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World War Two
Aviation Heritage
Tour of England
----September
15th-23rd,
2017
JOIN US!
Dover Cliffs and Castle,
Canterbury Cathedral, RAF
Duxford Airfield &
Museums, Cambridge, &
the American Cemetery at
Madingly with wreath
presentation, all by private
motor coach …
Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage
Center (Lancaster Bomber and
original Control Tower), Lincoln
Cathedral, Waddesdon Manor
and Gardens, the “Spy Museum”
at Bletchley Park, RAF Hendon
Museum and the famous
underground Battle of Britain
“Plotting Room” at Uxbridge
London Dinner Cruise on
the Thames River, Big Ben,
Parliament, the Churchill
underground War Rooms,
and plenty of “on your
own” time in London.
2017 World War Two Heritage UK Airpower Tour
Sponsored by the Military Aviation Museum
September 2017
This preview of the tour is meant to show interested parties what parts of England we will
visit, and what major sights we will see.
Day 1 – Our overnight flight will arrive early in the morning. A private coach will meet us at
London Heathrow, collect all tour members and their luggage, and proceed to the City of
Canterbury. Our lodging for the first two nights will be the beautiful Canterbury Cathedral
Lodge.
Our first day will be a restful and relaxing self-paced exploration of legendary Canterbury,
including a Cathedral Tour. World Heritage Site Canterbury is the senior Cathedral of England
and Wales, and it is where King Henry II had Thomas Becket put to death.
One of the joys of walking about in English towns is that unlike the U.S., there are many
centuries of architecture, castles, and history to take in. The variety of structures, colors, and
landscapes is always fascinating.
Punting or river tours on the River Stour are delightful ways to while away a few hours, or
you may stroll by Westgate, the largest Medieval Gate in England.
Day two will continue our exploration of the area at the famous port City of Dover, home of the
famous White Cliffs that have figured prominently in aviation legend (landing site of Louis
Bleriot’s first channel flight, etc.)
Dover Castle is known as the ‘key to England’. The great fortress of Dover Castle has played a
crucial role in the defense of the realm for over nine centuries, a span equaled only by the
Tower of London and Windsor Castle. During WWII, the castle chambers underground were
used to plot Coastal Artillery to defend this shortest channel crossing between England and the
Continent. You will also see the recreated medieval King’s Chamber.
The Castle complex and all of Dover were overflown daily during the Battle of Britain, with
contrails marking the skies every day for several years until the Allies achieved air superiority
over the channel and coastal regions.
Day three will find us traversing East Anglia to the North. We will likely see many famous
towns and sights as we travel to the Imperial War Museum’s massive complex at the former
RAF Duxford air field- one of the “must-see” destinations for any warbird lover.
The Duxford complex is
famous for having much
of the famous 1960’s movie
“The Battle of Britain”
actually filmed on this
historic airfield. Several
major museum complexes
and restoration workshops
are centered here.
A hearty meal is planned at the John Barleycorn Pub, where Sir Douglas Bader and other
famous RAF pilots were known to have a pint or two, and we can see their mementos on
display at this thatch-roofed wartime pub.
Our hotel in the nearby University
town of Cambridge will be the
Doubletree by Hilton Cambridge.
Of course, the city name came from the first bridge over the river Cam, (as in “punting on the
Cam” – the punt is the name of the boat that university students will be only too glad to give
you a quiet ride in for their beer money )
Day four begins with a visit to a museum much like our own. It is an amazing privately owned
museum by two gentlemen who wanted to try to preserve the heritage of “Bomber County” as
Lincolnshire is known.
Situated on the former RAF East Kirkby, which has it’s own WWII “Watch Office” or Control
Tower that is a bit different than our own, this museum honors the RAF Bomber Command with
it’s own Lancaster Bomber that has been restored to taxying condition.
This lovely air museum will no doubt be impressive. We will then return to our coach, and
travel to the City of Lincoln, where the Ely Cathedral greeted thousands of fliers on their
way home from the skies over Germany as a distinctive and “unmissable” landmark for
home.
We will be on our own to wander about Lincoln for a few hours, and then return to
our Cambridge hotel
Day 5 will begin with a short coach drive to the American Cemetery at Mattingly. This
inspiring and emotional touchstone of the Air War over Europe will stay with you for a
very long time.
This is the only American Cemetery in England, and it honors almost 9,000 dead and
missing who lost their lives by going into harm’s way in the air for all of us.
Next, we are off to the legendary Waddesdon Manor and Gardens, one of the most
popular National Trust sites in all of England for a tour and lunch.
Our coach will then head for London, but not before stopping at one of the most
fascinating places from WWII, Bletchley Park. Secretive and potentially war-winning
work was done here, as recently shown in the movie “The Imitation Game”.
Our coach then proceeds to London, where you could play tourist for the rest of your life.
There will be time to explore on our own, but of course each day will start with some
“must-see” sites.
Day 6 begins with a drive to the Holy Grail of Battle of Britain sites, the underground
Battle Headquarters of RAF 11 Group Operations Room at Uxbridge. This is where
Winston Churchill watched plotters move enemy target indicators on the huge map on the
plotting floor, and watched the lighted readiness indicators telling him each squadrons
status. At the peak of the Battle of Britain, he asked how many planes were in reserve,
and was told “There are none”.
Then, on to the RAF Main Museum at Hendon only a short drive away.
RAF Hendon will offer us planes to see that are rare indeed. Boulton Paul Defiant,
Lysander, and Sunderland are just some of the names from aviation history that are here.
Hendon has a deep and long history in English aviation, and this museum is sure to
please.
Now we coach back to our hotel, which in London will be the Park International Hotel,
very close do downtown London in Kensington. (On Cromwell Road, no less) The hotel is
a short metro or cab ride to anything in London you might want to see.
Day 7 will begin with a coach ride to the very heart of London. If you’ve not been there,
it is truly amazing how much history is within just a hundred yards or so. We will visit the
Churchill War Rooms where the conduct of the war was planned underground in
Whitehall. These rooms, Parliament, Big Ben, and Westminster Cathedral are all within
one large city block of each other, and the underground “Tube” has a station right here
only 16 minutes travel time from the hotel.
Now our coach takes us to the Imperial War
Museum just on the other side of the Thames
River from Parliament, or you may elect to simply
wander around this part of London to feed the
birds in the lovely and peaceful St. James Park just
a quick walk from Whitehall.
On our final evening in England, we will drift down the historic Thames River in full view of
Parliament, Big Ben, and the London Eye. While dining, historic bridges and building will
float by all the way to the Tower of London and Tower Bridge.
Sadly, this ends our trip. This has by no means been a complete itinerary, but is meant to
give you an idea of the tour.
Your tour leader will
be Mark Whall, a great friend of our
museum. Mark is from the rural
countryside of England, where he is
an aviator and former BBC program
editor. Mark narrates air displays on
both sides of the Atlantic, and he is sure
to bring his deep sense of aviation history
to this outstanding tour.
This tour can certainly be expanded for those who wish to arrive earlier or return later.
Many may wish to add a day or two on to take the “Chunnel” over to Paris?
This should be a fascinating trip that we think many museum friends, volunteers, and other
history buffs might wish to join. Please contact the Director with any questions, or call our
agency World Class Travel. President Terri Steele can answer any of your questions at 757546-1010.
I hope to see you there!
Mike Potter
Museum Director
Military Aviation Museum
[email protected]