Douglas Baders tin legs

Last I heard there was a set held in store at Hendon.

Regards,

John.

There is supposedly a set at the RAF Mueum at Hendon but they are in storage.

curlyboy

Or you could check lost & found at the Stork Hotel…………….

John.

Didn’t he leave them under the bed at the Stork H….. oh …never mind! John beat me to it.

Reminds me of when he opened the Bader Arms Pub at Tangmere. An enthusiastic local reporter asked him :”What do you think about them calling the Pub the Bader Arms, Sir Douglas?”
After a moments thought, Bader caught the young sprog reporter in a withering gaze “Well laddie…” he replied “they could hardly bloody well call it the Bader Legs, could they now?” The faintest smile gave away the tongue-in cheek nature of the remark, although that was utterly lost on the crimson cheeked reporter. A classic moment!

As for his legs….I am pretty sure a set were bought by Malcolm Fisher of “Regimentals”, a London based militaria dealer. Why on earth anyone would want them is beyond me.

A bit of a tasteless thread this. The mods had better put their foot down before somebody puts the boot in. Or is that a bit of a knee jerk reaction?

Rgds Cking

Yes, this is a tasteless thread. On a number occasions I had the honour to meet the late Sir Douglas. I also had the good fortune to be in the congregation at his Memorial Service at St Clement Danes, London. I have the very highest regard for Sir Douglas. And one other thing, and this I know from my own experience, he would never ask you to so something that he couldn’t do himself. A truly remarkable gentleman.

OOooooohhhhhh!!! Gulp….I should think so tooo, cking and Tangmere 1940…naughty boys !!!!

Yes, this is a tasteless thread. On a number occasions I had the honour to meet the late Sir Douglas. I also had the good fortune to be in the congregation at his Memorial Service at St Clement Danes, London. I have the very highest regard for Sir Douglas. And one other thing, and this I know from my own experience, he would never ask you to so something that he couldn’t do himself. A truly remarkable gentleman.

It may be tasteless, none the less I think that a set of prosthetic legs from the era would make as valid a museum display as a suit of armour, rifle, aircraft or tank.
Whatever any personal views of the man, he flew and fought while severely handicapped and the display of what I can only imagine would be less than elegant 1930’s medical technology could only help to tell his story, which certainly deserves and needs (along with others of the era) to be told.

Are there any plans to restore the Hendon examples to flying condition?

* Well it was better thatn “Will they be at legends.”

A bit of a tasteless thread this. The mods had better put their foot down before somebody puts the boot in. Or is that a bit of a knee jerk reaction? Rgds Cking

Nah, this thread has got legs…:diablo:

Roger Smith.

Well, almost airworthy. They are going to throw one of them out of a Spitfire over France. Then, a TV company are going to send out a team to look for it and make a documentary about it! :diablo:

Maybe, just maybe, I shouldn’t have even gone there………!! 😉

Can you ask them to do it in summer time….then we won’t have to freeze our b…s off looking for them next time !!!

Well, almost airworthy. They are going to throw one of them out of a Spitfire over France. Then, a TV company are going to send out a team to look for it and make a documentary about it! :diablo:

Maybe, just maybe, I shouldn’t have even gone there………!! 😉

A job for TIGHAR, no doubt. They are the leading experts in finding historic shoe bits, footwear, and ( forget how many..?) related film documentaries.

Last I heard there was a set held in store at Hendon.

Regards,

John.

The pair held by the RAFM are in store at Stafford, or they were when I visited the reserve collection in October 2008.

The pair held by the RAFM are in store at Stafford, or they were when I visited the reserve collection in October 2008.

I’d better leg it over there to see them!

Rgds Cking

The mods had better put their foot down …
Rgds Cking

Or else what??? They’ll cut you off at the knees? 😀

A job for TIGHAR, no doubt. They are the leading experts in finding historic shoe bits, footwear, and ( forget how many..?) related film documentaries.

Are you suggesting they have a bit of a foot fetish?

I’d better leg it over there to see them!

Rgds Cking

Before they walk …

Did any other pilots in the RAF or any other Air Force fly with missing limbs or bits , or was it just Douglas Bader , I know there was one 1st world war pilot with only one eye .

Years ago I worked with an ex-Fleet Air Arm pilot, whose name is forgotten in the mists of time, but who ran a documentary film company and had a lower leg amputation.

Colin Hodgkinson had a similar number of intact legs to Bader (though I think his were both amputated at the same level – whether below or above the knee I’m not sure). There was also a pilot named McLachlan who had an artificial arm, and I believe the leader of the Me110s that were supposed to provide the escort to the Eastchurch raid on August 13th 1940 was a one-legged WW1 veteran, possibly named Huth?

There’s three off the top of my head – no doubt there will be many more, with far more detail, added to the list before many minutes have passed!

Adrian