TPM Members come together for an unforgettable day

More than 100 TPM Club Members joined invited guests at Fawley Church on the edge of the New Forest on Saturday 27th October for what proved to be The People’s Mosquito’s most successful Club Members’ Day to date. Thanks to all those who were able to attend this most entertaining and informative of days, which ultimately helped to raise more than £3,500 towards the UK restoration of RL249.

Guests were treated to restoration talks from Retrotec’s Managing Director Guy Black and People’s Mosquito Managing Director, John Lilley, while local historian Colin van Geffen gave a talk on the vital WW2 role played by New Forest airfields. For many, the highlight of the day was a talk by Des Curtis DFC about his operational experiences with 618 Squadron. Des was involved in testing and training on Barnes Wallis’ ‘Highball’ bomb, intended for use against the Tirpitz in 1943. Among the fascinating stories to be shared were Des’ memories of operating the Mosquito FB XVIII ’Tsetse’ on anti U-Boat sorties in the Bay of Biscay.

The phenomenally successful day included the auction of Mosquito-related memorabilia, featuring many highlights such as a large framed Mosquito print of the famous Roy Cross artwork used on the box for the original Airfix model of the Mosquito. Kindly donated by TPM Club member David Edgeler, the print had been signed by an incredible 17 Mosquito veterans! Special mention goes out to TPM ‘lifer’ and regular volunteer, Jim Maynard, who excelled himself during the auction. A buffet lunch and an opportunity for those attending to buy some of the exclusive TPM-branded merchandise on sale topped off a memorable day.

A full report of the day will be featured in the forthcoming issue of our Club Journal, Mossie Bites, due out in mid-November.

If you’re not a TPM member already and don’t want to miss out on future events, or you’d like the chance to support The People’s Mosquito project, study the de Havilland Mosquito itself or read about those who designed, built and operated the aircraft, then why not sign up? Click here to join.

 

1 thought on “TPM Members come together for an unforgettable day”

  1. Trevor Chenery

    Whilst “The People’s Mosquito” is a registered charity do you also have the status of a ‘Museum and /or Gallery” ? If not you may be missing out on considerable amounts of payments under the Museums & Galleries tax scheme.

    If you wish to have a chat about the potential of this source of funding please drop me a line.

    My colleagues and I have considerable charity and entertainment industries experience in this field with a recent success for a major science museum project at Bletchley Park.

    Regards

    Trevor Chenery, FCA

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