On Saturday 8th September 2012, over 150 guests gathered for the handover ceremony of the Bentley Priory Museum to the Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust.   The guests enjoyed a number of events including the unveiling of the refurbished Spitfire and Hurricane ‘gate guardians’ and the unveiling of the Dowding System stained glass window which had been commissioned by the Association of RAF Fighter Control Officers.   All this was topped off with a reading of the poem Absent Friends by 99 year old William Walker – one of The Few - and a flypast by a Spitfire from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. The stained glass window aims to recognise, honour and commemorate the part played by the Dowding System in delivering victory in the Battle of Britain and other air battles over the United Kingdom during the Second World War and the personnel that manned and operated this ‘elaborate instrument of war’.  Thirteen veterans of the Dowding System attended the unveiling.

The attached photograph, courtesy of the Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust, shows the President of the Association of RAF Fighter Control Officers, Air Commodore ‘Flash’ Gordon, and veteran Section Officer Eileen Younghusband unveiling the window.   More information and photographs from the day can be found at:
http://bentleypriory.org/tabs/view/e5db3e2dae54faec5d8f593d31f544ad
Congratulations to Gp Capt (Retd) Tim Willbond and his team for a job very well done!!