Speakers & Events
All talks start at 19.30 hours unless otherwise stated
2025
Thursday 19th June 2025 at 7.30pm
"The Man who Tested Parachutes"
Presented by "Andrew Colley"
By 1940 Britain had fallen behind the Axis powers in parachute design and research. Other than as a means of escape from a doomed aircraft, it regarded parachuting as of little military value.
All that changed when the Germans used paratroops, the Fallschirmjäger, to devastating effect in the invasion of the Low Countries.
Churchill demanded immediate action.
Charles Agate was a 34-year-old schoolteacher with a taste for adventure, who joined a pioneering group of mavericks at RAF Ringway and Tatton Park near Manchester. The breath-taking risks they took changed the course of the war and the face of airborne warfare. It also came at a great personal cost.
PREVIOUS SPEAKERS
Thursday 15th May 2025
Bristol Blenheim restoration
Smudge Smith, Blenheim Society
Thursday 17th April 2025
White Eagle over Foreign Skies Wittold Lanowski Story
Krys L;anowski
Thursday 20th March 2025
RAMROD 564 Amiens Prison Raid
Guy Thomas & Friends
Thursday 20th February 2025
Sydney Camm Monoplane Fighters
Rod Dean
Thursday 19th December 2024
Behind the Wire
Nigel Denchfield
Thursday 21st November 2024
RAF Mildenhall
352nd Special Operations Wing USAF
100th Air Refueling Wing USAF
Thursday 17th October 2024
Orford Ness, Military History
Barry Searle
Thursday 19th September 2024
Eric "Winkle" Brown
Paul Beaver
Thursday 20th June 2024
Digging Up Dad's Spitfire
Nigel Denchfield
Thursday 16th May 2024
Night Intruder & Facing the Music
Anthony Inglis
Thursday 18th April 2024
The Goldfish Club
Art Stacy
Thursday 21st March 2024
Airshows, Rock v Roll & a castle
Alan Goldsmith
Thursday 15th February 2024
381st BG USAAF
Mike Peters
Thursday 16th November 2023
Tiger Tales
Clive Denny
Thursday 19th October 2023
Flying Helicopters
Ian Evans
Thursday 21st September 2023
Building Concorde
Tony Butler
Thursday 15th June 2023
A-10 Warthog Crew Chief
Andy Locke USAF Rtd
Thursday 18th May 2023
North America F86 Sabre
Rod Dean
Thursday 20th April 2023
The Shingle Street Mystery
Ron Clayton
Thursday 16th March 2023
Gliding Over the Andes
Terry Holloway
Thursday 17th February 2023
The Air France DC-4 Disasters 1950
Kevin Patience
Thursday 17th November
The Battle of Barking Creek
Nick Black
Thursday 20th October
The Stirling Project Update
Kevin Betts
Thursday 15th September
X-15 Rocket Plane
Nigel Macknight
Thursday 16th June 2022
The Polish Airforce & Airmen
Artur Bildziuk
Thursday 19th May 2022
Confessions of an Airshow Commentator
Ken Ellis
Thursday 21st April 2022
"Escape from Behind Enemy Lines" Graham Pitchfork
Thursday 17th March 2022
"100th Bomb Group USAAC"
(The Bloody Hundreth)
Richard Gibson, Thorpe Abbotts Museum
Thursday 17th February 2022
"RAF Chedburgh" The Village Then & Now
A fully illustrated history presented by Jock Whitehouse
Thursday 16th September 2021
"SPITFIRE to SEAFIRE" (all 47 versions)
Rod Dean, Display Pilot
Thursday 21st October 2021
"Silver City Airways"
An illustrated talk by Paul Ross, Silver City Association
Thursday 18th November 2021
"AGM" followed by members evening and "Quiz Night"
Thursday 16th January 2020
"The Real RFC in the Great War"
An illustrated talk by well known historian, Andy Robershaw
Thursday 20th February 2020
"RAF Weathersfield" WW2, Cold War & Present Day
A history by Ross Stewart, Weathersfield Museum
Thursday 19th September 2019
"Development of the Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird"
A talk by Col. Rich Graham, USAF Rtd.
