This year’s Allied Forces Commemoration Day will once again be the largest event of its type in the North and will this year mark the 70th Anniversary of the Battle of Britain. It will take place on Sunday 5th September and admission is at normal rates and times.

The Lord Lieutenant of East Yorkshire, the Hon. Mrs. Susan Cunliffe-Lister will attend the occasion as the representative of HM The Queen.

The Service will reflect the fact that Winston Churchill’s speech, in which he stated that “… never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few” is actually directed at all British and Allied aircrews, not just those of Fighter Command. With the loss of 998 aircrew, RAF Bomber Command and Coastal Command lost more aircrew during the period known as the Battle of Britain than the 554 pilots of Fighter Command, a fact very rarely reflected in articles about this epic battle of the skies. Bomber Command was involved in daring and dangerous daylight attacks on German airfields in efforts to thwart the Luftwaffe threat.

Another significant local connection to the Battle will also be reflected as, on the 15th August 1940, RAF Driffield was attacked during one of the largest offensives by the Luftwaffe, which resulted in the loss of the first WAAF to die in active service, ACW2 Marguerite Hudson, whose name is amongt the Roll of Honour on a Plaque in the Museum’s Women’s Air Services Memorial Garden.

The Parade, expected to be over 450 strong, is made up by members of many regional Royal Air Force Associations, Royal British Legion Branches, Royal Observer Corps Association and other forces associations. A large contingent of serving personnel from 609 West Riding Squadron RAuxAF from RAF Leeming  are taking part. This Squadron was first formed at Yeadon (now Leeds / Bradford Airport) in 1936 as a Bomber Squadron, but later, designated instead to Fighter Command, went on to play a significant role in the Battle of Britain, claiming 85 ‘kills’ during the battle. An impressive tally for what was essentially a ‘civilian’ squadron at the time.

The Parade will be led by the Massed Bands of the Northern Region Air Training Corps and many other Cadets from regional Squadrons and unusually, they will be joined by a contingent of 9 riders from the East Riding RBL Riders Group on motorcycles, with Standard. In all, some 26 Standards will be presented. The Parade leads into the Service which commences at 2:45pm until 3:30pm. The Parade will then reform for the March Past and Salute, which will be taken by the Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Sir Stephen Dalton KCB ADC BSC FRAeS CCMI RAF in his capacity as Vice President of the Allied Air Forces Memorial. The Parade will assemble for the Sunset Ceremony and Evening Hymn, with Lowering of Standards and Ensign, culminating with a flypast by a Spitfire from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, bringing the day to a poignant and fitting end.

In an excellent show of support, around 75 historic motorcycles will gather at the Yorkshire Air Museum on Bank Holiday Monday, 30th August, for the Golden Era Run which is organised by the North Eastern Section of the Vintage Motorcycle Club. The rally is specicfically for pre 1930’s machines and none of the entries is less than 80 years old and some are more than 100! These will include early examples of sidecars with wicker cabins and three wheelers.

The oldest motorcycle is the 1903 Quadrant. Owned by Derek Pollard, this machine is making its very first appearance since restoration and it will be absolutely fantastic to see this ancient motorcyle in action. Derek is coming from the Rotherham / Penistone area for this event.

After gathering at the Museum before it opens to the public, the first machines will depart for the run at 10:15am and follow a choice of circular routes through the local byways to Bishop Wilton and then back to Elvington, taking advantage of the local countryside that is free from troublesome hills! They should start arriving back at the Museum from noon onwards and be on display for the public to admire until around 3:30pm before departing on the slow journey home.

This is a very rare opportunity to see just how the motorcycle evolved from a primitive motor on a bicycle frame to a fast and sturdy form of transport.

There will be plenty of familiar names – Norton, Triumph, Velocette as well as many that are almost forgotten, such as Montgomery and Torpedo, with Yorkshire manufacturers represented by P&M and Scott. Also taking part is the only known example in the United Kingdom of the Coventry built York motorcycle from 1929, which is ridden by Ken Mellor of Selby.

Here will be an opportunity to see how riders cope with machines which may have only one gear, no clutch, lever throttle, narrow tyres and hardly any springing – a world apart from the motorcyles of today. But, for all the trials and tribulations, the owners cherish their machines and just love riding them.

