While I was gathering material for Sherwood Boys, I naturally did some general searches on the internet with terms like ‘5th Sherwood Foresters’ to see who else might be out there researching the battalion. One result that surprised me was that there was already a URL sherwoodforesters.org, which belongs to a group of reenactors specifically recreating the uniforms and equipment of the 5th Battalion! I was even more surprised when I discovered their location – Memphis, Tennessee!!
Alex Burcham, who heads the group, told me that it started some 20 years ago with a few reenactors who found that they shared an interest in Commonwealth military history and wanted to do something related to World War 2. Band of Brothers had just been released, but they avoided anything German and didn’t want to join the ranks of those portraying the 101st Airborne. So they wanted to represent a British unit, but again most of the active reenactors were airborne. They settled on a county infantry regiment and one of the members suggested the Sherwood Foresters. They liked that the regiment had a unique title, and the automatic name recognition that came with the fact that even in America everyone has at least heard of Sherwood Forest from the Robin Hood movies. The 5th Battalion also opened up the Mediterranean theatre for their living history setups: khaki drill uniforms are a lot more comfortable in the Tennessee summer than woollen battle dress.
The group is determined to be as authentic as possible, but that leads to a few problems if the event is themed other than in Italy in World War Two. So they sometimes take on a persona other than the 5th Battalion, while trying to keep a connection of sorts with the modern Mercian Regiment – such as portraying the 1st Worcesters in Northwest Europe 1944-45, or the 2nd South Staffordshire Airlanding Battalion at Arnhem. They also sometimes branch out into the First World War, representing the 5th Battalion during the attacks at Gommecourt and the St.Quentin Canal. There’s a link here to the US 30th Division (Tennessee National Guard) who the 46th (North Midland) Division fought alongside during the breaking of the Hindenburg Line in 1918.
The group are very happy to assist family members seeking help in researching relatives during one of the two World Wars, connecting them with the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters collection of the Museum of the Mercian Regiment. A lot of their own research consists of finding photos of the regiment in action to get the right piece of kit or look for an event. With the 80th Anniversary of the end of the Second World War, hopefully they will see a lot more interest in the period and spread the word about the 5th Foresters.
Slightly less surprising perhaps, but no less enthusiastic, are the Green Liners in Northern Italy. Last year they did a superb immersive display for the 80th Anniversary of the breaking of the Gothic Line (Green Line to the Germans) at Monte Gridolfo, their uniforms mostly representing the men of the Hampshire Regiment, who fought alongside the Foresters and took Monte Gridolfo itself. This weekend (8-10 August) they were there again together with the Museo della Linea dei Goti to commemorate the liberation of the town.
