Simon J.W. Fogg.
My interest in military history started from a very young age, with the influence of my father – who was an ex-serviceman himself. He often showed me some of his military kit and reminisced of his old army days in the Household Cavalry.
Being a local lad, I’ve been intrigued by the wartime history on Woodbury Common, pretty much as long as I can remember! With Dad’s military knowledge, and an already established interest in history, the World War Two era was inevitably going to become a passion.
I have been a militaria collector since 2007 (from the age of 13), specialising in the development of Small Arms Ammunition and 19th/20th Century to modern military firearms. Over the last decade, I have built up a collection and knowledge of military equipment – and there’s always more to learn! As well as a collector, I am also a competent target rifle shooter, having a real firsthand experience with original World War Two weaponry, gaining a more technical ‘Hands On’ aspect of 1940’s warfare. My passion for all things military did not just stop with finding war relics, as I spent a few years as a presenter and DJ on an online forces radio station, which was in support of active-serving and veteran soldiers. My radio shows were regularly broadcast twice a week to troops deployed in Afghanistan and other bases.
As a collector, the military artefacts that I have found over the years spurred me on to begin writing a record of the local wartime history to share with the local residents and like-minded people. In October 2016, I published my first book ‘Wartime Dalditch Camp and Finds On Woodbury Common’. A Wartime Dalditch Camp ‘feature’ which I wrote was published in the March 2019 edition of ‘The Armourer’ magazine, titled ‘Inside Dalditch Camp’ and also in ‘The Globe & Laurel’ the Royal Marine magazine, in the same month. I have published an updated revision of my book in August 2019, titled ‘Inside Dalditch Camp – A Wartime History Of The Royal Marines On Woodbury Common‘, which goes into much more elaborate detail of the wartime history.
I also run a Facebook group with regular updates of new discoveries.
https://www.facebook.com/groups/DalditchCamp
Since the publication of my book, I do PowerPoint talks sharing my World War Two militaria knowledge and exhibiting parts of my World War Two collection at special commemorative exhibitions. I also work with local schools giving the children a ‘Hands On’ experience with World War Two equipment and educating what life was like in the war.
I was nominated as the Royal Marine Historical Society’s Society Award 2020 winner. The award was presented for my archaeological and research work on the World War Two Royal Marine Dalditch Training Camp on Woodbury Common, which I compiled into a reference book. The awards would normally be presented at an annual dinner at Portsmouth, but could not take place because of the Covid pandemic. The Royal Marines Historical Society Award was introduced in 2006 and is awarded in recognition of significant work by a non-member that promoted an interest in the history of the Royal Marines. The award consists of a framed certificate, signed by both the president and the Chairman of the Society.
Dalditch Camp, History, And Finds on Woodbury Common, Devon. 