How it all began...

The first Stage Door Canteen dance was set up and run by Deborah (Mrs.D) with her team of doughnut dollies at the War and Peace Show in 1998 in a small marquee with a tea urn, a few tables and chairs but lots of friends coming along for a cuppa in that hot Beltring sun! Tickets for the jump jive dance in the evening were for selected guests only and that fantastic night was to prompt many more in the following years.

Welcome to the authentic 1940s dance!

The Stage Door Canteen dance is a re-creation of the wartime allied forces social club providing entertainment for the troops. We invite members of WW2 allied living history groups & the 1940s re-enactors who hold authenticity in high regard, for a fabulous authentic 1940s night of music, dance & entertainment!

Resident DJ ‘Swing Shift’ Chris Reynolds has been spinning the wax for over a decade and dedicates himself to playing the very best of late 30s and early 40s tunes. His passion for selecting these tracks demonstrate what the Stage Door Canteen dance is all about: recreating that fantastic atmosphere of a wartime night out for all our dancing guests to enjoy!

Volunteers and Doughnut Dollies of the only Stage Door Canteen that took place at the War and Peace Show, 1998.

The Stage Door Canteen’s very first sign,

painted by Deborah and her son Lee in 1998.

Staff rehearsing for the evening’s entertainment.

Jump jiving at the Stage Door Canteen, 1998.

Host Mike

Mrs. D. welcoming guests

DJ ‘Swing Shift’ Chris Reynolds in action