Before all you red blooded guys out there get hot under the collar, the huge model show taking place at the Yorkshire Air Museum on Sunday 15th August will not see a bevy of beauties parading their flimsy fashions!

But, if plastic and diecast scale models rock your boat, then you will most definitely be in paradise!! With no fewer than 29 Club Stands on display, there will be a wealth of beautiful creations to admire, showing off the intricate skills of the dedicated model maker. A serious show for serious enthusiasts!

For others, it will be a chance to step back in time and rediscover the childhood delight in assembling the myriad of pieces in the kit and ending up with something that resembles what it was intended to be, even if not perfect. Our exhibitors will show you how it is done to perfection, with not a drop of glue where it should not be, and the steadiest of hands for the detailed painting required.

All the well known brands of models will be represented , such as Airfix, Corgi, Hobbycast, etc,  shown off by exhibitors from all across and well beyond the Yorkshire region. Traders include Cammet, Bob Brown MDC, Mainly Military, Lone Wolf, Heritage, Tiger Hobbies, Aviation Workshop, Littlecars.com, Halifax Model World, Friendship Models, A2Zee Models and Mr. Models, so bring your walletts in case you find that special model you were always wanting.

The show will take place in the museum’s main dispaly hangar, with the magnificent backdrop of the Halifax bomber and other historic aircraft and in addition to the show, you can enjoy all the attractions of the museum itself.

Admission to the ‘modelfest’ is just at the normal Museum rate of £7 Adults, £5 Senior Citizens and £4 Children, with a Family(2A + 3C) ticket available at £18. All International Plastic Model Society Members (IPMS) with a vaild membership card will be admitted at £5. Gates open at 10am – 5pm.

This weekend, the 7th & 8th August, will see flypasts from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight on both days, giving visitors to the Museum a chance to reflect upon the sacrifice of the crews of Fighter Command from many allied nations during that epic battle of the skies.

On Saturday, a Hurricane and Spitfire will be making their spectacular and evocative low swoops over the Museum, providing a treat for visitors during the afternoon.

On Sunday, it will be worth staying on until the late afternoon, as the fighters are set to be joined by the Lancaster bomber bringing the weekend to a poignant end.

All flypasts subject to weather and operational circumstances on the day.

The Yorkshire Wings & Wheels Show taking place on Saturday 31st July and Sunday 1st August promises to provide plenty of fuel for family fun and entertainment as the school holidays start.

The show will feature the eagerly anticipated first fast taxi run by the Museum’s latest acquisition, the Nimrod MR2, known as the “Mighty Hunter”, which has been the subject of much excitement since its arrival at Elvington in April. The Nimrod will perform along with the mighty Victor V-Bomber and the Yorkshire built Blackburn Buccaneer. Feel the Thunder of these magnificent veterans of the skies as they roar down the runway.

Other thrills include Big Pete’s Monster Truck, Round 2 of the UK Freestyle Stunt Motorcycle Wheelie Championships and the Pyromaniac Jet Quad bike. Thrills galore in store with these runway events.

In the sky, flying displays include a Jet Provost in the red and white RAF colours that were once so familiar in the sky over Yorkshire, Douglas Skyraider, Seafire – the Naval version of the Spitfire, Jungmeister, Harvard, T28 Fennec plus the excitement of the Twister Due aerobatic display and the daredevil stunts of the Breitling Wing Walkers!

The show also incorporates the Museum’s popular classic car and motorcycle rally, with a great variety of interesting vehicles on display, along with some historic military vehicles. The show also allows admission to all the attractions of the Yorkshire Air Museum, where you can also take an exhiliarating ride on our Hawker Harrier Flight Simulator!

A show not to be missed, admission is just £15 Adults, £10 OAP’s and £5 kids. Or you can pre-purchase a VIP Ticket, to include preferential parking, refreshments, buffet lunch and a goodie bag! Tickets for this are £30 Adult and £20 Children. These can be purchased online on the museum’s website: www.yorkshireairmuseum.co.uk or call 01904 608595 during office hours.

Gates open at 9am – 5pm and events commence at 10am.

A Hawker Hurricane from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight is set to thrill the 600 or so pupils attending the ‘Inspirations’ education challenge and showcase event that takes place at the Museum on Wednesday 7th July. No doubt visitors will also appreciate the spectacle, so its ‘fingers crossed’ that this magnificent weather will continue!!

