Dress up and join in the fun with the annual Island at War event.
That is the call from the organisers of the two-day spectacular, running this weekend.
Events held at Douglas, Castletown and Port Erin railway stations and Cregneash will bring the island back in time to the Second World War.
A veterans train, in partnership with the Royal British Legion, runs on Saturday. The Steaming to Victory carriage will depart Douglas at 11.20am. The Women’s Institute (WI) Choir will sing it out and when the train arrives in Port Erin an hour later it will be sung in by the D-Day Darlings.
Douglas station will be transformed into a military outpost with help from the island’s Explorer scouts and Joint Cadet Services.
To help ladies get the look, a ‘hairraid shelter’ at the station will give visitors a quick 1940s hair style.
The WI will be in a Thornycroft bus and there will be a range of vintage cars and military vehicles on display. The Manx Craft Guild will be situated in a marquee in the front car park.
Railway customers will have plenty to see on board the trains. Back by popular demand is the Spitfire crash landing site that can only be seen from the train.
The Isle of Man Scout Association will be acting as travelling inspectors to ensure ‘law and order’, while Beavers will be acting as refugees.
Entertainment on board will include a Chinese Whispers game for children with the Explorer Scouts, and a letter sorting competition on the travelling post office.
All new for 2015 and expected to be a highlight of the weekend is an FV433 Field Artillery self-propelled Abbot.
It will be visible from the train on Saturday and in Douglas Station all day on Sunday.
Railways events co-ordinator Anji Street said: ‘The photo opportunities from the train for both the Spitfire and artillery vehicle are not to be missed.’
Meanwhile, stationed on the platform at Port Erin all weekend will be a magnificent 1944 Morris C9B self-propelled Bofors Gun.
The W.I. will be selling and exhibiting crafts and cakes and the Royal British Legion will be exhibiting paintings by James Fenton.
At Castletown station, visit the wartime field hospital with medics. Meanwhile, Explorer Scout troops will hold a weekend wartime camp with Scouting skills, activities and cooking demonstrations.
A Port Erin war exhibition takes place in the ticket hall and there will be an exhibition and sale of goods from grand houses at St Catherine’s Hall.
Shop keepers around the town will be getting involved by specially dressing their windows.
Soloists and choirs will be bringing the spirit of wartime alive over the weekend. The WI Choir will performing at Castletown station on Saturday and Sunday lunchtime, then Douglas station on both days at 2pm, and at Port Erin Station on Sunday at 3.20pm.
Listen to Roc Vannin choir on Saturday at Douglas station (10.30am and 3.35pm) and Castletown station (lunch time). Finally, soloist Steph Chatterley will be singing at Douglas station on Saturday at 12.30pm and Sunday at 3pm.
Wartime at Cregneash will give the public the opportunity to discover what life was like for the rural community during the war.
The event runs from 10am to 5pm on both days.
There will be demonstrations of harvesting and agricultural work and displays by the Isle of Man Home Guard and the Women’s Land Army.
Labyrinth: A History in Heels will give guided tours at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm.
Dr Andrew Foxon will be giving guided tours of the WWII radar station at Meayll Hill on Sunday.
See page 23 for more details.
The entertainment on the railways is included in the standard ticket prices.
Admission to Cregneash is £6 for adults and £3 for children.