Especially recommended:
