A Chatham man, who has been an historical War of 1812 re-enactor for decades, is offering to teach those who are interested in getting involved in the hobby.
Mark Dickerson is organizing an event in Chatham’s Tecumseh Park on July 18 at 7:30 pm to introduce people to the hobby of military re-enactment that will include learning how to do drill.
“It will be a very informal. . . just come out,” Dickerson said.
He added there is no commitment, the event is being held just to provide people with some information.
“Just come on out and have some fun,” he said.
Dickerson is involved with the Upper Thames Military Re-enactment Society (UTMRS), which he said started out of the former Kent Military Re-Enactment Society, which has since folded.
He is hoping to create a Chatham chapter of the UTMRS, which is going strong.
Dickerson’s involvement with the hobby dates back to the 175th anniversary of the Battle of the Thames, organized by the Kent Military Re-enactment Society in 1988. He went to chair the bicentennial of the Battle of the Thames in 2013.
“I just love the camping, the history, the camaraderie. . . it’s just a lot of fun,” he said.
There’s no shortage of re-enactment events taking place.
“You could go to an event almost every weekend of the summer,” Dickerson said.
Already this year, the UTMRS took part in the Battle of Longwoods at the Longwood Conservation Area in early May and went to a re-enactment event in Ohio at the end of May.
This month, the UTMRS will be at Fort George and in August the group will be at Fort Erie. Dickerson said re-enactment units from Ontario along with Michigan, Ohio and New York will go to weekend events in Fort George and Fort Erie.
In 2025, members UTMRS are going to Waterloo, Belgium for a re-enactment of the Battle of Waterloo, he added.
Dickerson said a lot of families take part in military re-acting, including his own.
“I really enjoy doing the drill,” said Dickerson’s daughter Bella, who be taking part in the military re-enactment at Fort Erie in August.
The 14-year-old has also met a lot of people at the re-enactments.
“At Longwoods, I made a whole friend group,” she said. “It was a lot of fun.”
Dickerson said there are already five or six people planning to attend the July 18 event and more are welcome.
Those interested in more information, can contact Dickerson by email at [email protected]