Oh, I have slipped the surly bonds of earth
And dance the skies on laughter silvered wings;
Sunward I've climbed, and joined the tumbling mirth
Of sun-split clouds and done a hundred things
you have not dreamed of - wheeled soared and swung
high in the sunlit silence. Hov'ring there,
I've chased the shouting wind along, and flung
my eager craft through footless halls of air.
Up, up, up the long wind-swept heights with easy grace
where never lark, or even eagle flew -
And while with silent lifting mind, I've trod
the high untrespassed sanctity of space
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.

Pilot Officer John Gillespie Magee, Jr 1922-1941

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"Because I Fly"

Because I fly
I laugh more then other men,
I look up and see more than they,
I know how the clouds feel,
What it's like to have the blue in my lap,
To look down on the birds,
To feel freedom in a thing called the stick,
Who but I can slice between God's billowed legs
and feel then laugh and crash with His step,
Who else has seen the unclimbed peaks?
The rainbow's secret?
The real reason birds sing?
Because I fly,
I envy no man on earth.

Anonymous

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"Let us therefore brave ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves that if the
British Empire and Commonwealth last for a thousand years, men will say,
This was their finest hour"

Winston Churchill
Speech delivered to the House of Commons on June 18th 1940 following the collapse of France.
Many thought that Britain would follow. But, knowing that "Hitler will have to braek us in this island or lose the war"
Churchill challenged the British people to uncommon efforts to win the Battle of Britain.

--------------------

"Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few"

Winston Churchill
Speech made in thr House of Commons as the Battle of Britain peaked on August 20, 1940.
The home front was totally involved in the war because of the German bombing raids and Britain was
"a whole nation fighting and suffering together". But special gratitude was directed towards the airman whose prowess and devotion were capable of turning the tide of the war.
"Never in the field ......." was worked out in his mind as he visited the Fighter Command airfields in Southern England.

--------------------

"We shall fight them on the beaches. We shall fight them on the landing grounds. We shall fight them in the fields,
and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills. We shall never surrender".

Winston Churchill
Speech about Dunkirk given in the House of Commons June 4th, 1940

--------------------

"When one has shot down one's first, second or third opponent,
then one begins to find out how the trick is done"

Baron Manfred von Richtofen

--------------------

"In blossom today, then scattered: Life is so like a delicate flower.
How can one expect the fragrance to last forever?"

Vice Admiral Ohnishi, Kamikaze Special Attack Force

--------------------

"The first time I ever saw a jet, I shot it down"

General Chuck Yeager, USAAF, describing his first confrontation with a Me262

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"Willie, how long can you tread water?"

Commander Randy 'Duke' Cunningham, USN, after his and Willie's F4 took a missile hit of North Vietnam.

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"Go in close, and when you think you are too close, go in closer"

Major Thomas B. 'Tommy' McGuire, USAAF

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"There are only two types of aircraft - fighters and targets"

Doyle 'Wahoo' Nicholson, USMC

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"After a scrap, I usually drink my tea through a straw"

Derek Robinson, 'Piece of Cake'

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"The Fenland & West Norfolk Aviation Museum"

Engines, aircraft, propellors and parts,
A Vampire, some uniforms and works of art.
Jet Provost and Lightning guarding the gate
Artefacts and archeology lying in state.

Three halls packed and filled to the brim,
Awaiting the public to see and come in.
Restoration, preservation, all on display,
This can all be seen with little to pay.

Airforces, Army and Navy too,
All their insignia for you to view.
World War One, World War Two, we're just as keen.
For eveything we have to be seen,

Fifties and sixties, right up to now.
We have the skills and the know-how.
To bring it together under one roof.
Take a good look, you'll see the proof.

Weapons, badges and wartime graffiti.
Lots of things you'll not often see.
Cockpits and Simulators are all around,
Many a relic can be found.

Aircraft are recovered from the ground,
Cleaned and restored, worth many a pound.
Painted and polished and put on display,
Keep up the hard work, it's the only way.

All these things are for the public to view,
To remember the sacrifices of 'The Few'.
The place to visit and the place to see 'em,
Is the Fenland and West Norfolk Aviation Museum.

Ian Sherring, Museum Member

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