Sunday September 5th: Bentwaters Cold War Museum - report by Peter with an additional report and pictures by Hazel
Our first club run for September was organised by Richard and Hazel and was a visit to the Bentwaters Cold War Museum.
The run started from the Haughley Bends truck stop – what a shame the cafe is not open at the weekend as a bacon butty washed down with a cup of tea would have gone down rather nicely whilst we waited for the club members to arrive. 7 TR’s and an Austin Healey 3000 departed although we quickly added Andy and Lynne’s TR to our convoy once they had discovered where the Truck Stop was located! (Must include location of meeting places on our events list to avoid confusion in the future). Another good turn out by club members.
We set off for a lovely drive through country lanes following some of the A1120 Tourist Route, arriving at Bentwaters mid-morning. The Cold War Museum is located on the former RAF Bentwaters site and was active from the Second World War through to the USAF withdrawal in 1993. The main focus of the museum is its operation during the Cold War and houses the ‘Battle Cabin’ and ‘War Operations Room’. In addition, there are rooms housing themed exhibitions, a number of related exhibits and a film show.
Our visit was soon over as we had to continue on our way to our lunchtime venue – the Wilford Bridge pub in Melton adjacent to the river Deben. We all enjoyed an excellent meal with some members going for a walk along the river and others wending their way home. Many thanks to Richard and Hazel for organising a most interesting and educational day out.
Hazel's Report
One Sunday morning early in September saw 6 TR’s and an Austin Healey meet up at Haughley truck stop for a pleasant drive to Rendlesham Forest and the old USAF base of RAF Bentwater arranged by Richard and Hazel – thank you. We passed through the security gate and drove along the taxiway to the museum. We where meet by a guide who explained how the museum came into being and pointed out some very unusual features including the one way mirror and 3 feet thick walls as this building was a high security shelter in its wartime role. It was very interesting for me as an ex RAF engineer seeing how the Americans dealt with the cold war threat compared to the “on a budget” RAF! Afterwards we drove the short distance to the Wilford Bridge Pub at Milton for lunch. There was a very varied selection avaibale for Lunch including Richard’s huge batter Skate wing – lovely!
Sunday 12th September: Classic & Sports Cars By the Lake – Report by Peter
This event was held in aid of St Nicholas Hospice Care and for its first time run it was very well attended. In fact, cars that hadn’t booked a place had to wait on space being available.
I and Catherine attended in my TR3A whilst Robin and Gary were in their TR6’s. Peter Mitchell was in his recently restored TR3A which was one of its first outings - and looking very smart too. There was a wide range of cars including Chitty Chitty Bang Bang which proved a popular photo stop; an ex Jordan Formula 1 promo car and a number of new and 'used' cars (ours coming under the heading of 'used' I suspect!).
A number of stalls were set up selling crafts and bags and suchlike! No Hog Roast but sausages, burgers, soft drinks, hot drinks and beer – so not all bad! There was music in the afternoon, which was surprisingly good with many visitors sitting on the grass in front of the stage enjoying a picnic.
For its first time, it was a very pleasant day out - next time more stalls and certainly a greater choice of food would not go amiss.
The show raised over £15,000 in aid of St Nicholas Care which was excellent news and the organisers are planning to hold the show next year.
