Well after a hectic few weeks the Museum opened to the public yesterday, and it seems the public are suitably impressed!. A few things still need doing, and another exhibit is still to arrive from Italy, which I can’t comment on just yet. Hard to capture how life like the mannequins are in the photos..they were done, along with the sets, by Weta workshops, the same people who did the Lord of the Rings props – some talented people I can tell you!
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http://www.omaka.org.nz/

Awesome its a pitty your almost exactly on the opposite side of the world. I think this sort of display setting is great, really takes you back. Welldone

It does help if you read all the posts and then think about what you have read for a few minutes.

It in turn does help if you had read my post properly then. The fact that the paper report might have got it wrong is not an issue with me as you will notice from my first and second post I said that I wouldn’t comment on the farmer but only the report.

first post :-I wonder if this is being reported correctly and wont comment on the farmer only the reported statements.
Second post:-I wont comment on the farmer because as you put it the papers quite often fail to get it right.

I don’t think I could have been any clearer on that point.

At the end of the day I can’t afford to chuck money around but instead of bleating on about what a travisty this is why don’t we all put our hands in our pockets and try and make something positve happen.

The point I am trying to make is that with any kind of dig the terms of the agreement in this country is that you return the land to what it was like before you did the dig which is standard and other than a bottle or something similar the farmer or land owner generally gets nothing but the thanks of the team and his own personal satisfaction of having done something nice for the families. No money has ever changed hands with our team and landowners apart from plant hire if we have used the farmer’s plant.

If the report is true WHY should this guy get any money from the team doing the dig unless his land is made unworkable due to toxic waste or the like.

And as for bleating on if we all had your attitude we would have to pay for every single thing that we do in life.
I thought we did anyway one way or another LOL
Simply put if the families comments are being reported right then they don’t want to pay for the dig as they don’t think its right either. Perhaps they wouldn’t like money put up for the dig as it would be against their principles.

Firstly, is there any kind of legal imperative regarding the recovery of the remains of Service Personnel who were killed on active service? I have personally never heard of money exchanging hands in order for bodies to be recovered, has anyone else?

Hi Kev. On your first point I have no idea how it works in foreign countries but I think that in this country if you can prove that the remains are still with the aircraft then the family can insist they be recovered. I might be totally wrong on that but I am pretty sure I had seen it somewhere.

And as for money changing hands for body recovery then I definitely haven’t heard of this before.

Peter mentions that the crew did not ‘choose’ to die in a field, by the same token I suspect that the land owner’s family didn’t ‘choose’ to have the aircraft crash there either.

Swings both ways on this I am afraid but I don’t know what the MOD policy is if the farmer decides he is totally fed up with the whole thing and demands the RAF come and remove their aircraft. I think he may be entitled to do that by law but again don’t quote me.

I’m sure that there must be ways in which agencies of the Governments involved could work together to resolve the problem swiftly, satisfactorily and as painlessly to the families and the land owner as possible.

On this point Kev one would like to think that this would be the case but I am sure that its not unless the government got one huge kick up the backside about this. We all know politics just aint like that.

OK point taken, not trying to offend anyone, just thought it would be a nice gesture for this forum to offer the family some finacial assistance surely I cannot be shot down for that :confused: Clearly none of us know the full facts and as i have opened my big mouth on the subject I’ll try and contact the Telagraph tomorrow and see if it’s possible to contact the family.
To my mind the government should have a recovery policy in regard to unrecoverd aircrew and a budget. I do not believe they will lift a finger without a very hard push. With an election comming imagine a headline.”Aviation group funds recovery and buriel of war Hero’s” with a line about the British governments total lack of interest in the subject. They were pressured into letting that VC winner in recently. Sounds like a story one of the nationals might get hold of and maybe get a result for all the other aircrew still burried with their aircraft in Europe? Just a thought.

If the story is as reported then his actions certainly are reprehensible. However, being devil’s advocate here, it could well be that the farmer just wants some compensation for the inconvenience, potential damage etc. It could also involve land drainage or loss of crops. As a student I worked on an asparagus farm in the Darmstadt area and I know that the agricultural value of the land and crop could be high. We simply dont know all the facts of this case. In the end, the “German farmer demands money to recover RAF crew” angle is an emotive storyline and the press know that. Maybe there is another side of the coin? It has not been unknown for a journalist/newspaper not to allow the facts get in the way of a good story – or to get it just plain wrong. Look at the Guardian a week or so ago who reported, incorrectly, that Flt Sgt Williams and his Hurricane had been recovered when they hadn’t! Dont get me wrong, I am not supporting this farmer IF he is profiteering from the families or holding them to ransom. On the other hand, if he wants a reasonable disturbance fee then this should be met by respective governements. To me, £5,000 or £7,500 for a government to have to pay to recover men who died in its service seems inconsequential. Lets not demonise the German farmer without knowing, fully, the story on this one.

Good point, it would be an exception for the press to actually get it right, its probably a fabrication like most of the cr**p they print. Whats a few grand to our Government surely our national hero’s deserve a few grand for a decent burial? Perhaps someone should point out to Brown that they are now a minority group as that seems to be the only groups they will do anything for anyone in the UK.
I would be happy to pledge £500 if someone can put me in touch with the family, PM me. Perhaps if we all made a contribution the matter could be resolved?

I have, on a number of occasions let the seller know just what he is selling!

Anyway, I wasnt having a go – I have no issue whatever with what you do, or what you sell.

Bruce

Sorry Bruce i wasnt having a pop at you personally just making a point i think we have all wasted enough time discussing it lets get back to our projects.;)