‘Inspirations’ is designed to inspire pupils in core Science, Engineering, Technology and Maths (STEM) subject areas, and takes its own inspiration from the pioneering work of Yorkshire inventor, Sir George Cayley, who created the science of aeronautics and created the world’s first man-carrying glider way back in 1853.

With this to draw on, ‘Inspirations’ continues to draw a high level of quality projects, as pupils, either in teams or individuals, vie for the cash prizes and awards on offer. The Overall Winner will receive the Sir George Cayley Cup and a cheque for £300 for their school, so no wonder the contest is fierce!

This year, an Inspirations Special Award will be made to Amber Thiara, a pupil from Bradford Girls Grammar School. Amber has been entering projects in the challenge since 2005, and along the way picked up three Project Winner awards. However, the Overall Winner prize has so far eluded her, but members of the Steering Group unanimously felt that such a persistent contribution of high quality projects should be recognised.

This year, Amber is entering her ‘Angel of the North’ sculpture, which is an incredible 1:12th scale model of the iconic construction, made from glass fibre. This model was spectacularly carried by the father of a fellow Bradford Girls Grammar School pupil in the London Marathon in April this year, so may already be familiar to some. It will be great to see it here at Elvington, amongst all the other projects and we wish the best of luck to all those who take part.

At the 70th anniversary of General de Gaulle’s famous “Call to the Free French” from London on 18th June 1940, thousands of spectators including President Sarkozy and the British Prime Minister David Cameron witnessed a flypast by an RAF Spitfire accompanied by an RAF Typhoon and a French Air Force Dassault Rafale. The Rafale was from l’escadrille BR66 which carries the emblem of the “Guyenne” squadron formerly 346 French Squadron RAF Bomber Command, based at Elvington.  The aircraft flew over a special ceremony at the Royal Hospital Chelsea attended by a wide range of national and international guests, including representatives of the Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial. Films about Elvington’s two French squadrons are being shown at the Institute Francais in Kensington.

No kidding, the re-incarnation of 609 (West Riding) Squadron’s wartime mascot, ‘Air Commodore’ William de Goat, will be attending the Squadron Association’s annual reunion which takes place at the Yorkshire Air Museum on Saturday 26th June. ‘He’ will be attending for a few hours from around 10am.

The Squadron, initially to be a bomber squadron, was formed at Yeadon, now Leeds / Bradford Airport, in 1936, before being designated as a Fighter Squadron and moving to airfields in the South of England. It served with distinction in the Battle of Britain, becoming the first Squadron to attain 100 enemy kills.

During 1941, a humble goat was presented to the Squadron by the Belgian landlady of the Old Jail Pub, Biggin Hill, reflecting the number of Belgian pilots who served with the Squadron, amongst othe nationalities. The goat was adopted as the Squadron Mascot and given the rank of Pilot Officer and named William de Goat! William moved with the Squadron to Gravesend, Digby and Duxford – sometimes by air in a Harrow transporter!

However, when he was left behind when the Squadron moved to Manston in 1942, it was noticed thatthe morale amongst air and ground crew dropped! So, the Officer Commanding decided to bring William back, hoping that he had not been sold on for meat. Luckily, William had survived and the day after he rejoined the Squadron, some very succesful missions were recorded and normal service resumed. This earned William the DSO and ‘promotion’ to Wing Commander!

He later earned the DFC by flying into Normandy in a Douglas Dakota with the ground crew on 1st July 1941, shortly followed by the aircrew and their formidable Hawker Typhoon aircraft. He moved around Europe with the Squadron, eventually arriving in Germany just before Victory in Europe Day on 8th May 1945, now with the rank of ‘Air Commodore’.

Back in England later in 1945, the Squadron was disbanded and William was presented to a local farmer, who kept him in his retirement.

Now reformed as an Auxiliary RAF Regiment Squadron at RAF Leeming, 609 Squadron has recently adopted a goat that is cared for by our neighbours at the Yorkshire Museum of Farming, as the ‘reincarnation’ of this legendary mascot. He is called Jeffrey,  possibly after the Officer Commanding, Squadron Leader Jeff Metcalfe, but as he is only a humble Officer Cadet, he is sometimes known as Jeffers! After his service to date, appearing at an earlier event at Leeming, it is possible that Jeffrey will be promoted to Pilot Officer during the occasion!!

