Talk by Bill Wellbourne Fenland Aviation Museum Wisbech on 25 April

Bill was extremely enthusiastic and explained in great detail in his talk the difficulties that are encountered in the recovery of crashed WW2 aircraft.

The "digs" as they are known take a huge amount of planning. Initial research could involve speaking to eyewitnesses or consulting MOD or local archives before doing a "recce" of where the crashed aircraft is thought to be.

In the main, the aircraft are found by metal detectors but in some cases small fragments are still to be found on the surface.

Once found a licence for the dig has to be obtained from the MOD. This is normally refused if the bodies of the crew are thought to be on board. Permission also has to be obtained from the farmer who owns the field and also from the local historical society.

The dig, which is normally done with a JCB, takes about a day to recover the remains. One of Bills deepest digs was to recover a Spitfire, which was 26 feet under the ground. His biggest recovery was an American B29 that was based at Sculthorpe and crashed near West Walton.

He then went on to show us some extremely interesting slides of digs together with slides of exhibits from the museum which includes preserved planes and engines, gun displays, a static display of more modern aircraft and a mock up of a Boeing 747 cockpit.

Bill concluded his talk by saying that contrary to what some people might think "we are not grave robbers we are just trying to put something back"

Bill Wellbourne