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Bawdsey Radar Group AGM
Saturday 28th October 2006, 3.00pm - Bawdsey Village Hall
Chair's Report
This is the second AGM of Bawdsey Radar Group. Life for
the Group has continued to be very busy and I continue to
be amazed at what can be accomplished by a band of
enthusiastic volunteers.
The Transmitter Block
With the help of the 2005 Fast Stream Graduates at the MOD
and others the toilet and hand basin in the old washroom
have been restored. This has made opening the T-block a
far more pleasant experience for both volunteers and
visitors.
The Magic Ear exhibition has been on display again in the
Transmitter Block which, throughout the summer months, has
been open on most Sunday and Bank Holiday Monday
afternoons and by special arrangement. Over 1000 visitors
have been to view it.
The season started with a splash. Our first opening was
not only on a grey and rainy day but the T-block was
visited by more than 60 veteran cars. This was a very
exciting start.
Other Activities
A portable exhibition about Bawdsey and radar provided by
the Fast Stream Graduates has been very useful. It has
been taken out to several venues such as Woodbridge
Regatta, Debach Airfield Open Day and recently to the
Maritime Woodbridge weekend. During the rest of the time
it is on display in the Ops room in Landguard Fort,
Felixstowe.
We have continued to respond to invitations from local
clubs and organisations to give talks about what we are
doing.
Shout and Whisper
Under the leadership of David Heath, Shout and Whisper,
our oral history project about Bawdsey and the people who
worked there, is well underway. Over 35 interviews have
been completed and by the end of the year it is hoped this
number will be 50. One third of the interviewees have been
women and over half were at Bawdsey during Wartime.
David Robertson, the designer of the Magic Ear exhibition
has been appointed project manager and, as well as
carrying out some video recordings, he will be bringing
the results of the recordings together so that they will
be accessible to as many people as possible. This will
involve producing an education package, booklets, a
website and even a film.
Architectural Heritage Fund - Options Appraisal
The Group has joined the Association of Preservation
Trusts and membership has led to us applying for and
receiving a grant of ?4400 from the AHF towards an options
appraisal. This represents 75% of money needed. The
appraisal is to be carried out by The Morton Partnership,
a firm of civil and structural engineers that specialises
in historic buildings. The appraisal will look at the
importance of the building, problems with its
conservation, its condition and principal repairs
required, options for re-use and the long term management
and financial implications of these.
Future Plans
At the end of the summer the prospect of the options
appraisal and some fatigue led us to wonder in what way we
would continue our activities next year. A few weeks,
however, of not having to be there on Sunday and requests
for visits and talks next year revived our enthusiasm and
hopefully it will be business as usual.
Thanks
There are so many people to be thanked. Not least the
committee who have continued to work with great enthusiasm
and commitment.
After the committee first on my list, perhaps, should be
Vic Clouting. Vic did the plumbing needed to restore the
wash room in the T-block. His contribution to the comfort
of all who visit the T-block is inestimable.
No lesser thanks are due to Alan King and John Brooking
who did many invaluable repairs to broken doors, windows
and paths.
We are very grateful to our local SCC councillor, Rosemary
Clark, for a grant of ?500 pounds from her locality budget
towards the reprinting of our publicity material.
The Air Cadets have again been real stalwarts. This year
the Leiston Squadron as well as the Woodbridge Squadron
have been involved in our activities. A few Cadets came
every Sunday and helped with cleaning, weeding, tidying,
in fact anything we asked them to do.
Dee and Martin McLeavy are to be thanked for all their
help with our outside visits and establishing our
travelling exhibition.
Mary Wain
Chair
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