Also supporting the reunion is a Spitfire from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, which will perform a flypast in the early afternoon, weather permitting, a fitting tribute to the Squadron in this 70th Anniversary of the legendary battle of the skies and a great way for visitors to celebrate Armed Forces Day.

The Yorkshire Air Museum is providing the venue for the culmination of the 4 year ‘Festival of Flight’ programme. Launched in 2004 with support from then Chief of the Air Staff, Air Chief Marshal Jock Stirup, BAe Systems and Rolls Royce, the project aims to reach young people from different backgrounds, raise aspirations, introduce them to aviation and illustrate how people can overcome obstacles, including prejudice, in order to fulfil a dream to fly. It is organised by Heartstone, a not for profit organisation, driven by the energetic Sitakumari and her team.

The Festival now comprises of 10 photo documentary exhibitions celebrating the thrill and passion of flight, which brought together people of many different backgrounds, race and culture as mankind first reached for the skies. It begins with birds,the inspiration for flight, presents stories about the Pioneers who fought various obstacles to fulfil their ambitions, ending with aircraft at the pinnacle of today’s aircraft technology.

Festival of Flight partners, which include Her Majestey’s Armed Forces, allied nations Forces, emergency services, Police and civil aviation assets, have provided access to Heartstone’s photographer, Nick Sidle, to fly with frontline Squadrons, obtaining spectacular air to air images, putting the viewer ‘in the cockpit’ , setting a new standard for aviation photography.

The exhibitions are brought to life through presenters, some of these being children, who demonstrate that behind the aircraft are people of different backgrounds, who make the ‘impossible’ happen.

The project is also supported by Lt. Col. Herbert Carter, a member of the first USAAF combat air squadron to incorporate black aircrew, the famous Tuskagee Airmen of WWII. His wife, Mildred, became the first African American woman to gain a pilots licence, and we hope to be able to connect with them during the event.

Festival of Flight runs from the afternoon of Thursday 17th June to Saturday 19th June and over the course of the show, seveal hundred pupils from schools and youth groups from across the region and beyond will have attended. Of course, the public visiting the Museum will also be able to see the exhibitions and the colourful ethnic dance performances that will take during the event.

A Spitfire flypast will provide a fantastic highlight for pupils taking part in the FlightPATH education activity day at the Yorkshire Air Museum on Thursday 10th June. We are delighted that the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight have once again lent their support to this fantastic day of workshops, activities and fun for the 350 pupils taking part. The event will give the pupils a chance to absorb the ‘Dunkirk ‘ spirit, as we mark this 70th Anniversary of the evacuation of British troops from France and the epic battle of the skies that followed, allowing the children to learn how this phrase became embedded in our language and culture.

Chris Cade, from Platform 4 Theatre, in the guise of  ‘Albert Johnson’ of the Home Guard, recently returned from assisting with the evacuation, will open the event in style!

The event is organised in conjunction with North Yorkshire Business & Education Partnership, and Wendy Taylor, STEM Adviser, comments: “Now in its fifth year, FlightPATH continues to go from strength to strength with even more WWII, Flight, Aviation and Conservation focused workshops than ever! We are thrilled with the fantastic contribution of partners from the regional business and museum community who are bringing the curriculum alive for pupils.”

Ian Reed, Museum Director, commented: FlightPATH instantly established itself as a sought after educational activity day, fulfilling an obvious need for schools in the area. It is very valuable for children to enjoy a day of learning outside the classroom and the activities provided within the safe, but stimulating atmosphere of the Yorkshire Air Museum will create an enjoyable learning experience as the previous four years have shown. The event is also appreciated by our visitors, who will enjoy the spectacle of the flypast and the air of excitement and colour that the day brings.” (Note: the Yorkshire Air Museum is one of only a few in the region to hold the Learning Outside the Clasroom Quality Badge.)

Workshop contributors include: the National Railway Museum, York Archaeological Trust, Yorvik, World of James Herriot, the Aviation Academy (Leeds / Bradford Airport), AMJT Garden Services, Inchpunch Design and Communication, Butterfly Conservation, the Quilt Museum, Natural England, North Yorkshire Moors Railway, Yorkshire Air Museum and NYBEP. Our thanks to them for their support of this fantastic event.

FlightPATH commences at 10 am and will end at 3pm in rousing style with the ‘BIG SING!’ of wartime favourites in the main hangar.

Workshop