Cornwall At War Museum

Yesterday was a hive of industry preparing for the Royal visit on Tuesday. If it didn't move then it was polished or painted. All the grass was cut and strimmed for extra neat edges. New signs went up to replace old ones that had seen far better days. As the weather had turned from sweltering to normal, grey and threatening to rain, it was a very busy day for visitors. Normally Fridays are quiet as holiday makers either leave for home, or don't go far as they have to pack to leave the next day. But as it wasn't beach weather they all seemed to pay a visit to the museum. A reminder for any of you that can come on Tuesday that car parking will be on Davidstow airfield with our complimentary shuttle bus, Marlene, taking you to and from the museum at regular intervals. There will be clear signs pointing to where you should go to park, and a volunteer will be at the end of the museum drive to point you in the right direction. If you specifically wish to see Princess Alex

Yesterday I went to find Sgt William David Norman's grave at Illogan church. It's a beautiful place and very peaceful. The war graves are all in a separate area which is very neat and tidy. Sgt Norman's grave is one of many there; Australians, New Zealanders, Canadians, Czech and English, not one of them over 35 years of age. The saddest are the three graves just marked up as "An Airman", one containing three airman. Sgt Norman's grave now has a little bunch of flowers to show that he's remembered by us. The War memorial in the War graves section of Illogan churchyard. Sgt  William David Norman's grave.

From time to time something happens that grabs your imagination, and even your emotions. William's penny has done just that. We have a gentleman who has the correct licence to use his metal detector on the sites of WWII plane crashes in Cornwall. He carefully notes each item; where it was found, which plane it was, the names of the crews and what happened to them. He then passes them to us and we exhibit them with respect to the crews of the planes. In February last year it was decided to exhibit the items in glass display cases within the hangar. I was given the job of typing up all the notes and details and putting them with the fragments of the planes. One of the items really got to me, an old one penny piece, that had been found in the remains of one of the Spitfires from 66 Squadron that had crashed into each other during a night flying exercise. One plane had crashed in to one field and the other plane in an adjacent field. When I got home I Googled the name of the pilo

Visitors can climb the stairs up to the cockpit of the Hunter and see through the plexiglass into the cockpit. It is an amazingly small space, pilots would have had to be slim to fit in. By today's standards of computerised controls it must look so out of date, and yet as the Black Arrows display team they managed to do all the aerobatics perfectly. Inside the Hunter's cockpit, complete with mannequin pilot.

On the afternoon of Tuesday 31st July the museum will be visited by Her Royal Highness, Princess Alexandra. We are feeling extremely honoured to have been chosen for this visit. The next couple of weeks will be spent painting anything that doesn't move, and having a tidy up so that the museum will look better than ever. The volunteers will be presented to Her Royal Highness as she is shown around the museum. The museum will be open as normal for business, but visitors cars should be parked on the actual airfield and not at the museum. Our shuttle bus will be running every few minutes between the airfield and the museum for your convenience. We would suggest that if you wish to see Princess Alexandra that you arrive early in the afternoon.

Buildings 8 and 8A are home to the museums exhibits of  World War 1. Building 8 has a short film about WWI and exhibits of trench art, and medals, and maps of the trenches. 8A has been made to feel like you are walking through the trenches. It's dark and the route turns and twists like the real trenches did. When you first walk in you see an Officer standing up ready to blow his whistle and go over the top with his men. Further in you come across a "cave", a room that the men had dug out of the ground in the trenches. It was small, damp and dark, and riddled with rats and lice, but it's where they had to live whilst in the trenches. Often without candles or lamps to see what they were doing they made the discovery of the European Glow Worm. If they could catch 10 of these little bugs during the day and put them in a glass container at night the whole cave would be lit well enough to read and write. Conditions were brutal during WWI and we hope that this bui