Battle of Britain, Spitfires, The Few, Books, Events & More!
Battle of Britain Tours
Dilip Sarkar is delighted to have joined the team of expert historians at Alan Rooney’s ‘The Cultural Experience’ to deliver unique Battle of Britain tours. Given that Dilip is a living link to countless of the Few – who better to regain you with true tales of aerial derring-do, and share the passion and knowledge of a lifetime?
Dilip will be leading two tours in 2025 – ‘The Mighty Eighth’ and the ‘Battle of Britain’. Please register interest using the links below: –
In July 2021, Dilip led the first five-day Battle of Britain themed tour, calling at many locations of interest in London and the south-east. Some of these venues are must-visits, underpinning the Battle of Britain story, such as the former Fighter Command HQ at Bentley Priory and 11 Group Operations Room at Uxbridge, in addition to the National Memorial to the Few and Biggin Hill Sector Station. Others are off the beaten track and less obvious, such as Cuckmere Haven, near Beachy Head, where the Germans proposed to land in 1940, and the moving, intimate, roadside memorial to Pilot Officer Arthur Clarke on Romney Marsh – who remains buried with his Hurricane nearby.
Dilip’s Facebook posts throughout the Tour generated great interest and the experience well-received by the tourists involved. The next Tour is currently being formulated, with 4 star hotels and a luxury coach, what is there not to like?
Details of future tours, led by this leading and engaging Battle of Britain historian, will soon be available on The Cultural Experience website, along with many other tours.
Here are some photographs from the first Tour…
Bentley Priory Museum: Fighter Command HQ in 1940.Polish Air Force Memorial, Northolt.11 Group Operations Room at Uxbridge.Battle of Britain Bunker Visitor Centre, Uxbridge.Douglas Bader statue by sculptor Kenneth Potts at Goodwood, formerly RAF Westhampnett and the Tangmere Sector Station satellite..Grave of the American volunteer Pilot Officer Billy Fiske, an Olympian, at Boxgrove Priory. Fiske, who flew Hurricanes in 601 Squadron, was shot-up flying from RAF Tangmere, where he crash-landed but died the following day.The tattered uniform, lifejacket and shell-damaged shoe worn by Flight Lieutenant James Brindles Nicolson during his VC-winning action over Southampton on 16 August 1940 – seen at the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum.The remains of Pilot Officer Denis Noble’s Hurricane, also at Tangmere.The iconic Seven Sisters cliffs and Cuckmere Haven – one proposed German invasion site in 1940 where British defences can still be seen.The equally iconic light at Beachy Head – scene of much aerial fighting with two Me 109 crash sites nearby, one from the Battle of Britain, the other a year later.Dilip Sarkar with our tourists with the new He 111 exhibit at the Kent Battle of Britain Museum, Hawkinge.The roadside memorial to Pilot Officer Arthur Clarke on Romney Marsh.Graves of friend and foe at Hawkinge Cemetery.A great lunch at Denton’s Jackdaw Inn, made famous by an appearance in the 1969 epic ‘Battle of Britain’!The National Memorial to the Few at Capel-le-Ferne.The Foxley-Norris Wall at the National Memorial to the Few.Fascinating guided tour of the Biggin Hill Heritage Hangar – the yellow-nosed aircraft is a German Battle of Britain veteran, flown by none other than Oberfahnrich Hans-Joachim Marsellie, later to find fame as the ‘Star of Africa’ before losing his life in a flying accident over the desert.Naturally for many a tour highlight was actually sitting in a Spitfire at Biggin Hill – even ‘The Cultural Experience’s’ Managing and Finance Director Alan Rooney tried out the cockpit for size!The new Biggin Hill Memorial Museum.The Biggin Hill Memorial Chapel – opened by that legendary fighter ace and leader, Group Captain ‘Sailor’ Malan.
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