I am pleased to say that after two very successful previous events, a third reunion is now being planned for April 2012. As before it will be open to everyone who ever served on the V Force on any of the 3 aircraft, in whatever role. Aircrew and groundcrew are equally welcome, as are their families. Widows of deceased members are also very welcome to attend.
| Update!! If you manned a signing in table last time and would like to do so this time - please contact Don Chadwick at 01254 771756 or Foxbarn@btopenworld.com This time we are also planning to have a separate signing-in table for widows and families of former V Force members. We are hoping that anyone who had a husband, partner or other relative who has passed on will come along and join us at the museum on the day. Once they sign in they will be given their own reunion nametag, and will be made very welcome. |
| We are getting a steady stream of responses, with over 100
already having completed and sent the enquiry form (see link on
the left) to notify their intention to attend the reunion.
Please note, this in no way obliges you, it is just a general
indication that you'd like to come. One point needs to be cleared up. Some groundcrew are under the impression that they had nowhere to sign in at the reunion. Just to clarify, all groundcrew can sign in at the crew chiefs' table, as well as the table(s) for their bases, eg Scampton, Waddington etc. There is already a lot of interest from groundcrew this time, maybe the aircrew are just leaving it till the last minute (as usual)! |
The reunion will be run very much along the lines of the previous two. The venue is Newark Aircraft Museum and the date will be Saturday 28th April 2012. As before there will be a reception area with signing-in tables, and in the adjoining hanger exhibits and displays relevant to different aspects of the V Force, including squadron associations, models, book and photographs, etc. Guests will of course be free to visit the rest of the museum site, with its many interesting exhibits, including Vulcan XM594. In the evening there will be a buffet reception at the nearby Newark Golf Club. This will be restricted to around 250 guests, but bookings for that function will not start till much nearer the date. Although the reunion is mainly planned for Saturday, in 2010 we did have 20 or so turn up on Sunday, so this time we will keep one signing in table manned up to 1400 so that people can turn up and either sign in if they couldn't make Saturday, or peruse the attendance lists from the previous day. You may also use your two-day pass to have a good look around the museum.
Those unfamiliar with this website will find much of interest. May I particularly draw your attention to the enquiry form (link on left of this page). If you think you may be attending the reunion please use this form to let us know. This does not mean there is any commitment to attend, but is just to give us a way of gauging interest at this stage.
The rest of the website is fairly self-explanatory. Take a few minutes to look through the gallery. If you have any photographs you would like to contribute, please send them as an email attachment (jpg or similar) to the website manager whose address is at the foot of the gallery page. Make sure that the owner of any copyright to photographs is acknowledged. Don't forget to name any individuals in the photos if at all possible – they are much more interesting that way. We would also welcome more articles for inclusion in that section.
The organisation of the event will mainly be done by Howard Heeley and Bill O'Sullivan at NAM, but your initial points of contact for information will be the same as before, namely:
Don Chadwick foxbarn@btopenworld.com
Alan McLoughlin almacmedal@aol.com
Mike Pearson vulcanaeo@btinternet.com
Please contact us by email if you have any queries.
I will be updating this website as things develop between now and next April, so please bookmark it. Those who are on my email list will receive a notification that the site has been updated, so if you don't think you are on my address list email me and I will add your name.
Looking forward to another successful reunion – see you there!
Alan McLoughlin
Page updated:22/12/11 19:45