On June 5th 2017, the WWII Research and Writing Centre team visited the IWM at Duxford near Cambridge in England. Duxford was an airfield and was used in WWII. It is quite famous (apart from the movie “Battle of Britain” for its collection of military planes, especially WWII vintage.)
It doesn’t disappoint.

There is ample parking and the entrance is clearly marked. The entrance fee is currently 18 good old British pounds but that is pretty good value for what you get. You enter the complex near the gift shop which I always like. You can already spot some items you may want to pick up later (leather flying helmets, anyone?).
The whole museum is in fact several separate hangars, each with their own exhibition and theme. We started our visit at the Air-Space hall. A very impressive amount of spectacular planes greeted us: Concord, a Sunderland Flying Boat, a Lancaster, a Spitfire, a Lysander, a Vulcan bomber, a Meteor to name just a few. What a sight to see all those together. If anything, it was almost too much with some planes so close together their grandeur was lost.
In a separate area was an exhibition on Airborne. The British Airborne divisions were active in some of the great battles of WWII (Bruneval Raid, Operation Overlord and Market Garden) and also after WWII they were active: Northern Ireland and the Falklands to name just two conflicts. I was very impressed by the original Briefing Boards used in the Bruneval Raid and Normandy. How many eyes have studied these boards before me?
We then walked along the airfield (Duxford is still in use as an airfield and you can arrange a flight in a vintage plane) to the American Air Museum part, the main reason for our visit. On the way we stopped by the B17 Memphis Belle/Sally B that was parked along the runway. Good photo opportunity with two planes in one.

We also went in the Radio room/Comms shed for a quick look which was stacked with old radios and manned by very enthusiastic volunteers that could talk the hind legs off a donkey. If it had been up to them, we would still be there! Very informative. But we needed to make our way to the American part. First it was time for some tea or coffee in the café with very friendly and helpful staff though.
Again, the collection in the American Air Museum is most impressive: where else in Europe can you see a Dakota, F15, A-10 Warthog, B-17, B-24, B-29, B-52, SR-71 Blackbird, P-51 Mustang and a Bell Huey under one roof? And that is not a complete list! Explanations, personal effects, artefacts, uniforms, the collection is pretty complete with very good explanations and personal stories that make you think. All very well and clearly displayed. There is so much to see and read that it would be easy to be overwhelmed. Do not go to this museum to think you will be done in a couple of hours! We almost spent the entire day there.

