Day Out At Duxford - Warbirds Take Flight

A few weekends ago I was lucky enough to get the chance to visit the annual airshow at the Imperial War Museum Duxford.

B17 Flying Fortress 'Sally Bee"

I've been to Duxford many times before, though during my previous visits I'd never had any time to explore the museum as I was always working, so I was really excited to finally get a good look at everything, with the added bonus of seeing some of these amazing machines in flight!

A line up of Spitfires

It was a bit of a long day, not pre-booking a ticket meant a 5am wake up call to ensure we got one of the limited on the day tickets by the opening at 8am (even at seven there was already queues on the motorway, it was mental). I somehow managed to find time to smarten myself up for the occasion, its been ages since I set my hair as I've been feeling a bit off for the last few months, but it was about time despite a crack of dawn start to make a bit of an effort.

It reminded me, in my sleepy haze, just how much my freshly curled locks make me resemble Johnathan Creek which I found utterly hysterical, blame tiredness. After a bit of brushing I did manage to tame the curls into something less amusing, though my styling lasted about 15 minutes after exiting the car, airfields are windy (duh), so this is the only evidence of my efforts, at least I tried. 

Getting to the museum bright and early meant there was plenty of time to look at all of the packed to the rafters aircraft hangers before the majority of the visitors turned up, which meant it was lovely and calm.

Two Seater Trainer Spitfire

Air Space Hangar

Boeing Stearman Training Plane 

English Electric Lightening

After a spot of lunch, it was time for the show itself, now I wont bore you all my three million photos, most of which are just of dark specs against the sky, just my favourite parts, one of which was the majestic WWI display team which included a Fokker Triplane piloted by Iron Maiden's Bruce Dickinson, which certainly explained the plethora of Iron Maiden T-shirts which were being worn around the airfield! The aircraft were so slow yet elegant and graceful, it is hard to believe how much aviation evolved in the 20 years between the wars.

Fokker Triplane & BE2 replicas

WWI Dogfight

My main reason for going to Duxford, was actually to see the flypast of the only two flight-worthy Avro Lancaster's. I'd managed to miss them at all the other locations they were at over August so I was well aware this was my very last chance and I was not disappointed, it was an experience that I wont forget.

Avro Lancaster B Mk 1, Lancaster B Mk. X & their Spitfire escort

The weather which had been all blue skys and sunshine mere hours before had turned to thick grey cloud, I was initially irritated by this, but to be honest the heavy cloud seemed utterly appropriate and if anything added to the experience. When the announcement came over the tannoy that they were on there way, everybody was scanning the sky desperate to be the first to see them. As they came into view over the top of one of the hangars, the sound of their engines competed with the clapping of the crowd and rapid fire of cameras clicking in frantic unison to get a memento of the moment.

UK based Thumper and Canadian based Vera

Honestly it was a wonderful sight and the roar of the eight Merlin engines was incredible (I know the spitfires were there too so probably ten Merlin engines) I can confess to feeling a bit emotional and shedding a tear, daft I know but I had really, really wanted to see them, it was a once in a lifetime experience, like a little bit of time travel. I can only imagine the sound a whole squadron would have created impressive, yet terrifying.

Four Spitfires hove into view

Once I'd composed myself, erh-hum, there was plenty more to see. The only areoplane I had seen in all the times I had visited before, was the American Flying fortress B17 'Sally Bee' (see top photo) this time it took to the skies which was wonderful, also there was an simply amazing display from a tri-jet Boeing 727 which I was to flawed by to take any photos. Having deciding to leave a little early to avoid the traffic chaos, the last display of the day was from four Spitfires, tailed by a lone Hawker Hurricane.

Tail End Charlie - A Hawker Hurricane

By this time the sky had returned to its more turquoise hue, which illuminated their aerial acrobatics perfectly. It reminded me of the first time I saw a Spitfire fly when was a child, one flew over our back garden, I'm not sure how we knew it would be flying past, but we were all out cameras in hand. Somewhere I still have the spec of black on blue image I took that day. I was as mesmerised then as I am now, this time though I was able to get a few better pictures!

