Welcome to the new Lincolnshire's Lancaster Association website.
It seems to have been, and is ages since we decided that we should go on to the internet, and now at long last I have been asked to say a few words by way of introduction.
As the site develops, it is our intention to bring you news and pictures from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF). Our members magazine Memorial Flight is only circulated half yearly so as a provider of news it can never be a match for aviation magazines which are published monthly. The new website now gives us a tool that can be used to relay the latest news almost has it happens and keep members up to date with any membership happenings or updates.
We hope that this website will further public interest in BBMF which is a permanent memorial to the many RAF personnel who have given their lives for our country over the last 90 years.
Lest we forget
Stuart Stephenson MBE
Chairman
As viewers of our website will have noticed we have been having problems getting it up and running for which I offer my apologies.
We now believe that we are about to make the necessary break through and the website shortly will become active.
Squadron Leader Ian Smith took over from Squadron Leader Al Pinner as OCBBMF back in January.
He kindly agreed to say a few words to LLA Members which we had hoped to show at that time.
Though there has been a long delay before I have been able to get the message on line I think that the appreciation and the esteem he and the Flight have for members and our Association is well worth passing on.
A regular news pages should begin in the next few weeks.
Stuart Stephenson MBE
Chairman
Lincolnshire's Lancaster Association
The Lincolnshire's Lancaster Association is a Registered Charity that holds a unique position as the official support Group for the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight. The Association was formed from the Lincolnshire Lancaster Committee, which was a small group of people who came together when the Lancaster was moved from RAF Waddington to RAF Coltishall in 1973. The original aims of the Committee were to ensure that the Bomber would return to Lincolnshire and that a Lancaster would remain in the county for ever as a memorial to the many aircrew who lost their lives whilst based here during World War II.
At that time 'S for Sugar' R5868 which had stood as RAF Scampton's gate guardian, had been relocated to the Bomber Command Museum which was under construction at Hendon. PA474 had been taken to RAF Coltishall from RAF Waddington, leaving Lincolnshire and the East Midlands without a Lancaster. The Committee requested that when PA474 was due to retire that she should be brought back to Lincolnshire. The projected flying life span in the 1970's was not expected to last more than 5 years! Today there is talk that the flying life of the Lancaster could be another 50 years! A request was also made that the Lincoln City Coat of Arms be placed on the nose of the Bomber to identify the link between the county and the area.
The Committee was successful, not only was PA474 returned to the county, but its operating unit (BBMF) was transferred to RAF Coningsby. The Lancaster was officially adopted by The City of Lincoln a few years later.
Following a request from the RAF to help produce the hardware that made the fitting of the mid-upper turret possible, it was decided to change the name of the Committee and invite public membership. Registered Charity status was achieved, and today the Association with nearly 6000 members worldwide, continues to give invaluable support to the Flight.
Today the Association owns two of Avro's most famous airframes, both standing in the open at Newark Air Museum, a Shackleton WR977 and a Vulcan XM594, both from the pen of Avro's design genius Roy Chadwick CBE, who was of course responsible for the Lancaster.