Tag: January

The Blitz, the aerial bombing campaign on London during the Second World War ran from 7th of September to 11th May 1941. During this period 50,000 bombs and millions of incendiary devices fell on the city bringing death and destruction to London’s civilian population. In total 30,000 Londoners were killed, entire communities destroyed and countless thousands left homeless.

To commemorate this turbulent period in the capital’s history the Mayor of London has specially commissioned an exhibition on the 70th anniversary of the London Blitz dedicated to those individuals involved in the emergency, volunteer, transport and specialist services who kept London going during the darkest days of the War. Previously displayed at City Hall, this exhibition will now transfer to the Royal Air Force Museum London where it will be on view to the public, free of charge, from 1st February until the end of May.

Central to this exhibition are the iconic war-time images and histories from the collections of various London organisations, each of which vividly portray the story of London’s people, their Blitz Spirit and determination. These rare and poignant images are provided courtesy of London Transport Museum, the Museum of London, the Metropolitan Police Historical Collection, the Fire Brigade Museum, London Ambulance Service, Barts and London NHS and the Royal Pioneer Corps Association. Each brings alive the story of a capital bowed but not broken and of a people quietly resolved to keep calm and carry on with their daily lives in the face of terrible war-time deprivation.

Ian Thirsk, Head of Collections at the Royal Air Force Museum, stated:

‘I would like to thank the Mayor’s Office and City Hall for granting the Royal Air Force Museum the opportunity of showcasing this exhibition during this 70th anniversary year of the London Blitz. We are particularly honoured to display this collaborative effort, from so many of the capital’s organisations, which narrates the story of how they were central to the on-going delivery of vital public services during late 1940 and early 1941.’ 

The Mayor of London Boris Johnson welcomed the exhibition being shown at the RAF Museum: ‘We must never forget the bravery and dogged determination of the men and women who battled to keep London going in the face of a terrifying and unremitting bombardment which sought to destroy our great city during the Blitz. This tremendous spirit and resilience remain at the very heart of the capital and we owe a huge debt of gratitude and respect to all those who helped secure London’s future.’

Entry to the ‘London Blitz 70th Anniversary Exhibition’ is free of charge to visitors; as is entry to the Museum. It will be shown daily from 10am to 6pm until Tuesday 31st May in the Museum’s Bomber Hall. For further details please visit www.rafmuseum.org/whatson or dial 020 8205 2266. If you would like to learn more about the Blitz, the Museum has produced a podcast on this topic which may be accessed at www.rafmuseum.org/podcasts.

On January 22nd the Royal Air Force Museum London will be unveiling its latest temporary display ‘Tin Hats and Football Boots’. This display explores the contribution made by various members of Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal Football Clubs to the Royal Air Force and Air Raid Precautions during the Second World War whilst examining how important regular competitive football was to the upkeep of the capital’s morale.

With the outbreak of the Second World War, the world of football changed. Hostilities affected clubs in every league all over the country. The Football League was suspended and then re-instated in a new guise with many professional players joining the armed services and being called upon as ‘guest’ players by clubs near their billets.

North London rivals, and RAF Hendon’s major local clubs, Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur found themselves sharing Spur’s ground at White Hart Lane; Arsenal’s Highbury ground having been requisitioned by the government as an ARP centre.

Not only did these two neighbouring giants have to work together to ensure that both teams catered for their fans but also that they did so through the provision of nail-biting and stimulating games, quite often without the key players or support staff who had been so central to each team’s success before the War.

Ellen Soall, football fan and Curator of the display said:

‘ It was only whilst conducting research into local history for a Museum project that I realized how integral both Clubs were to London’s war effort. For 90 minutes both players and spectators could escape the horror of war and life would, for a brief period, assume an air of normality – all important for maintaining morale and a reminder of more peaceful times.

The aim of this display is to highlight the hidden history of both clubs. Success should not only be measured by the amount of silverware in trophy cabinets but also by the contribution made by football to the war effort.

My thanks go to the following people for their assistance: Samir Singh (Arsenal Football Club), Andy Porter (Tottenham Hotspur Football Club), Peter Cooper and the RAF FA and finally the Abelheim family for use of family photographs. ‘

Entry to ‘Tin Hats and Football Boots’ is free of charge to visitors; as is entry to the Museum. It will be shown daily from 10am to 6pm until Monday 4th July in the Museum’s Historic Hangars. For further details please visit www.rafmuseum.org/whatson or dial 020 8205 2266.

Dr Michael Fopp, Director General of the Royal Air Force Museum for the last 22 years, will retire in June 2010, but will be retained by the Museum to assist a fund-raising campaign for a new visionary project to commemorate and celebrate the enduring legacy of the Battle of Britain.