Duxford based Spitfire F Mk.Ia P9374

Supermarine Spitfire's 
The clipped wings increase the roll rate, which meant they were able to compete better with the Fokker 190.

As we walked back to the car park the Red Arrows were swooping, soaring and painting the sky red, white and blue, which was the perfect end to the day! I have to say it really was a fabulous trip, well worth the early start.  I've never been to an airshow before, so I wouldn't consider myself a plane spotter, though I do love an old Warbird, but it would be impossible not to find the sheer amount of aircraft on display simply breathtaking, I would heartily recommend a day out to Duxford to everyone!

Wendy x

The Last Enemy

...I closed in to 200 yards, and from slightly to one side gave him a two-second burst: fabric ripped off the wing and black smoke poured from the engine, but he did not go down. Like a fool, I did not break away, but put in another three-second burst. Red flames shot upwards and he spiralled out of sight. At that moment, I felt a terrific explosion which knocked the control stick from my hand, and the whole machine quivered like a stricken animal. In a second, the cockpit was a mass of flames: instinctively, I reached up to open the hood. It would not move. I tore off my straps and managed to force it back; but this took time, and when I dropped back into the seat and reached for the stick in an effort to turn the plane on its back, the heat was so intense that I could feel myself going. I remember a second of sharp agony, remember thinking 'So this is it!' and putting both hands to my eyes. Then I passed out...

It was whilst on the Isle of Wight that I was first captured by this paragraph. We had taken shelter from a seemingly never ending downpour in St. James church and after musing on the musty architecture and admiring the pungent fresh flower displays, it was time to move on to the secondhand book box nestled beside the pews, which, if I am honest had been on my mind from the moment we pushed open the heavy church door. I rifled through the books hoping yet again to find something interesting and I was not disappointed, this time it came in the form of a tattered, dusty, sweet smelling, little blue book with the biblical sounding title 'The Last Enemy', I opened to the Proem and read the words above. I was sold. I paid my 25p and we left the church, just as the sun began to shine for the first time that day.

I spent the rest of my all to brief time on the island immersed in this little books pages, amazed that I had never heard of this book or its author Richard Hillary before, and feeling so lucky to have found it. I was even more smitten when I spotted a inscription in the front few pages, from a Daddy to his son in 1943, I wonder if the unnamed son was also in the RAF, or perhaps it was in fact Daddy who was protecting the skies.

After the captivating Proem, the book becomes an autobiographical novel which is broken into two parts. Book one begins with the authors charmed days rowing and occasionally studying at Oxford, his joining the Oxford University Air Squadron, his subsequent RAF training and deployment to 603 City of Edinburgh squadron to fly spitfires, up until him being shot down. Book two focuses on life after, his rehabilitation and the pioneering work of his surgeon Archibald McIndoe to repair his fire ravaged body, his coming to terms with life as it will now be and his realisation that some of his firm held beliefs are no longer sustainable and that some of his actions and the treatment of his friends in the past begin to haunt him.

The Last Enemy is not your archetypal war hero story there is a lot of honesty amongst the moments of bravado. Hillary's is a young man, obsessed with the rather un-English desire for self analysis, which at times does make him seem arrogant, he likes to goad his friends in to debates and is frustrated by those who don't react to his intellectual taunting. But there is something about his unsentimental approach to life, the war and even the deaths of those close to him, which makes the descriptions all the more memorable. 

Immediately that I finished reading, I wanted to know what had happened to Hillary after publishing his book. If I had been able to, I am sure I would have looked online whilst I was reading such was my curiosity, thankfully my parents lack of modernity saved me from myself, so it was not until I returned home that I was able to discover the true sadness of his story. 

