This year we are looking forward to organising some exciting events in 2024!
Roar of a very special Merlin
One of the most popular events that will be returning for 2024 is our special Rolls Royce Merlin engine run days. We have a rather special Merlin engine here at the museum, in fact we have four! The four Merlins we have here originate from Handley Page Halifax JD150, these engines were recovered from the crash site by German authorities in 2010. One of these engines has been painstakingly restored to run again!
Our engine run days are special as they give the unique sound of the Halifax bomber and these engines run in memory of the young crew who lost their battle of survival on the night of 28th July 1943, when their aircraft was shot down by a German Ace Night Fighter Pilot. The crew tragically lost their lives in the crash, the youngest of the crew was the pilot Sgt. Gordon Harry Brown who was just 18 years old.
Merlin Run Days for 2024 will be announced on the museum website.
Bomb disposal talk and demonstration
Date: Saturday 13th July 2024 – See museum website
Back by popular demand is our bomb disposal talk by Bomb Disposal historian Steve Venus. Let us take you back to 1940.An air raid took place in the night and the museum has an “unwelcome” visitor – a Luftwaffe 50kg bomb! Who better than Steve and museum curator Dan to demonstrate how bomb disposal would deal with unexploded bombs in WW2. Talks on German bombs, fuzes, booby traps and Butterfly bombs – what more could you want?
The Blitz Spirit Event
We are also looking at dates for a 1940’s singer to sing at the museum alongside re-enactors and military vehicles. The museum is an ideal place to relive the 1940’s and learn about what life was like on the frontline and also on the home front. Join us for a day of sing songs from the Blitz and get to see original WW2 military vehicles that helped win the war.
Re-enactors will bring to life the US Airborne and also many other commonwealth services and you never quite know who or what you might see on display at this small but perfectly formed event.