Do you know the story of the one, the few and the many?
Twenty members of Thames Valley branch do having visited Bentley Priory in Stanmore ,Middx on 28th March 2018.
The group were given a guided tour of the museum by Michael a most knowledgeable and amusing guide.
Its origins begin with an ancient priory which then became an elegant mansion and then the site of one of the pivotal points in the history of World war Two when it became the headquarters of Fighter Command in 1940.
From here Sir Hugh Dowding, The One, commanded his men, British and Allied airmen, The Few, in the Battle of Britain.
At this stage a German victory would have handed the entirety of Europe into their hands and paved the way for the defeat of the Soviet Union.
A battle which lasted four months, demolished the Luftwaffe and averted an invasion of the British Isles allowing us to fight on and become the foothold from whence the liberation of Europe could be launched.
The museum details Dowding's leadership and his responsibility for what became known as the "Dowding System", a world first, large scale centralised air defence command and control system.
It also explores the stories of the airmen who fought at considerable cost in the battle and recreates in the Filter Room, the stories of The Many.
A recreated Filter and Operations room staffed by many men and women, some of whom had never performed work such as this before and were using innovate technology of the time to access information regarding enemy aircraft. Thus allowing the Few to be able to responded so successfully to the attacks.
The priory so impressed Hermann Goring, the head of the Luftwaffe that he ordered his fighters not to attack it as he intended to establish the Priory as his own headquarters after the invasion!
After a well catered lunch in the cafe which was once the Officers Mess the group then moved at leisure around the museum.
Admiring the architecture of this Grade 2 listed building with work by the renowned architect Sir John Soames, the designer of the bank of England. His work at the Priory included a spectacular Rotunda and stunning stained glass windows in the magnificent entrance hall.
Among it's visitors, three Queens, Queen Victoria, Queen Adelaide and the Queen Mother.
Galleries included potted histories of the airmen, a re-created spitfire cockpit, which some just couldn't resist and the figures in the Filter Room, modelled on actual participants of the time.
Sadly all too soon it was time to leave but some members managed to dodge the raindrops to take up their pose on the balcony, site of the final scene in the film Battle of Britain, Laurence Olivier surveying the empty skies after the Luftwaffe defeat.
Pauline Osborne 7 Region, Thames Valley Branch Social Secretary