Richard Hope Hillary

Born 20th April 1919 Australia

(Image Source)

After his months of painful reconstructive surgery, Hillary tried and failed to regain his A1 flying status, instead he was sent to the USA to give talks to the people about his experiences in the RAF, with the aim of trying to build up public support for America to join the fight. Officials soon realised that Hillary's 'damaged' appearance made him unsuitable for public speaking, it was thought that American mothers would object to America joining the war effort due to the fear of a similar fate or worse being inflicted upon their own family, though  his 'new' looks didn't stop him from attracting all the ladies, whilst in New York he had a relationship with actress Merle Oberon. It was the public rejection that spurred Hillary in to finishing his novel that he had started back in London, once finished it was published in the USA under the title 'Falling Through Space' a title which was though inappropriate for a British audience and so once across the pond it was renamed The Last Enemy, it was a resounding success.

Hillary post-burn treatment, third from right at an awards ceremony (Image source)

On returning to England, Hillary again pursued his A1 Flying category and this time succeeded, even though it had been noted in the officers mess that he could 'barely handle a knife and fork'. In 1942 he was posted to No.54 operational Training Unit at RAF Charterhall in the Scottish borders, to train as a night fighter pilot. It was during bad weather in early hours of the 8th of January 1943, whilst carrying out an exercise in a Blenheim V, that Hillary and his Navigator F/Sgt. Wilfred Fison were killed when their aircraft crashed into Crunklaw Farm.

Initially, I found it hard to understand why, when Hillary had been through so much in such a short space of time and had such a resounding success with his novel, why would he be so very desperate to return to the skies, had he not wanted in his Oxford days to be a writer? I think though, the answer to this can be found within the pages of his own novel.

Much that is untrue and misleading has been written on the pilot in this war. Within one short year he has become the nation's hero, and the attempt to live up to this false conception bores him. For, as he would be the first to admit, on the ground the pilot is a very ordinary fellow...these men may seem to fit into the picture of everyday life, though they seem content enough in the company of other men and in the restfulness of their homes, yet they are really only happy when they are back with their Squadrons, with their associations and memories. The long to be back in their planes, so that isolated with the wind and the stars they may play their part in man's struggle against the elements.

Some have suggested that he may well have intended to kill himself, to atone for the loss of his friends, perhaps, but to me this seems unlikely, I just can't believe he would have wanted to have taken someone else's life along with his own. Perhaps you could see him as a headstrong young fool that put others at risk for his dreams, or you could see it as him dying for his passion for flying, either way his account of his battles with life even if at times woven with a touch of fiction (last chapter) make for a fascinating insight in to the war, which for me at least mean that both Hilliary and his novel should not be forgotten.

Sources & Further Reading:

• A recording from 1941 of the account of his crash which went on to become the Proem of his memoirs, read by Hillary himself, sounding much more mature than the 22 years he was at the time. 
• A Free digital version of The Last Enemy can be found at the Gutenberg Press Here.
• I am currently reading Sebastian Faulks - The Fatal Englishman which offers a much more in-depth look into Hillary's life.

The Kitchen Front - Eggless Pancakes

It was pancake day this Tuesday past and as always seems to happen, after dreaming about them all day, when it comes time to make them I am already too full from my dinner and no longer fancy them. So I thought this year I would make them a weekend treat and have a late brekky, of sticky and sweet lemon pancakes.

Yummmmmmm!

Now the only reason I am telling you all this is because the recipe I used is a wartime one, it popped up on my Google+ feed on Tuesday shared by the Imperial War Museum, and I knew it was something I wanted to try. It is an eggless recipe as you might expect for the time and for me this is a bit of a bonus as I'm trying to whittle down the food that is lurking in the recesses of my kitchen cupboards (it appears it's not just fabric I'm hoarding) and so everything needed I already had!

Eggless Pancake Recipe

Good Fare published in 1942

Ingredients:

1 tbsp Custard Powder

3 tbsp Flour (Plain)

1 teaspoon salad oil (sunflower or olive etc)

1/2 Pint Milk (I used Soya)

Pinch of Salt

Recipe:

1. Mix together the dry ingredients

2. Pour in 1/4 pint of the milk saving the other 1/4 for later

3. Whisk together for 5 minutes

4. Add the rest of the milk and the oil and whisk again

5. Let the batter rest/stand for at least 1 hour

6. Fry in Oil
7. Eat

I found these tricky little blighters to cook, It might in part have been caused by me replacing the dairy for soya milk, but without remaking them I can not tell, either way, I think it's worth keeping these two things in mind when cooking them:

USE A NON STICK PAN - This means you don't need to add extra oil, This batter has quite a bit in the mix already I found adding oil to the pan made cooking them take much longer and made them much more greasy/slimy.

