Was a really great recording this with Jane and James I had a great time!

🗓️ Dates For Your Diary! We’ve a busy few weeks in the run up to the departure for the Duxford To Deblin Flight. (More Detail on that to follow soon!) As we chase down the final 25% (£7397) of our target you can see the Hurricane or/and our ‘PHF Pop-Up’ Exhibition at the following events! 🗓️27th & 28th June Festival of Flight Airshow - The Shuttleworth Collection - Old Warden @ShuttleworthTru 🗓️11th July Polish Air Force Day - Battle of Britain Bunker Uxbridge @BofBBunker 🗓️17th - 19th July Runway25 The Summer Fly-In - Wolverhampton Halfpenny Green Airport @runway25shop 🗓️25th July Summer Airshow - The Shuttleworth Collection Old Warden @svas_oldwarden 🇬🇧🇵🇱(Date/funding TBC) August - Duxford To Deblin 📸 DUXFORDfotoGALLERY #hurricane #spitfire #poland #airshow #airshowphotography

Open day at the Heritage Centre today, Sunday, June 14th. Looking forward to it, hopefully we will have a good number of visitors!

Open day tomorrow at RAF Bircham Newton Heritage Centre! From 10am until 4pm. Look forward to seeing those of you that can make it. facebook.com/groups/45556847…

The back of this photo is marked as 'DH9s of No. 207 Squadron, Bircham Newton 1920'. No. 207 Squadron reformed at Bircham Newton in February 1920, commanded by Squadron Leader Arthur Tedder. Interestingly, 207 Squadron is still serving in Norfolk, currently at RAF Marham.

We are absolutely delighted to be working with @BofBBunker and @FlightPolish again and together we look forward to hosting a very special event on Saturday 11th July. battleofbritainbunker.co.uk/… Over the next few weeks we'll provide more details of the speakers we have lined up as well as our amazing exhibitors. We really look forward to welcoming you!

Marching for Finley Raising money for families facing childhood cancer @FinleysTouch @WeHaveWaysPod @ww2headquarters justgiving.com/page/al-murra…

Commemorating those who played their part in supporting the D-Day landings flying from RAF Bircham Newton 82 years ago. No. 415 RCAF Squadron carried out 'Cross Over' patrols hunting E-Boats, No. 279 ASR conducted its regular Air-Sea Rescue duties, and No. 521 MET Squadron carried out its daily meteorological reconnaissance sorties over the North Sea. No. 415 Squadron lost 4 Vickers Wellingtons between February and July 1944, with the loss of 29 airmen. No. 524 Squadron took over the duties of No. 415 Squadron at the beginning of July, conducting anti-shipping patrols from Bircham Newton until November. This squadron also lost 4 Wellingtons between July and October 1944, with the loss of 24 airmen. These Coastal Command squadrons toiled away in the build-up to, during, and after the landings. It is important to remember, that even a small supporting role in the grand plan of the landings contributed to its success. It is not only the men who took to the skies but the men and women on the ground that made it all possible. All those who lost their lives are commemorated on RAF Bircham Newton's Second World War Roll of Honour, which lists the names of the 541 individuals who died on active service at this Coastal Command station during the war. @WeHaveWaysPod @almurray @James1940 @WHW_CambridgeIC @WHW_HighlandIC @RAFBomber_Pod

This really is one of the best reads I have gotten stuck into this year. Such an eye opening perspective of the hardships of Allied POWs of WW2. If you haven't got a copy, I highly recommend it!

THIS MONTH! The effort being made by the #IC is amazing @WeHaveWaysPod @ww2headquarters @TheLondonIC1 Join us if you can! @FinleysTouch

A well deserved cup of brew and a bite to eat can do wonders for morale. This photo is of No. 279 Air Sea Rescue Squadron at the Mobile NAAFI at Bircham Newton in 1943. These aircrews had the vital role of dropping life saving equipment to downed airmen in the North Sea.

What a fantastic open day today. 42 visitors in total to the Museum and it was so great to chat with everyone who came through. I was thrilled to welcome Jane Ackers and her family today. You probably have seen from previous posts, Jane loaned the Heritage Centre a great deal of information and photographs that belonged to her father, Flying Officer Arthur Hill, who served at Bircham Newton from January to April 1940 with No. 254 Squadron. Shortly after his time at Bircham Newton, he was shot down off the Norwegian coast and taken prisoner, eventually ending up in the famous POW camp, Stalag Luft III. It was because of the incredible collection that Jane shared with us that we were able to create our new display about Prisoners of War in the Heritage Centre, which shares the experiences and stories of those who were taken prisoner during the Second World War. I was so glad Jane took the time to visit us today to have a good chat about her dad and give this new display her stamp of approval! She posed for a photo in front of the display and then with her family in front of the memorial stone outside. In all, had a great time and look forward to the next one on Sunday 14th of June!

Open day tomorrow, 31st of May, at RAF Bircham Newton Heritage Centre. If you're in the area, do consider dropping by. We will be open from 10 AM - 4 PM. We have a fascinating new display about airmen who served at this RAF Station during WW2 and ended up as Prisoners of War.

☀️😎 We are set up ready and very much looking forward to ‘Wings & Wheels’ Airshow today at The Shuttleworth Collection, Old Warden! Our thanks to ML Electrical & Matthew Ling Photography for sponsoring our ‘Pop Up Exhibition’ #airshow #oldwarden #shuttleworth #ww2 #flying @ShuttleworthTru @svas_oldwarden

After 4 hours of nonstop scanning and 325 pages later, the entire 59 Squadron flight logbook has been scanned from front to back. At the very end of it, you can see in detail the daily ops of the squadron’s detachment which operates from Bircham Newton in March 1941. Pleased that this is another piece of RAF History we've managed to digitally preserve at the Heritage Centre.

Another day, another interesting piece of history picked up today for scanning. 59 Squadron had a large detachment operate from Bircham Newton in 1941. So it will be interesting to have a flick through this and extract names!

You'll have to excuse the awful reflection on the glass in this photo! But hanging in the Heritage Centre is a pastel portrait of Sergeant John 'Johnny' BROWNSELL. Johnny served with No. 500 Squadron while it was stationed at RAF Bircham Newton during the war. He and his entire crew were tragically killed when his aircraft crashed in bad weather on the 16th of January 1942, at Lowlands Farm, Bacton, near the town of North Walsham. A memorial cairn was erected at the site which lists the lost crew. The Cairn is well cared for by locals, many of them members of the local RAFA branch. This portrait was donated to the Heritage Centre in 2022 by his late sister, Catherine Cooper. Her neighbour, Julie Childs, presented it to us on Catherine's behalf, who had wished upon her death that it be brought to the Heritage Centre and asked Julie to be the one to present it. Along with this portrait, Johnny's logbook is also on display below. Plus, his name is also recorded on the RAF Bircham Newton WW2 Roll of Honour which hangs on the other side of the room, listing all of the 541 individuals killed on active service at Bircham Newton and its satellite airfields during WW2.

While my partners horse grazes in the hot sun, I've retreated to the shade to get stuck back into this epic read. If you haven't already, do consider grabbing yourself a copy of the Undefeated. It has had me completely hooked! @WHW_HighlandIC @1940Medal

Why did I write The Undefeated? Because the story of Allied POWs is too often reduced to Hollywood myths. I wanted to tell the fuller story - through the voices of the men who lived it.