Certainley is one of the best in the UK… 🙂
Such a shame Alpha Alpha was reduced to a hacked up airfix kit though, gonna need a big supply of welding rods and grinding discs to put it together again…. 😉 😀

They have apparently started the process of re-attaching the wings, according to the local press. I’ve not been down to East Fortune for a few weeks, so I don’t know how it’s going. Could be interesting. :rolleyes:

Sorry, that should be “my comment”, not “MY comment.” I wasn’t inferring anything! :rolleyes:

John,

I agree with most of what you say – the money being spent to transport and restore Concorde, at the expense of more historically important aircraft which are being left to rot depresses me. However, this money only came from the Scottish Executive specifically for the Concorde and the Museum of Flight would not have had it to spend for other projects. There is also the fact that Concorde is a huge public draw, despite what we might think of it. It will, and already is, bringing punters in in their thousands, which is good!

What I do take great exception to is your comment, “in main collections in the UK.” Just what exactly do you mean by this? I assume you’re referring to Duxford, Hendon and other such places in SE England? East Fortune may not be huge, but it has one of the most impotrant collections in the UK, including the oldest aircraft in the UK (3rd oldest in the world). The museum has a superb balance between military and civil aircraft (which is more than can be said for Hendon). It has several airframes which are entirely unique so whilst I accept most of your points I am deeply offended by your suggestion that aircraft should stay down in the south of England where you all can enjoy them. What about people in the rest of the UK, who often have to travel dozens, if not hundreds of miles, just to get to a small aviation museum.

As Melvyn says, the National War Museum in Valetta is very interesting, with Faith on display there (minus wings, of course). You can’t go to Malta without visiting the Malta Air Museum at Ta Qali which is a superb wee museum.

Another, slightly more off-beat, place to visit is the 200 foot long sound mirror at Maghtab. It’s in very good condition and still has visible traces of camouflage paint. A fascinating survival and here’s what it looks like:

Allan,
Thanks very much for your kind comments which are much appreciated. What I have found very interesting about the programme has been the level of interest in Bawdsey. Publishers I’ve approached in the past have told me that radar is a fringe interest and although I knew this wasn’t the case, it’s nice to have something like this prove just how much interest there is in preserving and recording our heritage.

Although I would of course have liked to see Bawdsey win, I’m not too disappointed. Judging by the runners-up from last year’s programme, it’s likely Bawdsey will be able to get funding from somewhere. Most of last year’s buildings have received lottery funding, so I’m hoping this will be the case and that the T Block can still be restored and turned into a museum/visitor centre.

I don’t even grudge the King’s Norton buildings winning – they are two very beautiful medieval buildings and should be preserved and parish councils don’t have the sort of money to do that kind of work. I’m trying hard not to be a sore loser!

I quick check on the BBC website has revealed that Bawdsey was indeed the highest-scoring runner up and is therefore through to the final of Restoration. I strongly urge everyone to support this project to save a vital peice of Britain’s aviation history and, as Moggy has already pointed out, an essential element to the victory in the Battle of Britain. Few tangible reminders of the BoB have survived – please do your bit to ensure that Bawdsey Trasnmitter Block isn’t lost as well.

The phone number to call to vote for Bawdsey is 09011 322208. Calls cost 50 pence, which is a very small sum, so please vote as many times as you can.

I’d be very grateful for a copy of this list, if possible. If you have an electronic copy, please PM me with it; if a paper copy, let me know and I’ll PM you with my address. Either way, thanks for making this list available, which could be very useful for my research.