EDITORIAL
Perspective Military and Aviation Heritage - A rich source of photographic opportunities SHAUN PARKES LDPS
C
oming from a mainly RAF background, with relatives having also served or serving in the Royal Marines, the Army, and the Royal Navy, my family has a keen interest in our military heritage. It is a fascinating heritage, populated by heroes and villains, by certifiable lunatics, by incompetent generals, but mainly by ordinary people who acted with incredible and unexpected courage in accomplishing extraordinary feats. Think Rorke’s Drift, El Alamein, Arnhem, the Battle of Britain, the North Atlantic Convoys, and The Glorious Glosters at Imjin and 41 Independent Commando RM at the ‘Frozen Chosin’ Reservoir during the Korean War. The military heritage of the UK commenced with the creation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707, uniting England and Scotland, although the military history of the separate components of the UK extends further back. Military heritage is a fascinating subject; this heritage is not only tangible, with many wonderful Regimental and Corps, naval and RAF museums; we also have the opportunity to see ‘living heritage’ with airshows, re-enactments with vehicles and simulated firepower demonstrations, and opportunities to visit to old warships, lovingly restored and maintained. However, a perhaps peculiar aspect of military heritage is the plethora of often-intangible but fiercely guarded traditions, exercised religiously by the units concerned. These traditions range from The Royal Green Jackets, now part of the Rifles, not drinking the Loyal Toast ‘as our loyalty has never been in question’, to various regiments remaining seated in the presence of the Monarch, e.g. as the Monarch passed by them, as they had struggled to stand through exhaustion after the Battle of Quatre Bras at Waterloo, and to be told by the grateful Monarch to remain seated. There are numerous opportunities to see this rich heritage; many of the historic but now defunct county regiments still have regimental museums, e.g. The Green Howards (now part of The Yorkshire Regiment) in Richmond, Yorkshire, whereas other museums showcase the history and heritage of current regiments and corps, like the Airborne Assault Museum at the Imperial War Museum at Duxford. As the volunteer co-ordinator of the Military and Aviation Heritage area of the wider A&H Special Interest Group, I hope this editorial and the links hereunder have pricked your interest and look
forward to seeing your images, and hopefully some articles, for Heritage Photography in the future. In this issue Keith Evans gives us an update on the ART UK Sculpture Project which aims to record all of the nation’s sculptures in the public domain. This is followed by astrophotography, explored by Paul Diette, combining aviation heritage and astrophotography in a stunning picture of the Spitfire flown by ‘Johnnie’ Johnson when commanding the Canadian Wing over the Normandy beaches on D-Day 6th June 1944. This issue includes Part 1 of Robert Carpenter’s highly detailed and interesting record of the legacy of RAF Greenham Common, once famous for the protests against the US Air Force’s use of the base to store Cruise Missiles. We then have two examples of places to visit to see military and aviation heritage. Keith Evans provides a comprehensive introduction to the Royal Engineers Museum at Gillingham in Kent, covering 300 years of military engineering, to whet our appetites for a visit. The second place to visit is introduced by our Treasurer George Backshall as he encapsulates, in his article, a coup-de-main operation codenamed DEADSTICK, to seize - in the early hours of D-Day - one of the iconic bridges in British military history, the famous Pegasus Bridge over the strategic Caen Canal. Soldiers from D Company, 2nd Battalion the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, a glider-borne element of the 6th Airborne Division, landed around the bridge to seize it and hold it until relieved by Lord Lovat’s No 6 Commando, Piper Bill Millins famously leading in the Commando and the rest of Lovat’s Commando Brigade. The raid was led by Major John Howard, a former enlisted soldier, not of privileged background but rather of humble origins, a fact disliked by many of his contemporary officers, Howard was awarded the DSO, and the French Croix de Guerre with Bronze Palm, for his inspired leadership. Front cover, Lancaster NX611 ‘Just Jane’ at the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, East Kirkby Airfield, Spilsby, Lincs https://www.lincsaviation. co.uk/
SHAUN PARKES LDPS Licentiate of the Disabled Photographers Association (LDPS) 3
