Families in and around Manchester are being encouraged to connect with the city’s wartime history and the brave men and women who helped defend their freedom, as we approach Battle of Britain Day on September 15.
Around 60 minutes’ drive away, they will find the best place to do that at what was RAF Squires Gate in Blackpool. This was the hub of RAF operations nationwide during World War II. From here, pilots took off to patrol the Irish Sea and ward off Luftwaffe planes aiming for Manchester, Liverpool, Preston docks and Barrow.
At the Spitfire Visitor Centre: Hangar 42, Preston families can dive into a fantastic, nostalgia-filled world that brings the bravery of these RAF pilots and their support crews to life. The award-winning attraction makes World War II history not just interesting but compelling, blending fabulous storytelling with displays that are eye-catching, awe-inspiring and absorbing.
Manchester was a key target for the Luftwaffe during World War II, with the Christmas Blitz of December 1940 being particularly memorable, not to mention the 1941 bomb that dropped on Old Trafford.
The city was continually protected from attack by Luftwaffe planes approaching over the Irish Sea, by the crews based at Hangar 42 and other buildings around. Without their defence, much more could have occurred.
Around 834,000 RAF personnel passed through Blackpool, as the RAF’s dedicated training centre during the war. RAF Squires Gate was home to the Elementary Flying School, the Navigation School, Anti-Aircraft Operations, the Reconnaissance School, the Photographic School, the Wireless and Telegraphy School, the School of Air Sea Rescue, Blind Approach Training, Transatlantic Flights, Grounds Operations Training and aircraft manufacture.
If any Manchester residents had family members who were in the RAF, they would undoubtedly have been stationed in Blackpool for their training and may have stepped foot in Hangar 42.
Anyone of Polish heritage may find the same. Blackpool became home to many Polish airmen, who had first escaped Germany and then fled France when that fell. Polish air squadrons 303, 306, 307, 308 and 317, were formed in the seaside town, which was an operations centre, a training centre and a production base for the building of Wellington Bombers. Blackpool became the home of the free Polish Air Force from 1940 Many of the Polish air crew who survived, from the 20,000 who passed through Blackpool, stayed on in the town after the war, afraid to return to Stalin-controlled Poland.
Hangar 42 was built in May 1939, as RAF Squires Gate was created, and today keeps many of its original features. This thin steel building cannot block out the roar of planes arriving at Blackpool airport, adding to the ambience and mood when in the attraction. It does not have heating – suggesting the conditions that air crew faced in the cold, windy winters in Blackpool.
What it does have are atmospheric spitfires and the chance to get into the cockpit for a photo. It has a German ME109 and a Hurricane. It has an ops room, where you can appreciate how aircraft manoeuvres were planned. It boasts an ‘archaeology room’ featuring a retrieved German JU88 engine and many other items. A briefing room assists with an understanding of how crews were equipped with knowledge, whilst a scramble hut provides some feel for those moments that preceded take-off for yet another danger-filled mission in the sky.
For a special treat, at a cost of £140, you could add on a flight in the world’s only full-size Spitfire flying simulator, flying a replica Spitfire Mark V. Or, on September 14 and 15, as a real Battle of Britain celebration, you could book a seat on a real spitfire, if you have deep pockets.
At a much lower additional cost, of just £5, you can board a flight to Berlin in a virtual reality experience that lets you live and feel the tension within the plane during a bombing raid on Germany. With the support of original commentary from such a mission, recorded by BBC War Correspondent, Wynford Vaughan Thomas, this is an incredible way to experience everything. That ranges from the flak, and the probing searchlights hitting the plane, to the relief when an aggressive German fighter plane, tailing you after the bomb drop, is shot down.
But there is so much more to see, hear and do within the standard entry fee of £10 for adults, £6 for children aged 6-16. Those under-6 enter for free and veterans for £6. You could also take advantage of a chance to see a ‘Wartime Blackpool’ exhibition at the Showtown Museum in Blackpool, by buying a Wings & Wonders joint ticket for both attractions. This costs £15 for an adult or £7.50 for a child, representing a 25% saving across both.
Whichever you decide to do, a visit to Hangar 42 really is a not-to-be-missed treat before its season’s closure on October 28. Head there from Saturday to Tuesday each week, during the visiting times of 10am to 4pm, being sure to be there before last entrance, at 2.30pm.
If you do, you will discover the spinetingling story Hangar 42 brings to life. It’s perfect for anyone loving aircraft, wartime history or just general nostalgia. It’s an eye-opener for children who know little about 20th century events. But it’s also a surprisingly brilliant day out for anyone. People can arrive thinking they will spend an hour there and still be wrapped up in the storytelling hours later.
Wholly volunteer-run, this visitor attraction is an example of what passion can do to keep memories alive and respect those who saved Britain from German occupation. As Winston Churchill said of Britain’s air crew during the Battle of Britain, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.”
Learn their story, what they went through then, and during the blitz warfare that then followed, by visiting the Spitfire Visitor Centre – www.spitfirevisitorcentre.
