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RAF Hunsdon
The Mosquito Museum at Salisbury Hall donated the reduction gear and blade of
a Mosquito,which they held from a crash site,and this was included into the memorial at Hunsdon.
Although
there is an excellent memorial plaque on the wall of Hunsdon's village
hall, we in the H.A.M.G, wanted to see something else actually placed
on the airfield to honour the Squadrons and personnel who were
stationed there.
Why did we go to all this trouble you may ask? The answer is
simple. Over sixty years ago, Hunsdon airfield was a vibrant lively place,
playing its part in the biggest aerial conflict ever seen. Men and
women served their armed forces in a way that can only be imagined by
today's younger generation.
Hunsdon airfield housed service personnel from all over the UK and the
Commonwealth. Hunsdon is best known for the low level air raid on the
Gestapo prison at Amiens, France. But it is also important to remember all of the
personnel from the many and varied squadrons who served upon the
airfield.This includes the RAF,RAAF,RNZAF,RCAF,WAAF, RAF Regiment,
Army,WRVS,and NAAFI.
With
any future development, all trace of this historic former
airfield could be erased, and so too will the memory of those gallant
people. For this one reason alone, a permanent memorial is enough to
promote and remember their deeds and to preserve local history in the
face of development.
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The following entries chronicle the planning and building of the memorial
Sunday 18th July 2004 We
visited the Microlight flying club at Hunsdon that uses part of the
airfield for it's flying operations, It seems we have found the most
likely location for our efforts. Chris Hasell,the assistant flying
Instructor, is very enthusiastic to have the memorial built facing the
clubhouse.With a daily presence of staff and pilots attending every
day, the vandalism element of any doubts we may have had concerning the
location has melted away. We think it's the
ideal place, well sited and a stones throw from the site of where the
original flying control tower was and in the general area of the former
technical site of RAF Hunsdon.
Monday 25th October.
Several
of us were invited to a meeting of the Hunsdon Historical Society at
the village hall. We went primarily to introduce ourselves to the
community and to alay any fears that we,as a group of relative
'outsiders', have anything other than the interests of aviation history
as an agenda. As stated at the meeting, we are concerned with all
airfields in the area , and would like the support of the people of
Hunsdon in placing this memorial on the airfield.Questions were raised
about how we would fund and maintain the venture.We hope that we
justified our position to the meeting.
With thanks to Glen Thompson for the invite!
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Plans on how to safely affix the reduction gear,boss and blade to the
main plinth have been reached.We think the whole structure and the
subject of vandal proofing have also been reached.It certainly seems
that we have incorporated a high level of engineering to achieve
this,but it was a necessity that had to be done.
Initial
groundwork will take place over the next few weeks. Steve Foster, our
tame builder, has come up with more than ideal plans for the type of
shuttering needed to achieve a smooth finish to the plinth.
As
for the plaque, it's still not decided as to what type of material to
use. We hoped on cast bronze, but may settle for inlaid granite or
marble.This of course depends on the level of funding we hope to
raise,Jim has suggested a pub quiz and a boot sale for fundraising.We
hope to 'cash' in (excuse the pun!) on these ideas as soon as possible!
The
propeller assembly has now undergone partial corrosion treatment and
was on show at the microlight "fly in" held on Saturday September the
18th. We had a small stall displaying artifacts recovered from the
airfield and general wartime aviation archaeology items alongside a
period vehicle.
Our
thanks go to the Microlight club for their stirling efforts in helping
to raise nearly £200 towards the cost of a plaque, although the weather
was not too good on Saturday a fair number of their members turned to
for the weekend.....Thanks Lads!
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Wednesday 24th November.
We all met for an informal meeting at the 'Fox' pub, Matching.
Geoff received a generous cheque from the 85 Squadron association for
the sum of £50. This was really welcomed, as 85 were among the more well known squadrons at Hunsdon.
The
official drawings were discussed prior to despatch with the planning
application. Final 'mental' adjustments were made concerning the way
the prop assembly will be supported and attached to the plinth.It's
fair to say that every safeguard we can imagine has been built into the
security of this important part of the structure.
The first stages of the planned Sawbridgeworth were also discussed, along with a wry suggestion that the
former USAAF airfield at Chipping Ongar is devoid of a memorial ! Could this be project number three?.
Work on the core of the plinth will take place within the next two weeks, weather permitting.
Thursday 10th December.
