RAF station's anniversary to be marked

ENTHUSIASTS will this weekend mark the 70th anniversary of RAF Bawdsey becoming the first fully operational radar station in the world.An open day is being held in the grounds of Bawdsey Manor, the home of radar where Robert Watson-Watt invented the system which was a key factor in the Battle of Britain and victory in World War Two.

ENTHUSIASTS will this weekend mark the 70th anniversary of RAF Bawdsey becoming the first fully operational radar station in the world.

An open day is being held in the grounds of Bawdsey Manor, the home of radar where Robert Watson-Watt invented the system which was a key factor in the Battle of Britain and victory in World War Two.

The event - being organised by the Bawdsey Radar Group and the Bawdsey village hall and recreation committee - is taking place on Saturday from 10.30am to 4.30pm.

It will be opened by the Band of the Royal Hospital School and there will be a range of exhibitors, including the Radar Defence Museum Neatishead, Martlesham Heath Aviation Society, Bentwaters Cold War Museum, RAF Wattisham Museum and Landguard Fort at Felixstowe.

There will also be a display by an RAF Wattisham helicopter if the weather is good.

Visitors will also have the chance to see the Magic Ear exhibition in the transmitter block, which tells how scientists came together in total secrecy before World War Two to prove radio waves could locate aeroplanes, ships and other targets and how their invention dramatically affected the course of the conflict.

For details of tickets for the event, people should call 0782 116 2879.