KEEP THEM SMALL - No bigger than an American pancake and make them thin as the centres seem to remain gooey even when the have been cooked for a long while. Also, it's worth noting they will take a fair bit longer to cook than normal pancakes.

I can confirm after eating more than my fair share that they are delicious, you can't taste the custard at all and though they are a little more taxing to cook than your normal batter ones I would still recommend giving them a go! I doubt lemon and sugar would have been the topping of choice during the war years due to the shortages of both, but they would be just as nice with a little jam!

Wendy x

Dec 29th 1940 - London's Longest Night

I stumbled on this documentary a while ago and thought I would share it all with you all. It's not very festive I know but I thought as it's 73 years to the day from the longest night of the Blitz I thought it would be interesting to experience.

It holds a little more importance than just interesting history for me as my dad was born in London in early 1940, so he would have been about 8 months old when the blitz began. Though he may not remember it clearly, I think of my poor Nan, who had just had her first child during such a turbulent time, I can only imagine her daily anxiety and fear for their safety as they sheltered under their Morrison 73 years ago tonight.

Wendy x

Fall For Cotton - Lightfields Blouse and Slacks

Last Sunday, the weather was reasonable and I had a willing photographer to hand, so it meant I was finally able to get some good pictures of my Fall for Cotton Lightfields ensemble! 

About blooming time!

So you might remember, though it was a while back now so you would be forgiven if not, that I had fallen head over heels in love with some outfits in ITV's recent ghostly drama Lightfields worn by Eve Traverse one of the main characters.

I had become besotted with a little black and yellow striped blouse and a pair of bottle green wide legged high waisted slacks, so I set about recreating them for my fall for cotton projects. The patterns I picked to recreate these garments all needed some alterations to make them more like the originals above, and I think I have pulled it off! I was yet again quite surprised  how very simple it was to achieve, I have often put off making things for fear that I didn't know how to do it properly, and end up creating a huge unwearable mess, but making these garments has proved to me yet again that it's all about looking at things logically (ooh now I sound like Spock), as long as you think it through and take your time in the pattern stage, it's deceptively simple to create what you're after!

 Right, first up let's have a closer look at the blouse...

For the blouse, I used a cheap black cotton for the collar and cuffs which accentuate the beautiful pink striped fabric for the main body perfectly. The main fabric came from the lovely Blue Zinnia Vintage on Etsy, this fabric is just gorgeous to look at and even more gorgeous to work with, it is lovely and soft but still very much holds its shape, a real gem of a 30s fabric, and perfect for copying Eve's blouse. The pattern, Economy Design No.154, was not quite so perfect, it needed a few tweaks to get it as near as possible to the Lightfields version.

The yokes on the front of the blouse were much higher than Eve's blouse so I lowered them enough to make them in line with the back yoke. I found this actually quite easy, even though the bottom front sections are much wider than the yoke pieces (they gather up into the yoke for a bit of bust room) I just lengthened the yoke pattern to match the rear yoke, added a seam allowance and then dropped the front panel down by the same amount and it all worked out OK.



The other alteration was to the sleeves. Firstly I took out some of the height to the sleeve head to reduce the puffiness a touch. Also, the sleeves on the pattern are designed to taper in towards the cuff, now I have particularly chunky biceps (it's all biscuits, not land girl style muscles!) so, on making this pattern in the past I have always found this super uncomfortable and hideously restrictive. Thankfully Eve's blouse actually has some gathers at the cuff band, so I was able to taper the pattern out at the cuff and give myself a bit of room. I also followed a great tutorial from Sure Fit Designs to add a bit more space around my upper part of my arm, it all worked out really, really well, I can lift my arms into any odd unattractive position I desire and my blouse doesn't try and stop me!

