Our first outing of the year this week was to the Wings Aviation Museum, Balcombe. 19 members and partners enjoyed over two hours looking round the fascinating displays of World War II aircraft – some in barely recognisable fragments recovered from crash sites, some almost complete and others restoration projects involving the museum volunteers in many hundreds of hours lovingly rebuilding these reminders of a bygone age. We were also able to reflect on the horrors of the inhuman conditions in Dora, the slave labour camp connected with the VI Doodlebug programme. The knowledgeable volunteers on site were all happy to provide a commentary on the displays and all members agreed it was an interesting and, in places, thought-provoking visit.

The museum displays an abundance of original memorabilia representing a wealth of “display themes” including the Home Front, RAF Fighter Command, The Blitz, Battle of Britain, Bomb Disposal, Home Guard, Air raid shelters, Aircraft Turrets, RAF Bomber Command, US 8th Air Force, Luftwaffe, Russian Front, D-Day and beyond and much much more.