Guild Visit to the Airborne Forces Museum & Archive at IWM Duxford
In spite of challenging weather conditions, thirty guild members battled through to Duxford for what turned out to be a very pleasant day on all fronts. It was good to welcome new members Roger Lye, James Carroll, and Jonathan Pooley to their first event, and, to welcome potential member David Harvey along for a look at the GBG – I hope that the experience was a positive one and that he may also soon join our ranks.
Our day began with a ten-minute walk across the frosty dispersal in the sunshine; we all arrived at the IWM Land Warfare Hall. Once in the hall, guild member Joe Hamon treated us to a detailed tour of the many exhibits related to the 1944 Normandy campaign. This was followed by a group discussion on how to guide the Normandy landings and the subsequent breakout battles. It was during this discussion that Charmian Griffiths contributed one of the many golden nuggets of the day – explaining the origins of the word ‘sabotage’ – one of those really useful explanations that add colour to a stand; I shall be using it on tour in the future.
The Normandy tour was followed by a very good lunch at a local pub punctuated with lots of talk of battlefields, exchanging of information, and catching up with friends. A rare day away from the office and the battlefields allowed both Alain Chissel and Clive Harris to attend and add an operator’s view of the trade. Tom Dormer giving a table-top explanation of the Michael Wittmann’s last action using water glasses and cutlery was particularly interesting. Before returning to the Airborne Forces Museum, a brief Chairman’s Open Forum was held, during which current guild trends and ideas were discussed.
Our afternoon session at the Airborne Forces Museum was capably hosted by the Curator Jon Baker and his assistant Becks Skinner. Members obviously enjoyed both sessions, the phrase ‘kids in a sweet shop’ leapt to mind. Prominent in the feeding frenzy for new knowledge and source material were Paul Oldfield, David Winn, Johnny Walker, Scottie and Tim Pritchard-Barrett. It is an exceptionally accessible and welcoming archive that gained many new customers as a result of our visit. In addition, the afternoon included a Historical Sources Workshop led by John Greenacre. There were quite a few new and potential members in attendance at the archive session; all were undergoing, or considering validation, a number were in the process of preparing for Assignment Six.
Overall a very good day, thank you to all supported the event and to those who played a role in running the day – On, to Etaples!
What they said......
Can I say what an excellent day I had at Duxford yesterday. I had not been there for years and there were lots of new things that had appeared since my last visit. The staff from the IWM and Airbourne archives could not have been more helpful. I found the Normandy section very useful ( even though I do not guide Normandy) and it was good to see the Airbourne and Royal Anglian museums and the fine Royal Anglian memorial unveiled last year. I was forcibly struck by how much better the defiant soldier with a GPMG was then the appalling groups of casualties and grieving figures in the centre of the National Memorial Arboretum. I know how I would rather be remembered ! Well done Chalky. Just the sort of Guild day we should all be organising in the regions and enough to see at Duxford to expand into a full Guild weekend if one threw in some validation , a quiz etc.
Best Regards
John Cotterill
Just a quick thank the organisers and those who presented at the Guild visit to Duxford, it was nice to catch up with some old 'faces' and also the opportunity get to meet some new ones who managed to travel there despite the snow!
I really enjoyed the day, especially the archives, now I know they are there and virtually on my door step I will definatly be paying a return visit!
Thanks again for an excellent day,
Kind regards,
'Laters'
Scottie
The Eastern Regional Group visit to the IWM Duxford was a great day out with just the right balance of information and the opportunity to catch-up with old and new friends. Thanks to all those that were involved with organising the event; Mike Peters, John Greenacre, Joe Hamon and the staff the Airborne Museum. Can't really add anymore to what Mike has already written about the day, but you can view some of the pictures at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thebattlefieldguide/tags/gbg/
Regards,
Frank Toogood
Many thanks to Mike Peters and Joe Hamon in particular for organising such an informative and enjoyable day. There was the odd amusing incident, such as two blokes outside the Land Warfare Hall trying to look casual while relieving themselves of vast amounts of coffee because the loos inside are not in use during the winter. Time spent in recce....
The AB Forces archive is a cracker and I was very happy to be able to add to its stock by leaving copies of some key naval and air documents relating to the Bruneval raid. Fair exchange and all that.
Best wishes
Paul Oldfield
Posts