Thursday 17th October 2019
"The Glostor Metetor & early jet engine development"
A talk by Rod Dean
Thursday 21st November 2019
"50 Years of Flying"
We welcome back Terry Holloway of Marshall's Aerospace
Thursday 17th January 2019
"Wings for Sale"
A talk by Barry Lloyd, former British Aerospace regional sales manager
Thursday 21st February 2019
"Contact Patrol" RFC/RAF support for Infantry, Cavalry & Tanks on the Western Front
A talk by historian Mike Meech
Thursday 21st March 2019
"Aircraft - v- U-Boat"
A fully illustrated talk by Mike Pugh-Davis
Thursday 18th April 2019
"Demonstrating the Boeing 747 and other heavy aircraft"
A talk by Stephen Bohill-Smith, BA Captain
Thursday 16th May 2019
AGM at 19.00 prompt followed 19.30 by:
"Introducing the Tornado F2 & F3 into RAF service"
A fully illustrated talk by Rick Peacock-Edwards CBE, AFC, FRAeS
Thursday 20th September 2018
"The History of Boxted Airfield & the USAAF"
An illustrated talk by Richard Turner
Thursday 18th October
"Commonwealth War Graves Commission" Its history and work today
A talk by Anna Photi, CWGC eastern region
Saturday 10th November
Act of Remembrance at the Stradishall Memorial
Thursday 15th November
"The Hawker Typhoon Restoration Project"
Sam Worthington-Leese
Thursday 20th December
"Members Evening" Will include an exclusive screening of the film "Secret Spitfires"
Thursday 15th February 2018
"45 years in Aviation from Shop Floor to the Cockpit"
A talk by Derek Wickes
Thursday 15th March
"How Bill Tutte Won the War"
An illustrated talk by Richard Fletcher
Thursday 19th April
"The International Bomber Command Centre, Lincoln"
Paul Robinson OBE FRAeS, will explain the impact of WW2 Bomber Command on its environment and the RAF’s ethos, and by highlighting the skill and heroism of its air and ground crews, show how important it is to have a fitting international memorial to commemorate their sacrifice.
Thursday 17th May
"Flying and Displaying Vintage Piston Aircraft"
A fully illustrated talk exploring 30 years of flying by pilot Rod Dean
2017
Thursday 21st September
“Flying the F-4 Phantom on 210 combat missions in the Vietnam War”
A talk by Col. Rich Graham, USAF, Rtd.
Thursday 19th October
"Stag Lane Aerodrome 1917 - 1934" Home of the Moth
An illustrated talk by Stuart McKay of the DH Moth Club
Thursday 16th November
"Flying the Harrier Jump Jet with the RAF"
A talk by pilot Les Evans
Thursday 14th December
"Churchill's Secret Airfield" RAF Tempsford
An illustrated talk by author Bernard O'Connor
2016
Thursday 15th September “HeavyLift Reprised”
An informal evening with the aircrews that flew the Short Belfast, CL-44 Guppy & Boeing 707 on worldwide cargo operations from Stansted Airport
Thursday 20th October “Battle of Britain Anniversary Spitfires”
An illustrated talk by Clive Denny, Director of Vintage Fabrics
Thursday 17th November “Flying the Hawker Hunter & other fast jets”
An illustrated talk by Rod Dean, display pilot
Thursday 8th December “Concorde” A Magnificent Aircraft
An illustrated talk by Les Evans, BA.Concorde first officer
2017
Thursday 19th January “My time with 74 Squadron”
Our own Mike Read’s personal experiences of serving with the RAF
Thursday 16th February "Oversexed, Over Paid & Over Here"
A talk by Ian McLachlan, Historian of the 385 BG
Thursday 16th March “The Air War over Korea”
An illustrated talk by Mike Pugh-Davis
Thursday 20th April "RFC Elmswell" Forgotten Sentinel of the Great War
A talk by Graham Mack and Peter Magee
Thursday 18th May
"Martin Baker" The ejector seat company
A talk by Mike Cameron
2015
Thursday 17th September. Cliff Hall “94th BG USAAF”
Local historian Cliff Hall will give an illustrated talk about the 94th BG based at Rougham near Bury St Edmunds
Thursday 15th October. Terry Holloway “Unusual Aircraft”
Terry from Marshall Aviation will tell us about some very unusual aeroplanes!
Thursday 19th November. Bob Hale, Bentwaters Cold War Museum
Logistics for "Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm"
Thursday 10th December. Dr Barbara Walsh “Hubert Latham, Forgotten Aviation Pioneer”
A true story of the Edwardian era, high society, exploration, daring, politics, sabotage and possibly murder
2016
Thursday 21st January 2016.
Jock Whitehouse “The History of 214 squadron (part 2)”
Our very own Jock will continue his history of 214 squadron
Thursday 18th February..
Chris French “Guild of Aviation Artists”
Chris will talk about and show a display of aviation art
Thursday 17th March.
(USAF Flight crews) “The F15 and the 48th Fighter Wing USAF, RAF Lakenheath”
Thursday 21st April. RH Lord Tebbit “Flying with the RAF and BOAC”
A local resident who needs no introduction, Norman will recount his flying career experiences.
Thursday 19th May.
Ken Ellis, “British Test Pilots”
The former editor of Flypast Magazine will give a talk about the background to his latest book.
