Royal Air Force Museum

Brothers in Arms

16 September 2011 — 4 March 2012 *on now

During the Battle of Britain one fifth of Fighter Command’s aircrew came from overseas with 16 nations represented in its squadrons. Arguably the RAF’s most prolific and successful pilots of this campaign and beyond were the dispossessed Polish and Czechoslovakian pilots who had escaped from their homelands to fight, as brothers in arms, against a tyranny that had occupied Continental Europe.

In this exhibition, created in association with the Polish Institute of National Remembrance and the Czech Institute for the Study of Totalitarian Regimes, the Museum will explore through drawings, archive film footage and sculpture the bravery of men such as Czech fighter pilot Josef Frantisek and the men of 303 Squadron; and the fate of those Polish & Czechoslovakian RAF pilots who returned back to their homelands only to be deemed criminals and outcasts by Communist regimes desperate to ‘clip the wings’ of any ‘dangerous elements’ who could become powerful totems around which potential resistance could form.

Suitable for

• Any age

Where

The Temporary Exhibition Gallery, The Royal Air Force Museum London

Admission

Attendance at the above exhibition as to the Royal Air Force Museum London itself is free of charge

Website

http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk/london

Sport in the RAF

21 March — 2 September 2012

An exhibition that explores the importance of sport in the Royal Air Force, which will also feature particularly those athletes who were in the Service at the time that they competed in the Olympic Games.

The famous hurdler, Don Finlay, (Bronze 1932, Silver 1936) will feature alongside Marathon runners, rowers, discus throwers, skiers and members of bobsleigh teams.

The display will also cover notable sportsmen and women in other disciplines who have achieved international success, as well as emphasizing the contribution that sport makes within the Service and in the United Kingdom’s relations abroad, where friendly competition often blazes the trail for political contacts designed to diffuse tensions or win over ‘Hearts and Minds’. A section of the show will cover the RAF or former RAF personnel who hope to compete in the London Olympic and Paralympic Games and the contribution made by RAF personnel who will officiate, referee and organize events this summer

Suitable for

• Any age

Where

The Royal Air Force Museum London, Grahame Park Way, London, NW9 5LL

Admission

Admission to Sport in the RAF is free of charge as is admission to the Museum itself. Please note, the Museum does levy a small car-parking charge of £2.50 per vehicle for a stay of up to 3 hours and £3.50 per vehicle for a stay of up to 6 hours.

Website

http://www.rafmuseum.org/london

Royal Air Force Photographer of the Year

15 January — 15 April 2012 *on now

The winning images from the annual Royal Air Force Photographic Competition will be on view to members of the public at the RAF Museum London from 15th January 2012.

Subject categories range from ‘The Operational Experience’, an image that reflects the Royal Air Force conducting vital work on operations or training in support of operations, through to the ‘Equipment’ category which gives photographers the exciting opportunity to display their skill photographing the Service’s world-class equipment. The 2011 RAF Public Relations Photograph of the year was taken by Sgt Pete Mobbs of RAF Coningsby. His photograph ‘If the Glove Fits’ captured a 3 Squadron Pilot climbing into the cock-pit of a Royal Air Force Typhoon operating from Gioia del Colle in Italy in support of Operation Unified Protector, as part of the NATO-led, UN-mandated coalition to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 calling upon coalition forces to successfully protect the people of Libya from attacks made upon them by the regime of the late Colonel Gadaffi.

The photographs will be on display in the RAF Museum, electronically beamed onto glass screens located in the ‘RAF Today’ area of the Milestones of Flight Gallery. The exhibition will be on show at the Museum’s London site until 15th April when it will then transfer to the Museum’s Cosford’s site in Shropshire.

Entry to the Royal Air Force Photographer of the Year Exhibition is free of charge to visitors; as is entry to the Museum. The exhibition will be shown daily from 10am to 6pm until April 15th.

Suitable for

• Any age

Admission

Admission to the Royal Air Force Museum and viewing of the Royal Air Force Photographer of the Year exhibition is free of charge.

The Face of Courage

10 June 2011 — 25 May 2012 *on now

For much of his distinguished career, Kennington was regularly classed by leading critics as belonging to the ranks of such exceptional portraitists as: Hans Holbein the Younger; Albrecht Dürer; Franz Hals; Van Gogh and Augustus John. Furthermore, many of his artistic contemporaries rated him as one of the finest draughtsman of his day and while among famous contemporaries who admired Kennington’s portraiture were: Winston Churchill; J.B. Priestley; Siegfried Sassoon; George Bernard Shaw; Geoffrey de Havilland; Richard Hillary and T.E. Lawrence.

The exhibition will present about three dozen works covering all of the Armed Services, the Auxiliary Services and London Transport and some notable civilians. Pictures have been loaned to the show by the National Portrait Gallery, the Imperial War Museum, the National Army Museum, the Tate, the National Maritime Museum, the Ministry of Defence as well as from Kennington’s family and other private lenders and art dealers.

Suitable for

• Any age

Where

The Art Gallery, The Royal Air Force Museum London, Grahame Park Way, Colindale, London, NW9 5LL

Admission

Admission to the Royal Air Force Museum and to the exhibition 'The Face of Courage' is free of charge.

Website

http://www.rafmuseum.org/london

Helicopter Half Term

13 February 2012

If you’re searching for something different to entertain the children during the February Half Term why not jet off to the Royal Air Force Museum in Colindale where the Museum will be holding a week of activities dedicated to its Helicopter Collection?

