Recent events at Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Context

On September 25^th I was appointed as Chair. A huge honour and a rôle which will certainly prove challenging as we devise and revise plans for major future development, starting with the flightline project to cover the aircraft outside and ultimately encompassing the entire museum. A pivotal moment in the museum’s history as we embrace the need for (carefully managed) change.

Between September and November we ran a very successful ‘Secret War’ season of events. The play ‘A little green leaf’ about Odette Sansom’s survival and dramatic release for Ravensbruck concentration camp was very well-received.  The first time we had mounted such a theatrical event, with a large marquee in the carpark. It was a moving, sensitive and accurate portrayal with superb acting and an ingeniously simple but effective set design.

In October I presented the talk I’d been researching, on ‘Fashion and Resistance, a topic I’d found fascinating and which the audience appreciated

We then had two authors visit for a talk and book-signing.  Fiona Valpy spoke about her novel ‘The dark side of the moon’ and Paul McCue introduced his recently-published ‘Lillian’ about Lillian Rolfe a little-known SOE agent who deserves the same renown as others who gave their lives. I shall produce a new storyboard on her for the museum and expect to place it next to Violette Szabo’s, as they flew out on the same Lysander flight from RAF Tangmere.

The highlight of this season was the unveiling of a memorial plaque in the museum’s Memorial Garden which I shall describe separately.