BMPA History

2003 Autumn Meeting, August 29-31, Brighton

Brighton and the delights of the Regency completed our year's meetings.

Saturday 30th August - East Trip

Charleston, Berwick Church and Standen, chosen and led by Sheila Davidson.

The choice of these three visits was inspired. Charleston, below Firle Beacon, is the house where Vanessa Bell and Duncan Grant lived with their unconventional family. They worked here and entertained their friends from the Bloomsbury Group. They are part of recent history, certainly of my lifetime. We then went on to Berwick Church also on the Downs and with magnificent views. Berwick Church, St Michael and All Angels were bombed during the Second World War, repaired with plain glass windows and then decorated by Vanessa Bell, Duncan Grant and Vanessa's son Quentin Bell. This commission by the Bishop of Chichester, Bishop Bell was greeted with dismay by the parishioners of the time, but is now seen as a great benefit to the village. The paintings are on plaster board and then fixed to the walls and doors. They attract tourists from all over the world. Standen is a Victorian family house built on the Downs near East Grinstead. The Architect and the family were inspired by the Arts and Crafts movement and the house and decorations are all in this style.

The feel of the two houses is entirely different. Charleston was originally a tumbledown farmhouse with no mod. cons. The inhabitants followed their instincts and had a very intense and free life. This included decorating every inch of wall, floor, door and furniture. Their guests were fascinating, amongst them Maynard Keynes, E M Forster as well as Virginia Woolf, Vanessa Bell's sister. I would love to have been a fly on the wall at their discussions. The guide was enthusiastic and knowledgeable, not only about the period, the paintings and the furniture, but also the gossip and who slept with whom and where! There is a sense of humour in the art. I am not sure Zeus would be happy portrayed as a Mallard duck with Leda.

Standen on the other hand is a wealthy family house filled with the most up-to-date appliances for the time and very comfortable and warm. It is decorated with William Morris wallpaper and wall hangings and with wonderful pottery. The mother and daughters were keen needle women and their work makes the house still feel lived in.

The contrast extends to the gardens. Charleston has a painter's garden. It is a riot of oranges, purples, pinks and whites surrounded by high walls. In odd corners there are sculptures and a small patio is made of broken pots. In front of the house is a wild pond full of lilies and with a gorgeous view. The twelve acre gardens fold round Standen. Each area of the garden is different, from the croquet lawn, which is in use, to the winding hidden paths. There are formal areas and wild woods. I wish we had had more time to explore but I am looking forward to returning soon.

Liz Segal

Sunday 30th August - West Trip

It was clear as we mounted our coach to the "West", that the evening on the "Bluebell" had claimed a number of casualties. Several evening dancers were now limping with the aid of walking sticks, (whether this was attributable to urates or sprains could not be ascertained). Many others were sporting subconjunctival haem, and verdigris pallor.

Departure was scheduled for 0900; however, we pilots demonstrated a remarkable lack of aptitude as dispatchers. Rather by good fortune than any skill, we eventually departed at 0930, probably with all members on board, although the completeness of the passenger manifold was to remain unconfirmed throughout the day.

Leaving the tangled remains of Brighton's West pier, (now more like a Tracey Emin sculpture than a Victorian pier), we sped off toward the Foredown Tower Camera Obscura. Thankfully unlike the previous day, the sky was now gloriously clear with only an occasional cumulus cloud.

Katherine (my 12-year-old daughter) asked me why the camera was called an obscura. Surely, she reasoned, if it was obscured that meant you couldn't see anything? It was something in my slightly delicate state that I had also been contemplating but had hoped to obscure my ignorance by avoiding the issue. I felt compelled to assure her with confidence that a simple explanation would be forthcoming once we got there, and told her not to be so impatient. Thankfully I was not disappointed. Our guides explained that Camera means "chamber" and obscura means "dark". In essence we were shown round the interior of an Edwardian water tower which had been converted into a sophisticated version of a pinhole camera. cum periscope. Believe it or not, the camera itself was constructed for the 1990 Garden Festival, staged not a stones throw from our own humble abode in Gateshead. Through the camera, projected onto an old satellite dish, we enjoyed spectacular panoramic views of the South Coast and the Downs.

Apparently many artists such as Canalletto and our own John Constable used versions of the camera obscura to enhance their landscapes. Projecting the image onto their canvas, they were able to trace over the line features and improve accuracy. Maybe I should try that, and knock off a few masterpieces!

All too soon we had resumed our punishing schedule. Perhaps surprisingly we were only 30 minutes adrift of the schedule. After some cunning A27 queue avoidance via Worthing and queue jumping (- the sort of thing I would have been fuming about had I been in the queue, but was secretly relieved that the coach driver displayed no scruples on our behalf!) we arrived at Tangmere Military Aviation Museum.

Whilst most of us made a dash for the much needed caffeine replacement therapy, Mike Bagshaw rushed off for his trip down memory lane. He apparently remembered RAF Tangmere, as an operational base prior to the blue ensign being lowered for the last time in 1970. He does wear well doesn't he?

Being so close to Goodwood, there was a constant drone of light aircraft, which helped evoke the atmosphere of an active flying base (well with a bit of imagination a Lycoming bears a passing resemblance to a Merlin?). This museum, opened in 1982, is rich in military aviation history, and is exceptionally well laid out. Tangmere has a fascinating history dating from its establishment in 1918. The museum covers all aspects of Tangmere's history, but places special emphasis on its role during the Air War between 1939 and 1945.

By the start of the Battle of Britain, all three based Hurricane Squadrons 43, 145 and 601 had already seen active combat. The fighters of Tangmere inflicted heavy losses on German aircraft. In 1941 a Wing of three Spitfire Squadrons was formed, with Douglas Bader as its first Wing Commander.

Another major role for Tangmere included the night time delivery and recovery by Lysanders of 161 Squadron, of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) and Special Intelligence Service (SIS) officers into enemy territory. This was a fascinating display, giving some insight into the courage and skill of those, who with pin-point accuracy, located small fields in France, at night, aided only by three torches in the shape of an L. (and we complain about poor vis. on a hazy sunny day even with the aid of NDB/VOR and GPS!)

In the post war period, Tangmere played an important role in the development of high speed flight. In 1946 Teddy Donaldson established a new world air speed record of 616mph in his Meteor. The record returned to Tangmere in 1953, when Neville Duke flew the prototype Hawker Hunter to at 727mph. The actual red Hunter in immaculate condition is displayed at Tangmere, together with Meteors, Spitfires, a Sea Vixen and many others.

We all could have spent a lot more than the 45 minutes in this splendid museum, but sadly we had to try and catch up on the schedule, and so continued to Selsay Arms hostelry for a first class (and well earned) luncheon. Miraculously, some of the party had even recovered sufficiently to enjoy the hair of the dog!

Ian Martin

Sunday 31st August - Shoreham Airshow

The BMPA were privileged to be allowed the apron in front of the Transair hangar as ringside seats for the Shoreham Airshow. The weather was wonderful and the main concern was the possibility of sunburn.

Many of the aircraft taxied past and we had uninterrupted views.

The AGM was held in the hanger, with occasional breaks in proceedings due to low flying aircraft. A wonderful setting.