Boscombe Down

Hi Tony,
Don’t know if you can help but, as we discussed sometime back, I am trying to arrange a time for my dad to visit the museum at Boscombe Down. I have been in contact with Kim Hepworth but I think there may be a problem with public access at present.
My father is coming down to Dorset to visit tomorrow for a week and as he’s now 88, he is not able to visit often. I am therefore keen to try and get him into the museum sometime in the next week. Is it possible for you to arrange something ?
I know he would really appreciate seeing the place again. You are welcome to call me to discuss if you wish.
Many thanks & regards.
Peter Mitchell.
Tel: 01258 471124

FAAM Records Research Department

Hi Lee,
I tried to make contact with you via your web site but not sure if you got my message.
Regarding your note below. My father is down with us from tomorrow for a week and I was wondering if it might be possible for him to take his log book along to the Records & Research Department archives at the FAAM , as you suggested below ?
I know he would really appreciate this and so maybe you could confirm where and who he would need to see at the museum?
My email is:- [email]mitch@twofords.freeserve.co.uk[/email] and my home tel is 01258 471124.

Many thanks & regards,

Peter Mitchell.

Peter

Even better if your father would be happy to take his logbook along to FAAM and allow them to take a photocopy of the relevant pages for the Records & Research Department archives as they are always looking for either donations of original FAA-related logbooks or photocopies. One of my co-authors works as a volunteer there and I’m sure something could be arranged. Feel free to PM me.

Lee

Boscombe Down

Hi Tony,
Many thanks for your info. I will tell dad of the museum and he will hopefully be down in Dorset in the summer. Will try and get him over to the museum then as I know he would love to go and see it.
Meantime we will look into the web site.
Many thanks.
Peter.

Hi Tony,
Further to our communications back in Feb/March. I would like to know how I can arrange a visit for my Dad to visit the museum. He is coming down to Dorset in July and we could come along perhaps some time during the 12th/13th weekend ? Who can I arrange this with please?
Many thanks.
Peter.

Boscombe Down,

Hello Lee,
Sorry for not replying sooner but I have not visited this for some time.
Regarding your request to transcribe the FAA types. Excuse my ignorance but I’m not entirely sure what you mean, would these be the id numbers for the planes he flew in ? I can do this from my Dad’s log book. Meantime, it might be worth bringing him along to Yeovilton next time he is down. We live the other side of Sherborne so can easily pop in some time ?
Many thanks for your interest.
Peter.

Hi Lee,
I have emailed you from your site about a possible visit to the archives at the FAA museum. My Dad is down with us for a week in July and it would be great if he could bring his log book along one day then.
I would very much appreciate if you can come back with your thoughts on this. My email is [email]mitch@twofords.freeserve.co.uk[/email]
Many thanks.
Peter Mitchell.

Boscombe Down

Anyone been around the world 7.4 times ??

Hello Tom,
Sorry for being so long in replying but it’s been some time since I visited this thread.
Thank you very much for the info on the book by W/C Alan Wheeler, I will look out for it.
Regards,
Peter.

Hello Peter,

Although it was before your Father joined the A & A.E.E. the Wing Commander Flying in charge of experimental flying from early 1941 until the spring of ’42 was W/C Allen Wheeler, who wrote a book on the subject called “Testing aeroplanes in wartime … that nothing failed them” which contains a number of interesting anecdotes regarding goings-on at Boscombe.

Thanks for starting such an interesting thread and getting your Dad’s info onto the Beeb’s site 🙂

Regards Tom

Peter

Even better if your father would be happy to take his logbook along to FAAM and allow them to take a photocopy of the relevant pages for the Records & Research Department archives as they are always looking for either donations of original FAA-related logbooks or photocopies. One of my co-authors works as a volunteer there and I’m sure something could be arranged. Feel free to PM me.

Lee

Peter

How fascinating. Checking the details on the BBC website withour own records I can confirm that the Avenger incident at Culham was with JZ622 (raised undercarriage instead of flaps on landing – hence “finger trouble”). Is there any chance you could transcribe the Fleet Air Arm types (type plus date) and send it to me so that I can make sure our FAA histories match in preparation for our revised reprint of Air-Britain’s FAA Aircraft 1939 to 1945″ which we’re in the process of working on at the moment? The Kingfisher note actually corrects what we already had.

Incidentally, “Lt Cdr Levers” was, in fact, Lt Cdr Ievers. An easy mistake to make.

Many thanks

Lee

Hello Lee,
Sorry for not replying sooner but I have not visited this for some time.
Regarding your request to transcribe the FAA types. Excuse my ignorance but I’m not entirely sure what you mean, would these be the id numbers for the planes he flew in ? I can do this from my Dad’s log book. Meantime, it might be worth bringing him along to Yeovilton next time he is down. We live the other side of Sherborne so can easily pop in some time ?
Many thanks for your interest.
Peter.

THANKYOU ALL!

Rocketeer, I did think it was somewhat strange that a museum opened only two years ago ‘in a blaze of glory’ could be allowed to become considered a health hazard in only a couple of years!

I will be seeing my BD acquaintance at the end of the week so I will direct him here in order to correct his ‘knowledge’.

David, I will speak to our squadren co, Andy Membury on Friday about contacting you and arranging a visit probably some time in April.

Peter

How fascinating. Checking the details on the BBC website withour own records I can confirm that the Avenger incident at Culham was with JZ622 (raised undercarriage instead of flaps on landing – hence “finger trouble”). Is there any chance you could transcribe the Fleet Air Arm types (type plus date) and send it to me so that I can make sure our FAA histories match in preparation for our revised reprint of Air-Britain’s FAA Aircraft 1939 to 1945″ which we’re in the process of working on at the moment? The Kingfisher note actually corrects what we already had.

