Today is the final day of an exhibition at the RAF Museum put together by young people from Grahame Park estate. The exhibition is called the Grahame Park Estate Story. It's housed in the Aeronauts Interactive hall. The space rather dwarfs the exhibition, which is a shame, but the organisers are looking for new venues to host it now that its run at the RAF Museum has come to an end.
For more information, contact ba4y@catch-22.org.uk / tel. 020 8205 8341.
As you might imagine I am a bit namby-pamby about war (though not an out-and-out pacifist - remind me to tell you some time about the workers' bomb). And I loathe flying. Still, I can't help marvel at the aeronautic inventions and the sheer size of some of the monsters of the skies that human ingenuity has invented (cast aside thoughts that most of those on display were designed for the purpose of killing fellow humans).
Grahame Park estate was built on an old aerodrome. The history of development in this area is very much tied up with the history and development of aviation, both civilian and military. (I live in old RAF married quarters, of all places.)
One of the impressive, fairly new features of the RAF Museum is the complete reconstruction of the pioneering aviation factory established by Claude Grahame-White (which is where Grahame Park gets its name) in the early 20th century (he bought the site for his Grahame-White Aviation Co. in 1911, which makes this year another significant Barnet centenary).
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| Claude Grahame-White |
I didn't take many photos of planes - certainly not of the most recent warplanes. However, there are a couple of pics of, to my untutored eye, improbable looking flying machines from the Grahame-White factory. Plus a couple of nice old bikes, for Mr Mustard's delectation (after the week he's had)... And a few that relate to the history of the area. Plus, naturally, the pictures I took of the Grahame Park exhibition.
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| Factory of Grahame-White Aviation Co. reconstructed at RAF Museum |
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| Advert for Belmont Children's Farm nailed to the wall in the RAF Museum |
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3 comments:
you have no idea of the hours of tedium I have spent in that place bored to tears when my kids were younger. Looking at the older planes is quite poignant in a way though, especially when you think of the young men who served in them. My kids grandfather flew Lancs (there is one at Hendon)and the chance of survival of aircrew then was only 1 in 9, I think. He did survive,but was traumatised by the experience, especially the guilt of bombing Dresden and other civilian targets.
Oh and one of the planes a ?Sutherland (see what an expert I am)which you can go in, is haunted ...
Not a 'Sutherland' (or Sunderland Flying Boat - landing on the Welsh Harp?), I think Mrs A.
But one of THIS LIST.
(Although, of course, there are changes to their collection over time.)
oh dear yes, baarnet,think you're right, see I tried very hard not to pay any attention on my many trips, and it shows: I once enraged readers by referring to a Lancashire bomber, thinking about hotpots probably.
Could do without the list, thank you.
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