Dowding System Day 2026

Bentley Priory Museum is pleased to be once again hosting its annual Dowding System Day of talks.

Our guest speakers and talks this year are:

Gp Capt (Rtd) Tim Willbond OBE  – The Big Wing Controversy

Tim is the President of The Association of Royal Air Force Fighter Control Officers and is a great friend of the Museum, having served at RAF Bentley Priory during his career.

Dr Dan Ellin – Flying Stress and Lack of Moral Fibre

Dan is a historian and archivist for the International Bomber Command Centre Digital Archive.

Dr Victoria Taylor – ‘Taken Off’: Psychological Health in the Luftwaffe during the Second World War

Victoria is an award-winning aviation historian, broadcaster, lecturer and writer. Author of the critically acclaimed  book ‘Eagle Days – Life and Death for the Luftwaffe in the Battle of Britain‘,

The doors will open at 10am with the galleries available to view before and after the talks until 4pm. Please note that the Museum will be open to Dowding System Day ticket holders only on this day.

The talks will take place in the Operations Room and will run from 11am -1pm and 2pm – 3pm, with a break for lunch from 1pm-2pm.

Our café will be open before the talks, during the lunch break and after for snacks and drinks.

Ticket information

With thanks to the support of the National Lottery Heritage Fund, we’re able to offer great value tickets for the day at only £6.00 per person.

We are currently refreshing our website, so we are unable to take online payments. Our apologies for any inconvenience that this may cause. To reserve a place, please email enquiries@bentleypriorymuseum.org.uk or call 020 8950 5526, providing your:

-Name

-Preferred phone number and email address to be contacted on

-The number of tickets/type you wish to book.

A member of our team will then make contact to take your payment over the phone.