The
support post for the prop was embedded into it's footings this week
courtesy of Steve Foster and John Smith. Planning permission fees have
also been deducted from the groups funds leaving us poorer than before!
Meeting at Hunsdon Microlight Club has been planned for Sunday the 12th of December to discuss outstanding
issues.
Sunday 12th December.
Meeting at Hunsdon Microlight Club.
We
discussed the plaques and the relevent sizes to be cast in bronze.
Geoff is going to make plaster of paris sample casts for the
Commonwealth air force bronze plaques that will adorn the four sides of
the monument. This will enable us to get a feel for the scale these
need to be cast in.The main plaque, in marble, will now be set into a
sloped step at the base of the main plinth.
Fund
raising issues were discussed, including holding a talk on the
Dambusters at the local village hall, hopefully in conjunction with the
Hunsdon Historical Society, with the proceeds going to the groups
funding. Ongoing grant applications were also dealt with. Jim has had a
favourable response from the Battle Of Britain Memorial Flight
regarding availability for the flypast on the day.
Sunday 9th January 2005
The group met at Hunsdon Microlight Club to discuss the latest memorial developments.
Geoff
brought along a template of his 'wings' design which will incorporate
RAF,RCAF,RNZAF and RAAF emblems.Four of these polished brass plaques
will bonded to black marble plinths which will be set into each side of
the memorial.We all agreed that Geoff has done a great job with his
design and the finished items should look very impressive.
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To
raise money for the project we have organised a fundraising evening at
Hunsdon Village Hall on Saturday February 19th 2005.Aviation historian
and author Ron Mackay will be giving a talk on Operation Jericho,the
famous raid on Amiens prison that flew from Hunsdon,and other Mosquito
operations of WW2.We are hoping to have several RAF veterans in
attendance.There will also be a raffle, auction, refreshments and
aviation archaeology and memorabilia displays.
Doors open 7:00 pm,talk starts at 7:45 pm.
Tickets are £6. Price includes a glass of wine or soft drink.
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Sunday 23rd January
What
started out as a quick look at the village hall in preparation for the
fundraising talk (19th of February 2005), turned into a small meeting
to discuss urgent business. Geoff needed confirmation on the wording
and size for the main plaque. This has been agreed on and will be
forwarded to the manufacturer. Seating arrangements,
wine,raffle,auction items, and the audio and visual requirements were
finalised.
We finished up by placing laminated posters at the memorial site and
inside the microlite club. Chris Hasell has also confirmed that the
microlite club will donate a flight in a microlite as part of the
raffle.
All in all a speedy morning! Next full meeting will take place
in two weeks time.
Sunday 6th February.
Two
weeks to go before the fundraising evening to be held at Hunsdon
Village Hall takes place.We discussed issues regarding allocation of
tickets, auction and the raffle prize items, and general details
regarding the Hall hire,glasses, wine,tea and coffee for the public.
The
shuttering for the memorial is now in place, although it needs to be
raised in line with the support post for the Mossie propeller.A six
inch raised concrete base needs to be made and then the shuttering
remounted at the right height .
Jim
bought along some very good items for the auction for us to look at,
and Geoff bought along a excellent self-built replica of the model that
was used for briefing the aircrew on Operation Jericho.The original
model once held by the IWM has gone astray it seems, so Geoff's model
will no doubt come of good use!
Arrangements
for the actual unveiling day are still under discussion, temporary
parking in the village and traffic management liason with the local
police are to be established, the Gun club that shoots on the airfield
have been approached with regard to their shooting times for Sunday
22nd of May . We hope for some sort of compromise between us for both
events to take place. It will help us when we know the exact time the
BBMF Lancaster Bomber is overhead so we can arrange times more easily.
The
four seperate plaques that represent the RAF, RCAF, RNZAF and RAAF are
being cast next week.Interest has been received from the Australian
Embassy air attache in paying for the RAAF plaque.The RCAF plaque has
been donated by an interested family from the area who wish to remain
anon. We hope sponsorship of the remaining RNZAF and the RAF plaque
will follow similar lines.
Saturday 19th February.
The fundraising night, a talk by aviation historian and author Ron Mackay on 'Operation Jericho'
with veteran guests from ex-groundcrew to Squadron leaders!
What
an absolute stunning turnout this was.The village hall at Hunsdon was
packed to capacity. This exceeded our wildest dreams and was deemed a
huge success by all. We would like to thank everyone who attended and
supported this fundraising night.
