Star Wars cosplayers bring the Force to Yorkshire

As an army of customers swarms shopping centres on a weekend, a very different kind of army waits around the corner.

The ominous, mechanical breathing of Darth Vader can be heard in the distance before he appears flanked by stormtroopers.

They are members of the Phoenix Squad, a Star Wars costuming group that appears at events around Yorkshire.

Over Halloween weekend, they visited the Ridings Shopping Centre, in Wakefield, while other recent engagements have included Flemingate, in Beverley, the Broadway, in Bradford, and Lakeside Village, Doncaster.

Starting in 2024 with just 12 members, the squad now has 40 from across the region who have raised more than £20,000 for charities.

"Wow, look, Star Wars!" one woman says, as she points the group out to her son during the event at the shopping centre.

Another shopper, Danny, says he could hear Darth Vader's breathing "from the other side of the Ridings".

"I think what they're doing is amazing and the effort they put into the costumes as well," he adds.

For 25-year-old Lewis Reeder, from Leeds, suiting up as Darth Vader is more than a bit of fun.

"For me, it brings a lot of joy to children, seeing their faces. It means a lot. Obviously, we do it for the right reasons."

When he started, his kit cost him £800, he says, but he's since made upgrades to parts including his helmet and chest plate.

In total, it has cost him somewhere between £3,000 and £4,000 to create a "screen-accurate" costume like the one seen in the Star Wars movie Rogue One.

"It just gives that better effect," he adds.

Bob Baker, 58, from Goole, East Yorkshire, is one of the squad's directors and is dressed as a stormtrooper. He tells me how the group brings together people from "far and wide" around Yorkshire.

"We all travel quite a way to do it, but it means we can also travel quite a way out and reach different communities.

"It gives us a great opportunity to raise awareness for the various charities that we raise for," he adds.

He tells me how the group is always looking for new members.

"Whether they like Star Wars or don't like Star Wars, it's a community for all ages."

Having moved away from Newcastle in 2012, Baker gets lots of comments from people saying they have never heard a stormtrooper with a Geordie accent before.

"The Empire recruits all over the universe," he jokes.

Trustee Barbara Young, 50, from York, has been part of the group since it began.

"At the end of the day, when you hand the cheque over with how much money we've raised, it's a really big thing and it's just the joy of it," she says.

"That money goes towards stuff like days out for end-of-life children, so it all helps with everything they need."

Having handed a £10,000 cheque to Brainkind in its first year, and one for £10,299 to Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice in its second, the group is now raising money for Forget Me Not Children's Hospice, but is on the lookout for more charities to support.

Director Phil Blackburn, 45, from Castleford, West Yorkshire, says: "Seeing the impact that the money we raise does for the charities is fantastic.

"It's nice to know that Star Wars is still relevant, because it makes us relevant and it just brings joy to people, and it's brilliant to be part of that."

Sophie Dennison, from Bradford, has stepped into the boots of Kay Vess, the protagonist from the video game Star Wars Outlaws.

"I love Star Wars, I have since I was a kid, and I just thought it'd be really good to help with charities and fundraising," the 25-year-old explains.

"I love the kits and the ideas and just making them as well."

Liam Hill, 27, from Sheffield, joined the squad as a Jedi with his twin-brother Ben.

"It's a lot of fun, it keeps me busy on the weekend and I just love teaching kids about lightsabers," he says.

Phoenix Squad has events planned far into the future and is promising a special guest will attend Princes Quay, Hull, on 22 November and Flemingate, Beverley, on 13 December.

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