Military History Tours          On Tour - Bomber Command (RAAF in the UK) 21 July 2014

This was our last day together as we left Salisbury heading towards London.

Our first stop was at the Brooklands Museum where most viewed the excellent range of cars and motor bikes and then moved onto the very good display of planes that included a Wellington Bomber that had crashed into Loch Ness during the War and recently recovered.

We left the Museum and made our way to Runnymead, the site of the signing of the Magna Carter in 1215. After our visit to the actual site, we moved to the Runnymead Memorial to those airmen who were lost but have no known grave. There are over 20,000 names on the panels with men and women from all the Commonwealth countries.

At the Memorial we conducted a small Service for all who were lost and particularly for Pilot Officer George Parkinson who was associated with our own Peter Godfrey. Peter's mother-in-law was married to George at the time he was lost and later she remarried, another member of Bomber Command and Julie, Peter's wife, was born to that second marriage. A moving moment indeed, for all and Greg faltered while reading the prayer. This is a time when we all it hard to express the words clearly.

We arrived at our hotel in London at 1730, said goodbye to our driver, Richard, who had been a great driver and become a firm member of our tour group. We all will miss him and I will ask he drives us next year.

The group went to the Skinners Arms Pub for a beer and dinner. A fine way to end such a successful tour.