I am rather impress that I managed to get most of the stripes to line up throughout the blouse the only place I am disappointed with is the front button band if you look closely you will see I just missed it lining up, but you know what, I love this blouse too much to worry about that, this is already a firm wardrobe favourite!

So on to the slacks!

I used a really nice weight bottle green corduroy from a seller on eBay, and I chose three patterns from my stash which together I hoped would create the look I was after. The main body of the slacks was taken from Simplicity 3688, I re-drafted the front pattern piece firstly to add in the front pleat which I copied from Simplicity 4044 which meant adding an extra inch to the width (which other than fancy scalloped waistband is the only real difference between the two patterns).

Next, I needed to create the side pockets, for this, I used Gertie's Capri Pants pattern as a guide to the shape and depth of the pocket, I soon realised that adding side pockets is remarkably easy. To be honest, it's something you don't really need to rely on a pattern piece for as long as you know how deep you want it and what shape you want the outer curve, it's really quite easy to draft a couple of extra pieces from the existing pocket-less pattern! I can do a tutorial if you like, it's certainly something worth knowing!

I was a little concerned about the fact that these slacks have a lapped side zip which runs through the pocket area I had just created, I have always struggled with theses blighter and so after a few attempts resorted to just a simple set in zip, I think it looks OK, though looking at these images I've noticed I really need to add a hook and eye at the top of the zip, and if I am not mistaken those Lightfileds slacks have got the same construction!

Only changes I would make for my next version would be to make the pockets a little deeper, can only fit your dainty hankie in them, very ladylike, but not very me! And perhaps to taper a little width out of the leg as they are just a tad too wide for my liking, other than that I am as pleased as punch with them, and delighted that I have finally gotten around to showing them off!

Wendy x

The Home Front – Blackout Accessories

The clocks went back by an hour this weekend here in Blighty, which meant a lovely extra hour snuggled up in bed, sadly it also means as much as I hate to concede to it, the gloaming wintery nights and dreary early mornings will gradually be drawing themselves tighter around us over coming weeks, so I thought it would be the perfect time for  another Picture Post from the Imperial War Museums archive collection. This time, we are going to take a glimpse at what life was like during the wartime blackouts and see what precautions people could take to keep them safe and sound in the blackness.

Preparations for war had begun as far back as 1937 the Air Ministry predicted that if war was declared, Britain would be subjected to sudden night air attacks from Luftwaffe bombers, which would lead to high levels of civilian casualties and mass destruction to towns and cities. To counter this threat the government decided that if all man-made lights were extinguished, this would mean that the enemy who was identifying their targets using pre-war maps and up to date reconnaissance photographs would find it much more difficult to hit their intended targets as any identifying landmarks would be shrouded in the blackness. Blackout rehearsals became routine from early 1938, householders were told to check their homes for chinks of light while the RAF monitored the areas from above, these test showed that vehicle traffic was the main problem, even vehicles driven with just sidelights were still clearly visible from above and highlighted the road pattern below.

(Image Source)

To achieve this nationwide blackout it was necessary and a patriotic duty for every citizen to play their part. Ensuring that the rules were strictly followed was vital, so the home office appealed for 300,00 ‘citizen volunteers’ to be trained as A.R.P wardens to enforce the rules and impose fines to those who did not comply. So at sunset on the 1st of September 1939 two days before the official outbreak of WW2  the UK was plunged into complete utter darkness.

(Image Source)

Street lamps were extinguished, homes were fitted with blackout curtains and paint to ensure that no ambient light escaped from chinks in their windows, trains were fitted with dingy blue lights which made it barely possible to see your fellow passengers and because the stations were also blacked out it became increasingly difficult for passengers to determine firstly what station they were at, and secondly, which side of the train they need to alight to actually step on the platform. On the roads, vehicles were permitted to use lights as long as they were properly  covered with a metal hood, which only allowed thin slits of light to shine upon the approaching road and even the amber glow from a cheeky night time cigarette was banned. The people did what they were told and ‘put that light out’!

