Turnstone: Hunstanton writer John Maiden discusses interesting talk at RAF Sculthorpe

In his weekly column, Hunstanton writer John Maiden sings his praises over a talk he attended at an RAF centre…

Let's face it, an illustrated talk on the subject of the atomic bombs, which used to be housed at RAF Sculthorpe during the Cold War, might not be expected to entice many people away from the comfort of their homes in order to gather in the Hunstanton Heritage Centre on a September evening.

When Andrew Murray, the longest serving member of the Hunstanton Society committee, introduced Ian Brown from the RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre, he admitted that the committee had no idea how many members and visitors to expect.

In fact, there was a reasonable audience for the first in a series of talks over the coming months, to which members of the society and visitors are welcome to attend.

My friends tell me that my hearing aid is really no use if I insist on leaving it in a drawer at home.

With this in mind, I took a seat in the front row, hoping members of the audience would conclude that I wanted a really close look at those weapons of mass destruction.

When Ian decided to deliver his commentary from somewhere in the centre of the room, I regretted opting for the front row, but Ian speaks very clearly and knows exactly how long to show a picture before moving smoothly on to the next one.

This was a trick I never quite mastered, so when giving one of my many talks on the history of Hunstanton, I used to put the remote control in the capable hands of Squadron Leader David Jones or Junior Tech Brian Holmes.

On this particular occasion, I was grateful to David for providing me with some of the photographs used during the talk, in addition to proposing a vote of thanks to Ian.

I did not check the exact duration of the presentation, but it seemed to be just the right length to me, and there were several interesting questions from the audience during the talk and afterwards when tea and coffee were being served.

Ian always seems to have time for people, regardless of whether it is after a talk, or when he was escorting Queen Elizabeth the second of England on a private visit to the Sculthorpe Heritage Centre.

He and a team of enthusiastic volunteers created out of a crumbling Nissan hut that used to be the base chapel.

This brings me to Ian's pictures used towards the end of his talk, showing the RAF Sculthorpe Heritage Centre from the outside and the inside.

He also included a photo of an F5 jet, which will occupy a space next to the heritage centre at Sculthorpe once Ian has devised a way of moving it from its current location in Alconbury, where it has served as a reminder of the time when it too was home to the USAF.

It is now in need of the care and attention it will receive at its new home.