Friday May 26th, 2023
Our first military museum of this visit was the Cornwall at War Museum at Davidstowe Airfield. Click on the link above to learn all about this museum, it's exhibits and history. There is enough information there to keep you busy for quite some time. Likewise the museum was a "minefield" of interesting exhibits and artifacts. There was almost too many. The separate areas were crammed full with interesting items.
The natives were friendly even when they could see and hear Bryan was not British!! In fact they were very interested in his stories, and a good deal of time was spent sharing stories. It was a lovely start to our day.
We got our tickets from Building 17 - Guard Room/Shop
Museum Plan showing building numbers - Click on the link for a plan of the museum, you can then select the building number to read about that specific location. Below I will show pictures from certain buildings.
Let's start outside as it's the simplest area. Flying the UK flag proudly.
16 - Air Raid ShelterThey had Air Raid Shelters that would have been used during WWII. My maternal grandparents, who lived on the outskirts of London had one in their back garden, which was then converted into a pond after the war. My brother and I spent many days using a net to fish for tadpoles and newts when we visited, but we always had to return them to the pond before we went home.
The one shown here was a bigger one that would have been used for a small community. As you were approaching the shelter the sirens would go off and loudspeaker announcements were made. It was quite realistic.
We weren't in there long but I remembered my mum telling me they often spent hours and even all night in there. She remembered the doodlebugs going overhead and they prayed that the buzzing sound wouldn't stop as that meant it was going to drop like a bomb and explode.
It was interesting going in the Blast Shelters as well. These were made on or near the open airfields to offer some protection from bombs dropped out in the open.
13 - Blast Shelters - shown as 13 on the museum plan but numbered 17 on the sign!!
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| Sue standing in a blast shelter |
Click Pickett-Hamilton Retractable Fort to learn about the defense strategy shown in the picture below. |
| This one came from RAF St. Mawgan |
Now for the inside buildings. The links in the titles will take you to the plan. You will need to click on the building number on the plan to get that information.
Building 1 - Roxy Cinema
Building 3 - Squash Court "One of the most interesting dioramas is an Ops Room complete with a plotting-table. On the wall above it is the squadron status board showing the allocation of aircraft at RAF Davidstow Moor on D-Day, 6th June 1944."
Again, mum had told me of the doodlebugs going overhead during WWII and if the engine noise stopped they knew it was going to drop. Fortunately none hit them, but there were other hits not far from where they were in Hertfordshire, which was only 11 miles North of Central London.
I remember the Falklands War quite well. It had quite an impact on me as I had recently separated from my husband and with a 2 year old boy to care for. I worried what would happen, and what sort of life my baby would have in an uncertain world. Fortunately the war didn't last long but it certainly gave me a lot of food for thought and some very lonely worrisome evenings.
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| Vulcan refueling, in the air, on their way to/back from their bombing missions. |
I think this hanger was closed as I don't seem to have any pictures relating to it.
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| We took this picture for Tom, our manager at Jax. He asked if we could get a Hard Rock Cafe shirt if we saw any on our trip. Unfortunately this was the only one we saw and it wasn't for sale. |
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| The Gut, Malta |
There was subdued lighting in here and so we didn't get any pictures but If you click on the link above and select Building 8A it will tell you about this.
This was an area set up as a halfway point. It had seats, drinks and snacks. There was no-one there running it and there was a sign saying that they relied on everyone doing the right thing, and paying in the Honesty Box. It also said you could eat your own snacks in this area or outside at the picnic tables.
It was refreshing to see this trust in people still in place here. I hope no-one takes advantage of it as it's something that is not usually trusted these days.
There was also a film playing about RAF bombers, the Avro Lancaster, the Manchester & the Lincoln.
This can be used for displays and features on a specific subject, or as an overflow area.
All of the Armed Forces are represented here.
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| Mobile Searchlight |
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| Found at site of burnt out Lancaster |
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| WWII German Snow Boots |
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| 25-lb Field Gun |
"The far end of the Nissan Hut (which accounts for about 1/3 of its total length) contains numerous artifacts from all three Services in display cabinets. However, the main attraction in this part of the building is a multi-service, multi-rank party in full swing and we have never met a visitor who was not impressed by this display. To add to the party ambience there is a flickering fire in the original fireplace, drinks on the tables and piano music being played in the background."
It certainly was very well done and you almost felt that you were there, especially with the wartime music.
"The history of RAF St. Mawgan from its beginning as RAF Trebelzue in 1939 up until the present day is covered in this building"
"During WW2 one of the main roles was to receive aircraft from the USA before they moved on to other RAF stations elsewhere in the UK."
There is a strong connection to the USA here.
There is a cheese factory next door to the museum and many visitors wanted to tour that as well. Because of Health, Safety & Hygiene reasons this was not allowed. The museum built a visitor centre with display boards here and after many requests there is Davidstow Cheese available for sale here.
There are different types of Air Sea rescue equipment on display and also a video showing a RAF Search and Rescue training film.
There were displays showing the different types of animals used during the wars. We all know about horses, carrier pigeons and sniffer dogs but mules, elephants, dolphins and other animals, including a cat were used during wartime. "Simon was a black and white cat aboard HMS Amethyst during the Yangtze incident in 1949 and is the only cat to have been awarded the Dicken Medal for "Gallantry under enemy fire".
