BBMF Member's Day

There are some days that feel special before they have even properly begun, and the BBMF Members’ Day was one of them.

Arriving at an RAF station in the early morning felt slightly surreal in itself. There is something about passing through the gates of a working RAF base that makes you very aware of where you are, but for someone with such a fascination with Bomber Command and Lincolnshire’s aviation history, being on an airfield in the heart of Bomber County made it feel even more significant.

And then there was the sunrise.

Watching the sun come up over the airfield was one of those quiet moments that will stay with me. Before the crowds, before the displays and before the day really got going, there was simply the light beginning to spread across the airfield, aircraft sitting in the distance and that unmistakable sense of history all around us.

It was a wonderful way to begin what turned out to be an equally wonderful day.

We were there with copies of Just Jane, but one of the loveliest things about events like this is that the books quickly become only part of the story. The best part is always the people.

Throughout the day we met so many people who stopped to talk about the book, Bomber Command, Lancasters, family connections, aircraft and memories of their own. We also saw some familiar faces from other events, which made the day feel even more special. There is a wonderful little community around historic aviation, and it is always lovely when someone walks towards the stand and you suddenly realise, “We’ve met before!”

There were some fantastic flying displays throughout the day too, and being able to watch them from an RAF airfield made the whole experience feel that little bit more extraordinary.

For Dot, however, there was another aircraft competing rather successfully for her attention.

The Typhoon.

She was absolutely delighted to have her photograph taken with it, and even more excited when she got to meet this year’s Typhoon display pilot (Flt Lt Tom Nation). I suspect that may have been one of the highlights of the entire day for her, and watching her excitement was certainly one of mine.

There was something rather lovely about seeing generations of aviation history together in one place. The aircraft of the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight keeping the stories of the Second World War alive, alongside the modern RAF and the Typhoon representing the service today.

It was also impossible not to think about the generations of people who had stood on airfields like this before us.

For all the excitement of the displays and the noise of aircraft overhead, places like these carry quieter stories too. Young men leaving on operations, ground crews working through the night, WAAFs keeping stations running, families waiting at home and thousands of ordinary people whose lives became part of Bomber County’s extraordinary wartime history.

That connection between the aircraft, the airfields and the people is one of the reasons I love writing about this history so much.

To be able to bring Just Jane to a day like this felt incredibly special.

Standing on an RAF airfield, talking about the Lancaster, Bomber Command and the stories that inspired the novel was another of those slightly surreal moments where I found myself wondering how on earth all of this had happened.

Mostly, though, I came away feeling incredibly grateful. Grateful to everyone who stopped for a chat, bought a copy, shared a story or simply came over to say hello. Grateful to see familiar faces again. Grateful to the people who work so hard to preserve these aircraft and their history.

And very grateful to have been able to experience such a special day. Amazing aircraft, amazing displays and, most importantly, amazing people.

A real privilege to be part of it.