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Wartime Heritage Completes 3rd Successful Time to Remember British Performance Tour (May 17-22, 2007)
May 25, 2007
Eighteen
members,
the
cast
and
production
crew
of
Tragedy
and
Triumph
-
Memories
of
World
War
II,
departed
Halifax
for
London
England
on
May
17th
2007.
On
May
18th
the
group
travelled
to
Portsmouth,
Hampshire
where
they
visited
the
Portsmouth
Historic
Dockyard,
and
the
Royal
Navy
Submarine Museum.
On
Saturday
morning
the
group
visited
the
Portsmouth
Naval
Memorial,
and
the
D-Day
Museum
before
traveling
to
HMS
Collingwood
and
the
Warrant
Officers,
Senior
Ratings
and
SNCO's
Mess
(Fareham)
to
set
up
for
the
performance
of
Tragedy
and
Triumph
as
part
of
the
60th
Annual
Memorial
Weekend
of
the
Telegraphist
Air
Gunners
Association.
Approximately
200
TAGs,
Veterans,
their
families
and
friends
attended
the
evening
performance.
On
Sunday
morning
the
group
attended
TAGA
Memorial
Service
at
the
LEE-ON-SOLENT
MEMORIAL.
Following
the
Service
the
cast
and
crew
joined
the
Telegraphist
Air
Gunners
at
the
60th
Annual
TAGA
Memorial
Dinner held a HMS Collingwood.
It
was
off
mid
afternoon
to
Dover
and
Deal
in
Kent
for
the
group
where
they
were
guests
at
the
Downs
Branch,
Royal
British
legion
in
Deal
that
evening.
On
Monday
morning
the
group
travelled
to
Folkestone
waterfront,
and
a
visit
to
the
Battle
of
Britain
Memorial
at
Capel-Le-Ferne.
Bernard
Hyde,
a
RAF
Veteran
who
trained
in
Canada
during
WWII,
met
the
group
and provided a guided tour of the site.
After
visiting
the
Battle
of
Britain
Memorial
the
group
visited
the
Hawkinge
Cemetery
where
there
are
156
casualties
of
war
at
rest
at
the Cemetery.
The
Cemetery,
two
miles
north
of
Folkestone,
was
the
site
of
an
aerodrome
from
which
air
liaison
was
maintained
between
the
Royal
Air
Force
and
the
British
Expeditionary
Force
during
the
fighting
in
France
and
the
evacuation
from
Dunkirk
in
1940.
As
long
as
communications
remained
open
targets
were
selected
in
accordance
with
requests
from
the
BEF
(British
Expeditionary
Force)
and
Hawkinge
was
one
of
the
advanced
re-fuelling
bases
when
maximum
range
was
required
for
operations
over
France.
It
was
a
fighter
airfield
for
squadrons
of
No.
11
Group,
and
was
so
severely
damaged
by
German
bombing
and
machine
gun
attacks
during
the
Battle
of
Britain
that
it
had
to
be
abandoned
temporarily.
The
Cemetery
is
near
the
site
of
the
aerodrome
and
most
of
the
95
WWII
casualties
buried
there
were
airmen.
About
a
quarter
were
killed
during
the
Battle
of
Britain.
Most
of
the
war
graves
are
in
a
special
plot
east
of
the
chapel,
including
59
German
graves,
which
are
together
in
a
group
at
the
south
eastern corner.
Among
the
casualties
at
Hawkinge,
were
five
Canadians:
Sgt
(Pilot)
William
Lorne
FRASER,
Pilot
Officer
Charles
Willard
GOMM,
Pilot Officer James Norman LEWIS, Flight Sgt (Pilot) Stanley Gilbert NAPIER, and Flight Sgt (Pilot) Walter Charles WICKER.
The group placed small Canadian Flags and poppies at each of the five gravesites.
Returning
to
Dover
the
group
had
lunch
at
lunch
in
the
NAAFI
restaurant
in
Dover
Castle.
Following
a
brief
walk
about
the
Dover
Castle
site
the
eighteen
moved
on
to
the
Astor
Theatre
in
Deal
to
prepare
for
the
final
performance
of
Tragedy
and
Triumph
that evening.
Prior
to
the
performance
the
cast
and
crew
attended
a
reception
and
buffet
at
the
Clarendon
Hotel
in
Deal
with
Eric
May,
his
son Peter, and Gwen Buchanan and her daughter Lindsay.
The curtain opened to a full house for the final performance of the tour that evening.
The cast and crew were guests at the Downs Branch RBL following the performance.
On May 23rd the group returned to London for the return flight to Halifax.
News Articles
Wartime Heritage
ASSOCIATION
Astor Theatre - Deal, England
Memorial Wall - Capel-Le-Ferne
Wartime Heritage Completes 3rd Successful
Time to Remember British Performance Tour
(May 17-22, 2007)