If you’re looking for more information about or to purchase tickets for the “Flying Without Wings” concert, please visit our events page.
Enjoy a sumptuous, handmade afternoon tea in the Museum’s vintage cafe.
£19.50 per person (£24.50 including Museum admission).
£24.50 per person including a glass of Prosecco (£29.50 including Museum admission).
Advance booking required by Friday 2nd March.
Alternatively, call 020 8950 5526 or email enquiries@bentleypriorymuseum.org.uk to book.
Joan “Grog” Arundel (nee Grogono)
We have been informed by the family of Joan Arundel (nee Grogono) that Joan sadly passed away earlier this year, aged 100.
Joan joined the WAAF at the very beginning of the war and learnt much of what she was doing on the job, whilst based at RAF Bentley Priory. It was all such a new venture when she first started that initially she didn’t even have a uniform – she wore her own clothes and an armband she was given with “WAAF” written on it.
Joan features as one of the bronze models in our Filter Room gallery, where started as a plotter, then moved to teller, then Corporal in a matter of weeks. She did almost every job there was in the Filter Room.
The Museum will be closed for the festive period from Monday 18th December 2017 and will re-open on Monday 22nd January 2018.
If you are looking to book a group, school or outreach visit, then you can still contact the office.
Group bookings: Email Operations Manager
School visits: Email Learning Officer
Outreach visits: Email Engagement Officer
We’re delighted to announce that we will be opening for FREE on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday of the week 11th – 16th December 2017 as part of the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) #ThanksToYou initiative. Terms & Conditions apply.
We’re proud to be joining many National Lottery funded visitor attractions across the UK in saying “Thanks To You” to people who’ve raised so much for good causes by buying a National Lottery ticket.
Please click here to visit the HLF’s website and find out more.
Terms and Conditions:
We have been informed by the family of Georgie Pearce (Caudwell) that Georgie sadly passed away on 11th October 2017.
Her family have said, “Georgie really valued having the opportunity to contribute her stories to the museum development, and felt it would be helpful for you to know that at the great age of 98 she has used her wings for a different flight”.
Georgie is pictured here, third from the left, with TRH Prince Charles and The Duchess of Cornwall and fellow WAAF veterans at the opening of Bentley Priory Museum in September 2013.
This year they are supporting our our exhibition “Dowding and WWI: The Making of a Commander”, with a concert featuring WWI period songs, plus new ones written for the event.
To find out more about the concert and how to buy tickets, please visit our What’s On page.
Nigel Rose joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in December 1938. Upon the outbreak of war in September 1939, he was drafted into full time pilot training.
After completing training in June 1940, he joined 602 squadron at Drem, flying Spitfires. He and his squadron were engaged in combat from August 1940. He was wounded a month later, putting him out of action for a month before returning to duty.
Later in the wat he was posted across the UK and then to the Middle East in 1944. He was released from the RAF in February 1946.
After the war he continued his training to be a Chartered Quantity Surveyor in June 1948, which he had started before joining up.
Rose was a regular supporter of the Museum and very pleased that the aspirations of the Few were met when the museum opened. He is pictured below (back row, far right behind chair) at a dinner at Bentley Priory in 2012, joined by other Battle of Britain veterans.
Ken Wilkinson joined the Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve in March 1939, aged 20 and was called up on the outbreak of World War II.
During the Battle of Britain, Ken flew Spitfires with 616 Squadron, later moving to 19 Squadron in October 1940. Ken continued to serve in the RAF until 1945, followed by a further two years in the RAFVR.
Later in life, Ken became a Quantity Surveyor and one of his projects was Birmingham’s New Street Station.
Ken was a keen supporter of the Museum. He is pictured below (back row, second on the left) at a dinner at Bentley Priory in 2012, joined by other Battle of Britain veterans.
In September 2013, Ken was also a guest of honour at the Royal opening of the Museum. He joined fellow RAF and WAAF veterans at a reception with the Battle of Britain Trust’s patron, Prince Charles, and Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall.
Bentley Priory Museum are thrilled to have secured a £48,000 grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a World War I project, which will explore the WWI experiences of Royal Flying Corps pilot Hugh Dowding, and how his experiences shaped his convictions and leadership as Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain in 1940 – based at RAF Bentley Priory, Stanmore.
Without Dowding’s leadership during the Battle of Britain, the outcome for Britain could have been very different, with Nazi invasion of Britain highly probable.
The project will be delivered in 2017, 100 years after Dowding returned from flying at the Western Front to Britain, to support the training of pilots who were being sent to the Western Front. Due to his first hand aerial experience over the trenches, Dowding campaigned for critical improvements in pilot training and well-being during both WWI – and later during WWII.
Director, Eleanor Pulfer-Sharma: ‘Dowding’s technological vision and leadership during the Battle of Britain made him one of Britain’s most important historical figures. The Heritage Lottery Fund’s grant will be invaluable to improving historical understanding of how World War I impacted Dowding and the connections between World War I and World War II – which are often explored in isolation.’’
The project will make this important heritage accessible through a temporary exhibition, WWI resources for Schools, and family activities during the summer and October school holidays.
What’s On
Opening Hours & Admission