(Image Source)

A consequence of the new blackout regime was that road traffic incidents increased dramatically, so the government decreed that thick white lines must be painted on kerbs and lamp posts, but this proved to make little difference to the number of collisions. It's interesting to note that by the end of 1939 a mere three months into the war, a reported 4000 civilians had been killed in blackout related accidents, a sobering thought when during the same period in combat only 3 of the British Expeditionary force had been killed in action. In the Jan of 1940 the government relaxed the laws and allowed low powered torches -as long as the were covered with 3 layers of brown paper with a hole the size of a half-penny cut in the middle allowing only a tiny beam of light – to be used to hail buses by shining the torch on to you palm or feet, however, batteries supplies soon became scarce so eventually even this was no longer an option.

To make people feel a little safer during the blackouts the government urged pedestrians to ‘wear something white at night. Policemen were issued with white capes and shops had a run on white coats and macs as well as other accessories and it is at one such shop that we pick up today's Ministry of Information story at the ever so stylish blackout counter in Oxford Streets Selfridges.

A sales assistant, using a stuffed toy, demonstrates a blackout coat for dogs to a customer at Selfridge's department store in London. The coat would make sure that the dog was visible to car drivers and pedestrians during the dark nights of the blackout.

A female sales assistant helps a customer to choose a blackout collar at Selfridge's department store in London.The various styles available were an attempt to make the functional collars a bit more fashionable. The collars would help to ensure that the wearer was a bit more visible to cars and other pedestrians in the blackout.

A blackout walking stick on sale at Selfridge's in London's Oxford Street.
The light in the tip of the walking stick would illuminate the ground sufficiently for the user to see more clearly in the blackout, and to make the user more visible to pedestrians and vehicles. These walking sticks sold for 14/6.

A woman pins a luminous disc to her jacket lapel at Selfridge's department store in London.

These badges were to be worn in the blackout, as a way to make the wearer more visible to fellow pedestrians and motorists on the dark streets of the blackout. These discs were on sale for 2d per dozen.

A female shop assistant displays a white raincoat for use in the blackout. The colour of the fabric of the coat would mean that the wearer would be clearly visible to other pedestrians and to motorists in the dark streets of the blackout.

A display at Selfridge's department store in London advertises the various accessories available for use in the blackout.  Included here are two types of luminous armband, luminous discs and button badges, and luminous adhesive tape which could be added to the edges of clothing. The aim was to make the wearer more visible to pedestrians and vehicles in the blackout

A stand at in the umbrella department of Selfridge's department store in London displays a selection of blackout walking sticks.  These sticks were painted with luminous paint to make the user more visible to pedestrians and motorists on the darks streets of the blackout. These sticks sold for 2/6 each.

A luminous gas mask case on sale at Selfridge's department store in London. These gas mask covers were on sale for 2/11.

A woman pins a luminous flower onto her jacket lapel and consults her reflection at Selfridge's department store in London. These flowers were prettier than the plain button badges and luminous discs that were also available but did the same job: making the wearer more visible to other pedestrians and motorists on the dark streets of the blackout.

A woman looks at her reflection in a mirror as she examines a selection of blackout collars at Selfridge's department store in London. The various styles available were an attempt to make the functional collars a bit more fashionable. The collars would help to ensure that the wearer was a bit more visible to cars and other pedestrians in the blackout.

A shop assistant shows a customer a luminous flower in Selfridge's department store, London.
These flowers were one of numerous blackout accessories available in 1940 to make pedestrians more visible on the dark streets of the capital.

{All images and quoted text are taken from the Imperial War Museum's Image Archive}

At first people avoided going out at night, but once the winter drew in and the days became shorter it was harder for people to avoid, life must have been extremely difficult for those who had to navigate the streets at night, even with your snazzy new collar or illuminated cane, I don’t think that I would have felt much more at ease at all, it must have been quite an eerie let alone dangerous time, not only did you have the dangers in the dark to contend with there was also the little matter of the bombs!

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In case you fancy your very own blackout accessories, I have the perfect pattern for you taken from Home Notes November 1942, are these 'Safety First Gloves'. Knitted in a striking navy blue and white  combination, these snazzy gloves will ensure that you are not overlooked in a blackout!

Be safe, be seen!

Wendy x