International Bomber Command Centre

Over 30 Fellows and guests had a wonderful visit to the International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) in Lincoln. Opened in 2018 the IBCC was created to mark the service and sacrifice of World War 2 aircrew, ground crew, and support staff who lost their lives – some 55,000 worldwide!

After meeting up for a well earned tea or coffee, as most attendees had travelled some distance to get to the venue, we were taken on a tour by Ray, one of the volunteers, who was absolutely excellent. His true passion came through and he had just the right balance in terms of information without over doing things. He made it clear that the IBCC was not a museum, and was never intended to be, but a place to honour those who had made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our freedom.

The centre includes an impressive 31 metre Memorial Spire, that is as high as a Lancaster Bomber is from wing tip to wing tip, and forms the centre piece to the memorial walls who bear the names of everyone who lost their lives. The base of the Spire also provides a fantastic view of the City of Lincoln and the magnificent cathedral.

After the tour we sat down to a very enjoyable Lincolnshire Platter lunch, where we had time to catch up with friends and reflect on what was a moving and interesting tour and as usual there was the normal fun and banter. After lunch we were free to look around the gift shop and also the Exhibition which again portrays some heartfelt stories and memories of life in the RAF during WW2.

It was rewarding to have such a great turnout, and especially good to see some new members attending their first event – hopefully the first of many! Finally my thanks to my good friend and Fellow, Chris Sturgess, for suggesting a Fellowship visit to the IBCC – a great shout Chris.

Thanks again to everyone who attended and made it such an enjoyable day.

Peter Cottle