than they have ever done, all credit the troops who did that work. However, the place is very sterile, there isn’t the clutter normally associated with a working hangar, lots of aeroplanes but no components on benches. The old Wellington Hangar had some good displays of interior equipment, the stuff that made the aeroplane work, so what happened to the bombing display? There were bomb sights, bombing computers, a model of bomb fusing and release gear. Same with World War Two navigation equipment, it was all very pertinent to enable the aeroplane to do its job. When may we look forward to it being on display again?
While I understand that having taken Heritage Lottery Funds we now have to have an ‘educational element’, it should not be at the detriment of equipment and fittings displays, they really are the interesting parts of any aeroplane. After all, Brooklands built bombers, lots of bombers, so put back on display the equipment that enabled them to navigate to the target and drop the bombs on it! I speak with the jaundiced view of a flight engineer – I was with Hunting Cargo when Pete Moore and Gary West delivered Vickers Vanguard 953C ‘EP’ all those years ago.
Kind regards, Geoff Manning, via e-mail
New Year’s Day Dear Chris,
I hope that today finds you well. I always enjoy coming to Brooklands for talks, events and just generally being there, and I am delighted to say that I found the 2018 New Year’s Day Meeting to be truly excellent. Bearing in mind the number of visitors, the entrance was well managed and my experience with a couple of the catering outlets was that they were effectively planned and operated by very personable and efficient staff.
Thank you for a first-class day and congratulations to all who were responsible for the concept and planning of the Aircraft Factory and Flight Shed. It is pleasing to see so many younger visitors engaging with the activities there. Young people are the future of Brooklands, which has become a meeting place for the past, present and the future. I would conclude by saying that I am very
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happy with my Club level membership of the Brooklands Trust and fully understand the need for the increase in subscription. Best wishes for 2018.
Yours sincerely, Michael Harvey, via e-mail
Lt Col George Lockhart Piercey Henderson
Dear Mr Bass and Mr Radnedge, Thank you for the very interesting article in the Brooklands Bulletin [November-December]. You requested any feedback or comments. In the section ‘More aeroplanes’ I note that
there was a gathering of leading pilots of the time at Rules Restaurant (sadly now an expensive tourist trap) in Covent Garden, with a view to forming a Masonic Company based on the Honourable Company of Master Mariners.
If by ‘Masonic’ you mean Freemasonry then the Honourable Company of Master Mariners has nothing to do with Freemasonry and neither does the Honourable Company of Air Pilots and, rather ironically, neither does the Worshipful Company of Masons. Incidentally the Air Pilots and the Master Mariners are the only two Companies in the City of London who are called ‘Honourable’, the rest are called ‘Worshipful’. To be eligible to join one of the modern
Livery Companies in the City of London you usually have to be or have been a practitioner in the discipline they represent. The older Companies are more flexible.
On the other hand, if the leading pilots of the day had formed a Masonic Lodge that would account for there not being any record at the Honourable Company of Air Pilots. I hope this is a help.
Yours sincerely,
Robert Harris, Past Master the Worshipful Company of Loriners, Freeman the Honourable Company of Air Pilots.
Diorama Dear Diana, A newsletter from a USA MG club was received recently by our MGCC T-Register newsletter editor. It shows a prize-winning diorama of the Brooklands Track which is apparently still
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