Incidentally, “Lt Cdr Levers” was, in fact, Lt Cdr Ievers. An easy mistake to make.

Many thanks

Lee

Geedee and David have covered all that I would have said except….

1. I would like to re-brief your acquaintance, friend or whatever he is…it is this sort of ill informed guff that belittles much of the efforts of Britain’s heritage savers.:mad:
2. I am disappointed that you (WP840) so readily accepted the view of this muppet when you have been frequenting this forum for so long and seen threads covering how the ‘junk’ has won awards etc.
3. We (the BDAC) have achieved an awful lot with volunteer effort and minimal resources….no big lottery grant for us.

Please feel free to contact me by email through my website if you wish to discuss visits or the BDAC

Yesterday I was speaking to somebody I know who works at Boscombe Down about the possibility of an Air Cadet visit to the Boscombe Down museum.
http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/hangar/museums/boscombe/boscombe.htm

I was amazed when he told me that no personell, to his knowledge are allowed to visit the museum because it is considered too dangerous.

He also stated that despite being launched in a blaze of glory a couple of years ago it has very quickly degenerated into scrap dump for anything at Boscombe which nobody has any use for and is of absolutly no interest as it is all literally junk!

What a great thread!

WP840 – Could I clarify a couple of points:

The museum is run by both current and former personnel on the site and a number of civilian volunteers. Access to the museum is controlled due to security issues surrounding the operation of the site. However in the last few weeks there has been two visits by enthusiast groups and there is one today . If you look at Wrecks and Relics Yahoo group you can find a report
on the last visit – I hasten to add all reports have been favourable.

The museum wasn’t ‘launched in a blaze of glory a couple of years ago’ – the museum project was established probably ten years ago. In the last five years I have been personnal involved in bringing the following into the museum collection:

WD321 Chipmunk T.10 ex ETPS
WH876 Canberra B.2 (mod) nose ejection seat test bed
WJ876 Canberra T.4 nose – 26 years use at Boscombe
XF375 Hunter F.6 ex ETPS
XJ380 Sycamore ex Handling Squadron
XW560 Jaguar U.K prototype cockpit
Jindivik ex Llanbedr

That I can think of off the top of my head – not things that readily strike me as ‘junk’.

Now as for a visit – if you contact either myself or indeed Rocketeer who frequents the forum I am sure that something can be arranged for a visit.

Maybe your friend who works on the site could visit too if he considers it safe enough ! The museum is very accomodating .

Yesterday I was speaking to somebody I know who works at Boscombe Down about the possibility of an Air Cadet visit to the Boscombe Down museum.
http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/hangar/museums/boscombe/boscombe.htm

I was amazed when he told me that no personell, to his knowledge are allowed to visit the museum because it is considered too dangerous.

He also stated that despite being launched in a blaze of glory a couple of years ago it has very quickly degenerated into scrap dump for anything at Boscombe which nobody has any use for and is of absolutly no interest as it is all literally junk!

Hmmmm….as a volunteer at this museum that is “dangerous and full of scrap” !!!….I think it might be best if your fount of all knowledge informant who ‘works’ here at BD spoke to someone in the know rather than go around slagging it off with unfounded, ill informed here-say. Perhaps he might even take the time to come and visit the museum (working at BD he will have access if he took the time to enquire !!!) and speak to the guys who work there during the week, he would come away with a better understanding. He might even like to consider becoming a volunteer at said museum !

Visits ? yes indeed we now do visits, however there are restrictions on things like taking photo’s. The comment on items being of no use or interest is also untrue. Perhaps if the miss-guided would like to actually take the time to find out out a bit the museum, its aims and aspirations, then they would understand what we are doing.

Additionally, if you would like to get in contact with me ref ATC visits, we can sort something out.

Boscombe Down museum no go!

Yesterday I was speaking to somebody I know who works at Boscombe Down about the possibility of an Air Cadet visit to the Boscombe Down museum.
http://www.airsceneuk.org.uk/hangar/museums/boscombe/boscombe.htm

I was amazed when he told me that no personell, to his knowledge are allowed to visit the museum because it is considered too dangerous.

He also stated that despite being launched in a blaze of glory a couple of years ago it has very quickly degenerated into scrap dump for anything at Boscombe which nobody has any use for and is of absolutly no interest as it is all literally junk!

Flight Log of Kenneth Mitchell Boscombe Down

If anyone is interested, there are some extracts from the fathers log book on a bbc web site.
He submitted this onto the Peoples War web site together with a summary of some of his experiences during the war. Go to:-
www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/77/a8491377.shtml

Thanks.

Peter.

Brian,
Having checked with my father he does not recall Robert Beuttell but as you will appreciate, there were a lot of Scientists at Boscombe during the war.
Regds,
Peter.

My thanks Peter.

My particular interest would be in a civilian, Robert Beuttell, a civilan scientist engaged in meteorological research – including the development of instruments. He later became a Meteorological Air Observer early in 1943, and was lost on a met reconnaissance flight over the North Atlantic in Jan 1945 – not that your father would have known that.

Brian

Hi Mark,

Don’t think that he flew the Seafire but think it may be the plane that is at the back of a photograph taken of ‘C’ Squadron. Markings are not visible but he has the original photo, which I could get copied if your interested ?

How exciting. Many thanks. PM sent.

Mark.