This was the message that John Smith gave to the Weavers group of WIs (made up of Westbury, Bratton, Dilton Marsh, Heywood & Hawkridge and Edington & Tinhead) meeting in Westbury United Reform Church hall on Monday 18th April.
John dressed up as a roman soldier solving the mystery of those short tunics by saying that mud only goes up to your knees so that when marching you didn’t get your clothing soaked! We learnt a number of interesting facts like: • Our own personal space within the home started with the Romans; • It was largely their way of life that influenced us to embrace them; • Legionnaires earned a very good salary which they used to buy their own equipment and had to pay into a pension providing a social structure thus providing 20,000 new recruits a year; • Every fort had a hospital; • The salute was open palmed like we have today; • The shoes they wore were individually made; • They were still here in AD427; • The iron vests they mainly wore were adapted from what was here and they would have used the iron from the Westbury area.
John has made exact replicas of the segmented armour – VERY heavy and the helmets.
As he was an archaeologist John has dedicated a lot of time and energy to promoting the detail which can be interpreted from the Roman finds and takes part in re-enactments.
After refreshments provided by Westbury WI, Heywood & Hawkridge WI led us in war time and traditional songs to celebrate the Queen’s 90th birthday.
The next weavers meeting will be Monday 17th October when Mike Rowe will give a very personal view of France with a light hearted quiz and wine tasting at Heywood hall.