“Michael Fopp has led the Museum for many years with a commitment and energy which is unsurpassed”, said Air Chief Marshal Sir John Day. “The Trustees and the Royal Air Force owe him a great debt of gratitude for making the RAF Museum the success it has become.”

“I am delighted that he has agreed to maintain his involvement in the Museum in his retirement in order to help with our next major visionary project”.

“I have worked for the RAF Museum for more than half my life and I am delighted that, even in retirement, I will still have a role to play in its success and development”, said Dr Fopp, who is also looking forward to his year as Master of the Guild of Air Pilots and Air Navigators during 2010/11.

Dr Fopp’s career has been marked by an energetic approach to all aspects of curatorship and development with, for example, the Museum’s collection management systems making millions of objects held by the Museum available to the public via the internet.

In recent years, major projects at Hendon have included the “Milestones of Flight” and Grahame White factory buildings and at Cosford the opening in 2007 of the immensely successful National Cold War Exhibition, shortly to welcome its one-millionth visitor.

Although remaining in the employment of the Museum until June 2010, Dr Fopp will hand over his post at the end of January 2010. His duties will be undertaken by Peter Dye, currently Deputy Director General, who will be appointed Acting Director General from 1 February 2010. The process of appointing a permanent successor to Dr Fopp will start immediately.

www.rafmuseum.org

The winning images from the Royal Air Force’s Photograph of the Year Competition will be on view to members of the public at the RAF Museum from 16th January 2010.

Start date: January 16th

End date: April 16th

Entrance: FREE

The Royal Air Force is celebrating the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain this year and, as their finest visual communicators prepare for their skills to be in high demand covering a summer of national activity, the RAF Photographers are showing off their latest winning pictures at a unique exhibition of RAF Photography at the RAF Museum in North London opening on 16th January.

The Royal Air Force currently has approximately 180 trained photographers all of whom have undertaken a 28 week training course at the Defence School of Photography at Cosford, which provides them with the skill and expertise to gain an NVQ Level 3 standard in Photography.

RAF Warrant Officer Andy Whittle, said: “These men and women have superb technical ability and take great pride in their role, striving to attain the highest standards of work in areas as diverse as aerial reconnaissance, portraiture, video, digital imagery, and ceremonial as well as completing tasks in support of the police, post crash management, engineering, medical and dental branches.”

Subject categories range from ‘The Royal Air Force Experience’, production of a single photograph that depicts personnel conducting their day-to-day work to ‘Equipment’ which gives photographers the exciting opportunity to display their skills by capturing the Royal Air Force’s world-class kit. The ‘Sport’ category reflects the Royal Air Force’s commitment to provide opportunities for personal development, leadership and teamwork through both social and competitive sports. There is also a category for the amateur military photographer.

More than 1400 images were entered in the 2009 Competition which made the selection of winners extremely difficult. Judging this year was conducted by Mr Adam Sorenson, Daily Mirror Photographer, Mr Dennis Nicholls from Nikon UK and Mr Stan Stabler, a retired Royal Air Force photographer. All were unanimous in their appreciation of the very high standard, quality and diversity of work produced by both Service and civilian photographers. In total over 50 photographs will be on display in the RAF Museum, electronically beamed onto glass screens located in the ‘RAF Today’ area of the Milestones of Flight Gallery. The exhibition will be on show at the Museum’s London site until 16th April when it will then transfer to the Museum’s Cosford’s site in Shropshire.

The Royal Air Force Public Relations “Photograph of the year”, the picture which best represents the image, reputation and profile of the Royal Air Force, was taken by Cpl Scott Robertson of the Mobile News Team, Headquarters Air Command. His photograph reflects the recent deployment of the Tornado GR4 in support of operations in Afghanistan.

“It’s fantastic to win the most coveted award of the competition! It’s not every day this happens but you aim for it every day. You want every photograph you take to be Photograph of the Year. It’s good feedback for what we do at Headquarters Air Command as this is our bread and butter.”

Presenter of the awards, Air Vice-Marshal Carl Dixon: “The imagery is inspirational. The RAF is a Service which is opportunity rich in potential and all areas of RAF life have been well represented.

They have clearly spotted the moment and grabbed it through their lenses – my message to them is “keep them coming” because photography is one of the most important ways of keeping today’s RAF in the public eye.”

Entry to the Royal Air Force Photographer of the Year Exhibition is free of charge to visitors; as is entry and parking to the Museum. The exhibition will be shown daily from 10am to 6pm until April 16th. For further details please visit www.rafmuseum.org/whatson or dial 020 8205 2266.