THOUSANDS marvelled at military creations at Bovington’s annual Tank Fest.

Young and old watched as re-enactments and tank displays took place at the museum over the weekend.

Saturday was the busiest day the event has ever seen, with almost 7,000 people marching through the doors.

Vehicle rides, a parachute display and a mock battle were just part of the entertainment.

Tank Museum spokesman Nick Wyness said it had been a ‘fantastic’ weekend.

He said: “This is a very important fundraising event for the Tank Museum as a registered charity.

“The majority of our income comes from visitors.

“We expect about 10,000 a year at Tank Fest but this year we’ve gone a bit over that.

“Saturday was the busiest day of the Tank Fest ever, we had almost 7,000 visitors.

“We’ve had good weather, great feedback and everyone’s enjoying themselves.”

Excited little Ollie Johnson, aged three, enjoyed an ice cream as well as the tanks.

Dad Daniel said: “We planned it at the beginning of the week.

“Ollie was very excited, he likes tanks.

“We’re just waiting for the big display.”

Army cadets played the part of the British infantry in a mock battle of what could have happened in the Cold War.

Members of the TA were on hand to talk to visitors about their experiences.

Kim Collins, a chef aged 26, said: “I’ve been in the TA for two years.

“I always wanted to be part of the regular army but I came in to this and fell in love with it.

“I’d tell anyone who’s thinking of joining to come and see what it’s all about.”

Sergeant Major David Nichols, who joined the TA in 1986 said: “It is hard work but it’s enjoyable.

“You get out of the TA what you put in.”

Elsewhere, in a dugout, re-enactors told visitors all about the role of the press during the Second World War.

They were portraying the 9th Battalion Manchester Regiment, Vickers Gunners at the attack on the Gothic Line in 1944 – and a war correspondent who’d come to join them.

Pretend press reporter Paul Watson had a disc cutter, which was used to report from Normandy.

He said: “When the Second World War began, nobody really knew what the press was going to do.

“There was deep suspicion from the military.

“But they started to realise the press was a very useful arm to get people back on the home front.

“The BBC had reporters who went out to record in situ and there was a slot after the 9pm news called ‘War Report.’

“They were treated very well, as honorary officers.

“A lot of them were older people who had served in the First World War.

“But they suffered the same as other soldiers, from starvation, for example.

“And as a reporter, if you were shot, you would be left outside the hospital unless your newspaper agreed to foot the bill.”

Fake barbed wire, which had previously formed part of a James Bond movie set, lined the dugout.

Mr Watson said: “They had tens of thousands of metres of the stuff.

“Once filming finished a joke company got hold of it and now we’ve used it for our dugout.”