With
the ticket sales, the raffle and the auction, the HAMG have raised
£1,372.90p on this event. This puts us on track towards our grand
total we must raise before the unveiling ceremony on the 22nd of May.
Well done to all !
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On
April 9th 2005 there will be another fundraising evening at Hunsdon
Village Hall.
This time Squadron Leader Tom Bennett DFM,navigator leader
on 617 Dambusters Squadron,will be giving a talk on everyday life in
Bomber Command.
Due to the popularity of the last event,admission will be by ticket only.These
cost £7.50 and include a glass of wine and buffet.Doors open at 6.30 pm
for a 7.45 start,which gives time for anyone to come along and meet our
guest veterans.For tickets,call Mick on 01992 423154.
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Saturday 12th March
Raised
the base by 9 inches for the foundation of the main plinth.Hard to
believe that over three tons of concrete have been poured already! The
main plinth is expected to be cast using the specialist shuttering in
the next three weeks or so. This in itself will accommodate about
another three and a half tons of concrete.
Work on the propeller will take place over the Easter weekend with the main plinth being cast
the week after.
Saturday 3rd April
Cast
the main plinth,we had a slight problem lining up the shuttering but
it's hoped that the flaw will not show too much. Over three tons of
concrete mixed and poured into the narrow top opening by hand.Quite a
job!
  
  
Saturday 9th April.
The second and final fundraising talk was again a success. We had to limit seating for health
and safety reasons, but the hall was again full.
Tom Bennett gave a wonderful talk on life in Bomber Command and truly would have talked all evening
given the chance! Not often you get to hear of memories like this.
We would like to thank the Hunsdon Historical Society for their unwavering support on both of the
talks, their excellent cheque for £400 was received by us with extreme gratitude.
We
would like to thank everyone who has contributed to the funding for the
airfield's memorial, we have raised over three thousand pounds of which
£1517 has already been spent on materials, planning,and the two talks.
We certainly hope we can provide a really good dedication day for which
the final planning and organisation can now go ahead at full steam!
Sunday 10th April.
Elements
of the group had the pleasure to be at the Mosquito Aircrew Memorial
dedication at Salisbury Hall near St Albans on Sunday morning. We
wanted to attend for two reasons. Firstly to see how we could better
our planning for Hunsdon's dedication day,and secondly,to meet a few of
the Mosquito air and groundcrew to invite those who were Hunsdon based .
This
was a success as we ran into one pilot who did not know of the event
but has promised to attend.
Friday 29th April
The
prop assembly was lowered onto the top of the plinth for a test
fitting.Only a few minor adjustments will be necessary before final
fitting.We were given an idea of how the finished memorial would look
and thought it looked very impressive.Tomorrow we hope to be laying the
paving slabs around the base of the plinth and pathway.
Saturday 7th May
The
final paving slabs were laid around the monument.The next phase is to
rectify the finish of the main plinth and the provision of the lower
sloped mount for the main plaque.The flagpole was given a trial
fitting,and it was great to see the RAF ensign fly at Hunsdon
again.This will not be a permanant fixture at the memorial,but can be
used on special occasions.
Some
groundwork will be need to raise the level of grass up to the
pathway.At the moment it will hamper the use of the microlight club's
gangmower. We do not think that the ground will settle in enough to be
ready on the day, so this work will be undertaken after the memorial
day.
The plaques and the prop assembly will not be mounted until 20th of May.
Friday 20th May
The
majority of building work is now done.The prop assembly is in place
and the plaques fitted.Just a coat of paint needed on the plinth to
finish it off.We're all very pleased with the outcome of the memorial
and hope it will be seen as a fitting tribute to the men and women who
served at Hunsdon.
Now we can look forward to Sunday,and hope that the weather is kind to us.
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And it was!
An
absolutely brilliant day spent in the company of veterans and
distinguished guests. Maurice Hammond opened the service with his P-51
'Janie' and the BBMF closed the service with Lancaster PA474 'City Of
Lincoln' .
All
our thanks go to the many donations made by Squadron Organisations,
private individuals and interested parties. Not forgetting the generous
cheques from Hunsdon Historical Society, IMPS and the MVT. Our
heartfelt thanks to everbody who supported us and provided financial
backing in this venture.
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RAF Hunsdon Memorial Day ►
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RAF Hunsdon
