Mark Seven goggles not Mark Eight!

Hampden,
sounds like it might have been, the other aircraft sounded like a turboprop. Did not get a clear look due to cloud and being on my bicycle, I nearly fell off craning my neck as it was!

It would appear that the location was the junction of Infirmary street and and Park row. The Norwich Union had a building on the site until 1995 this shows the modern scene, unrecognisable from your photo. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leeds_City_Square

Red Arrows again over Hastings just now 4:10 pm

A timely thread for on this day in 1940 Hitler gave his “last appeal to reason” speech to the Reichstag, his most overt reference to possible cesstation in hostilites.

As already suggested elastic chinstrap would indicate not before mid ’44, though the leather helmets were made for quite a time after the war as well so it could be a lot younger than 1944. Another helmet used by the Fleet Air Arm not yet mentioned is the helmet cut from the bulky and unpopular immersion suits. They are similar in cut to the late patterns FAA C, zip covered ears, Gosport fittings, internal loom, elastic chinstrap, but made out of soft white leather. I have such a helmet but have never seen a complete immersion suit nor even a photograph of one, so if anybody here has one could they post a pic please?

seeing that manaquin displayed with design contempoary to the era is thought provoking. I collect flying headgears my MkIA helmet is the “newest” piece I have and to my eyes looks remarkably modern. Seeing a display like this reminds me that the 50’s are sixty years distant and the world was different in so many ways to the world we live in today. I am sure if somebody had set up a 40’s domestic interior it would be accepted as telling a story, why not this one? Each to their own I guess. As an aside I would love to visit cockpit fest but living on the southcoast it i not really doable by public tranport 🙁

I think (though maybe wrong) that the second yoke attachment was standard on Lancasters and was a hangover from the Manchester design which had a second pilot position. At least the few Lancs I have been in have either had the attachment or were fitted with two yokes (post war maritime patrol mod). PA474 and KB726 both fly with two yoke fitted.