Have a rare peek inside the Whirlwind and The Royal Wessex and children can make their own simple paper helicopters.

This free craft activity will run daily from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 4pm, just outside the Dermot Boyle Wing towards the far end of the Museum’s Helicopter Collection.

Suitable for

• Any age
• Family friendly

When

10am-6pm

Where

The Royal Air Force Museum London, Grahame Park Way, Colindale, London, NW9 5LL

Admission

Admission to the Royal Air Force Museum, Helicopter Half Term and its associated craft activity is free of charge.

Website

http://www.rafmuseum.org/london

Helicopter Half Term

14 February 2012

If you’re searching for something different to entertain the children during the February Half Term why not jet off to the Royal Air Force Museum in Colindale where the Museum will be holding a week of activities dedicated to its Helicopter Collection?

Have a rare peek inside the Whirlwind and The Royal Wessex and children can make their own simple paper helicopters.

This free craft activity will run daily from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 4pm, just outside the Dermot Boyle Wing towards the far end of the Museum’s Helicopter Collection.

Suitable for

• Any age
• Family friendly

When

10am-6pm

Where

The Royal Air Force Museum London, Grahame Park Way, Colindale, London, NW9 5LL

Admission

Admission to the Royal Air Force Museum, Helicopter Half Term and its associated craft activity is free of charge.

Website

http://www.rafmuseum.org/london

Helicopter Half Term

15 February 2012

If you’re searching for something different to entertain the children during the February Half Term why not jet off to the Royal Air Force Museum in Colindale where the Museum will be holding a week of activities dedicated to its Helicopter Collection?

Have a rare peek inside the Whirlwind and The Royal Wessex and children can make their own simple paper helicopters.

This free craft activity will run daily from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 4pm, just outside the Dermot Boyle Wing towards the far end of the Museum’s Helicopter Collection.

Suitable for

• Any age
• Family friendly

When

10am-6pm

Where

The Royal Air Force Museum London, Grahame Park Way, Colindale, London, NW9 5LL

Admission

Admission to the Royal Air Force Museum, Helicopter Half Term and its associated craft activity is free of charge.

Website

http://www.rafmuseum.org/london

Helicopter Half Term

16 February 2012

If you’re searching for something different to entertain the children during the February Half Term why not jet off to the Royal Air Force Museum in Colindale where the Museum will be holding a week of activities dedicated to its Helicopter Collection?

Have a rare peek inside the Whirlwind and The Royal Wessex and children can make their own simple paper helicopters.

This free craft activity will run daily from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 4pm, just outside the Dermot Boyle Wing towards the far end of the Museum’s Helicopter Collection.

Suitable for

• Any age
• Family friendly

When

10am-6pm

Where

The Royal Air Force Museum London, Grahame Park Way, Colindale, London, NW9 5LL

Admission

Admission to the Royal Air Force Museum, Helicopter Half Term and its associated craft activity is free of charge.

Website

http://www.rafmuseum.org/london

Helicopter Half Term

17 February 2012

If you’re searching for something different to entertain the children during the February Half Term why not jet off to the Royal Air Force Museum in Colindale where the Museum will be holding a week of activities dedicated to its Helicopter Collection?

Have a rare peek inside the Whirlwind and The Royal Wessex and children can make their own simple paper helicopters.

This free craft activity will run daily from 11am to 1pm and from 2pm to 4pm, just outside the Dermot Boyle Wing towards the far end of the Museum’s Helicopter Collection.

Suitable for

• Any age
• Family friendly

When

10am-6pm

Where

The Royal Air Force Museum London, Grahame Park Way, Colindale, London, NW9 5LL

Admission

Admission to the Royal Air Force Museum, Helicopter Half Term and its associated craft activity is free of charge.

Website

http://www.rafmuseum.org/london

Thin Air

16 — 17 March 2012

Thin Air is a new play by Carnegie Award-winning author Berlie Doherty, directed by Joyce Branagh and presented by Derbyshire-based Cotton Grass Theatre. It is the supernatural story of a First World War fighter pilot who returns home from the horrors of the war. He is in possession of a secret that will haunt his community for generations to come.

Thin Air is set in the Dark Peak of Derbyshire and is inspired by the unique landscape, heritage and mythology of the Peak. The play will use theatre, projected imagery and live music to tell its ghostly tale.

Thin Air resonates with the mysterious atmosphere of this unique corner of England. The Peak District is an ancient geo-political frontier, the border of Mercia and Northumbria. It echoes with the stories of the many peoples who have lived, traded and travelled within its borders. In the last century it became synonymous with aircraft engineering: Rolls Royce at Derby, Barnes Wallace - born in Ripley; the wartime Dambuster practice flights over Ladybower reservoir and the many aircraft wrecks to be found on the forbidding slopes of Kinder Scout. This rich history is captured in the words and action of the play.

Specifically created for older children (14+) Thin Air will also appeal to an adults. To purchase tickets in advance please go to www.wegottickets.com or phone 07972 145977.

Suitable for

• 14-15
• 16-17
• 18+

When

-

Where

The Dermot Boyle Wing, The Royal Air Force Museum London, Grahame Park Way, Colindale, London, NW9 5LL

Admission

Tickets prices for matinee performances are £8.50 for children and concessions, £11.50 for adults. For evening performances £12.00 for children and concessions, £15.00 for adults.

Website

http://www.wegottickets.com/f/3795