After the American Air Museum we visited the WWII Operations Room (..bandits, bandits!) where you could almost hear the phones ringing and the plotters at work (make sure you have seen the movie Battle of Britain!). Then it was time for the Battle of Britain hall. To be honest, I expected more of this but what was there was well done. The Spit was missing as it was used for a private function in the Air Space hall (we caught a glimpse of it there) and I was disappointed.
We walked around the displays and went outside to find something to eat. Lo and behold, they were rolling the Spitfire back to be put back in the Battle of Britain hall. It was parked outside the hangar! Great moment to get really close, have a peek in the cockpit and take some photos. I love Spitfires and to be so close to one was a special moment indeed.
Duxford has three places where you can have something to eat or drink: the café in the American hall, the Workshop Restaurant and The Armoury Café and Kitchen. Make sure you time your visit and intake of sustenance. The Workshop Restaurant is a sit down and be served affair (which we found would take too long) and The Armoury Café did not serve lunch anymore by the time we got there are 15.00 or so. This could have been a problem but thankfully the lady always carries a protein bar so we survived. Be warned though.
By this time our feet were almost staring to hurt but we managed to visit the Flying Aircraft and Conservation in Action areas. By this time we had been here for six hours already. It was getting difficult to take things in and we decided to call it a day. Of course we had to go through the gift shop. We picked up some great items from a wide array of available souvenirs and memorabilia: books, t-shirts, trinkets, pencils, WWII sweets, mugs… there is something for everybody.
IWM Duxford provides a great day out. There is a lot to see and the displays are very well done. As it is a working airfield you even may catch vintage planes flying.
I can really recommend this museum.
© 2017 World War II Research and Writing Center
First of all, the grounds, the building and the entrance are very impressive. Two big naval guns dominate the view and make it instantly clear you are about to enter a War Museum, not an Art exhibit or anything else.
To begin with, the Main Hall. The exhibits in this hall change from time to time and, to be honest, the items that I remember being there were more impressive than whet there is now. Hanging above you are still the Spitfire used in the Battle of Britain as well as V1 (buzzbomb) and a Harrier jet. On the ground there is a wreck of a car used as a bomb in Iraq and a V2 and, slightly tucked away, a Russian tank.
On to the WWI exhibit. I remember the very impressive Trench Experience but that is gone as well. Another disappointment. The amount and quality of the WWI items on display are impressive and the explanations are very well done but WWI is the only conflict they have done that for. No such thing for WWII. Also the explanations on certain WWII items are very sketchy and not complete.
It’s a beautiful day in the Netherlands. Our staff at the WWII Research and Writing Center have been busy creating new things. We can’t wait to share!
The longer I continue on my spiritual journey, the more I heal, and the more aware I become. Being an empath, I tend to pick up everything from everyone and everywhere. I’ve been told and read many times, that healing is like a spiral. We start at one spot, one event, one moment in time, and work through and release some pain. This could be from a past life or this life.
There is so much happening on this trip to Europe that I’m struggling a bit to keep up and document it all. As I write this, we just returned from 10 days in England. It was my first time there and so much happened. More on that in a future post. For now, let’s return to Friday, 26 May 2017, when we drove from Amsterdam to Thirimont, Belgium to be in the town where a client’s brother was Killed In Action (KIA) on 13 January 1945.
We kept driving and later stopped in Aubel, Belgium to photograph the 30th Division Monument there. It is a tall monument with flags on either side. This is not far from Henri-Chapelle cemetery.



Wednesday was a really fun day because I got to go to ‘s-Hertogenbosch (Den Bosch) to spend time with my sister in-law. Den Bosch is my favorite city in the Netherlands. It has Sint-Jan Cathedral, which I visit every time I am in the city. There is such peace there. I love the stained glass, smell of incense, lighting a candle for Mother Mary in the back of the church and, when it is open, walking through the back of the cathedral to see the niches for different saints. I was lucky that this time the back of the church was open. I was in Den Bosch four other times and only one of those visits was the back open.

Sunday we went to Amsterdam for a bit of shopping, lunch, and wandering. I wanted to stop in the P.W. Akkerman Fountain Pen shop in Amsterdam since we were unable to go to the P.W. Akkerman we prefer in
Before we drove home we stopped at the Begijnhof to take a short walk. It was very crowded and noisy there as lots of tour groups had come out since it was a beautiful day. Johan took me there last year over the winter when it was very quiet. Usually it is a place of peace and quiet and you don’t hear the city noise once you are in the courtyard.
The World War II Research and Writing Center is now providing speech writing and speaking services for funerals, memorial programs, commemorations, and other military events. We have presented at the Ninth Infantry Division Association Reunion Memorial Service; 104th Infantry Division Pups Reunion Program; the Tilburg, Netherlands Liberation Ceremony in 2015; and in the Netherlands at Liberation Commemorations.
Journaling has been something I have been doing since I was a little girl. Not consistently though until the last few years. My early journals were typical of a girl moving into puberty, Jr. High and High School, with talk of which boy was the cutest, drama with friends and siblings, and my dreams for the future. In High School they became much more. An outlet to describe frustrations in my family life (typical teenager complaints), a safe place to explore the larger world and my gigantic dreams which were too large and out there for most people in my life. I’m sure most people who knew me then, thought I was crazy for having such big dreams and growing up in such a small town.