VE-DAY ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND – 7th & 8th MAY
What a weekend this promises to be! As part of the commemorations for the anniversary of VE-Day, we are honoured to be hosting an exciting event at the UK Gallery in Wendover where we’ll be joined by veterans who served during WWII.
Saturday 7th May
For this special event we’ll be exhibiting some of our finest pieces and would like to invite all of our friends and collectors to the Gallery on Saturday view these at your leisure whilst enjoying a tea, coffee, or even something stronger!
It’s also the perfect opportunity to discuss your bespoke framing requirements with our expert team
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Sunday 8th May
We’ll be joined by the following veterans of Bomber Command AND the Normandy Invasion:
RAF BOMBER COMMAND
Warrant Officer KEN JOHNSON - flew as a Front Gunner on Wellingtons before transferring as a Mid-Upper Gunner on Lancasters with 9 and 61 Sqns. He served on 44 Ops including raids on U-boats pens in Bergen, the mighty Tirpitz and Berchtesgaden.
Warrant Officer TED KEY - served as a Flight Engineer on Lancasters with 514 Sqn based RAF Waterbeach. As Germany surrendered the squadron helped drop food supplies in Holland and carrying liberated POWs back to England.
Flight Sergeant ERIC VARNEY - joining 207 Sqn he served as a Mid-Upper Gunner on over 28 Ops on Lancasters including the controversial joint RAF and USAAF raids on Dresden in February 1945.
Warrant Officer MAC McCLEMENTS - joined the RAF in 1944 and having completed training as a Mid-Upper Gunner. He joined 10 Sqn flying Halifaxes with whom he completed 38 Operations.
Leading Aircraftsman VICTOR HARDING - served as Ground Crew with 617 Sqn from Woodhall Spa. He worked on the aircraft for most of the squadron’s significant raids and watched Guy Gibson take off on his last mission in a Mosquito in September 1944.
And special guest signer:
Plotter IRIS McCLEMENTS - served as a plotter in the Ops Room at York with 6 (Royal Canadian Airforce) Bomber Group.
D-DAY & NORMANDY INVASION
Lance Corporal LIONEL LAKE - landed at Sword Beach on D-Day with the 1st Battalion Rifle Brigade. He fought at Caen before seeing action at the Falaise Gap where he was injured.
Craftsman DOUG AUSTIN - landed with the 3rd Battalion Scots Guards, 6th Tank Brigade, he fought from Caen through the Villers Bocage and the Falaise Gap seeing action through to Germany on VE-Day.
Signalman FRANK BAUGH - part of Flotilla 253, his Landing Craft LCI(L)380, carrying members of the King’s Shropshire Light Infantry, was credited with being the first Landing Craft to land on Sword Beach at 7.20am on D-Day.
Lieutenant FRANK YATES - as a Liaison Officer with the 53rd Welsh Division Light Anti- Aircraft Regiment, he landed on Sword Beach on D-Day +12.
Corporal GORDON DRABBLE - served with 6th South Staffordshire Regiment 59 Division and landed on Gold Beach D-Day +15.
Our guests are happy to sign items for customers and entry is FREE but STRICTLY by ticket only. We are currently taking bookings so please contact us now to reserve your place.
