Events & talks

WEDNESDAY 1 APRIL 2026 (BROCKENHURST)

The Beaulieu River at War

SOLD OUT

Prior to war the Beaulieu River was a sleepy waterway, but once requisitioned by the navy, witnessed an incredible amount of activity. The fear of invasion also led to the village being set as a trap for invading forces. As war progressed, the estate was used to prepare for D-Day, including secret tests being conducted on the water. Aspects of the Mulberry Harbour were also constructed locally, and the historical Buckler’s Hard shipyard pivoted to the production of naval vessels. The talk also includes a visual tour showing leftover elements from the war that are hidden in plain sight.

Please note, this talk was previously given in Dibden Purlieu and East Boldre in 2024.

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SATURDAY 4 APRIL 2026 (DIBDEN PURLIEU)

RAF Old Sarum: A History in Peace & Wartime

Tim Cornish from the Boscombe Down Aviation Collection and Museum will be talking about the rich heritage of RAF Old Sarum, from its beginnings in 1917 to the modern day as an airfield for parachuting and general aviation. The airfield has played its part both in war & peacetime with a great amount of heroic, selfless and sad stories to tell, with many of the buildings constructed during that period remaining to this day.

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WEDNESDAY 15 APRIL 2026 (BROCKENHURST)

The Battle of Britain 1935

Stephen Robson explains how the dark months and daring deeds of pilots known as ‘The Few’ in 1940 are well known, but how could a limited number of inexperienced fighter pilots in novel aircraft types prevent a larger and battle experienced force from gaining air superiority? The talk develops the air defence scene from 1909 until 1939; the emergence of the Royal Air Force from the politics and economies that reduced our military after WW1 and how the engines for the Spitfire and Hurricane depended on a wealthy Lady for finance. While Britain slumbered, the rise of the Luftwaffe and Nazi Germany reached a critical stage in 1935. The talk explains how, despite the odds, Britain prevented the air supremacy of Nazi Germany that was required for the invasion of Britain.

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SATURDAY 2 MAY 2026 (DIBDEN PURLIEU)

Noor Inayat Khan: A Spy Descended from Royalty, Trained in Beaulieu, Executed in Dachau

Marc Heighway tells the extraordinary true story of Noor Inayat Khan – code name “Madeleine”. She was the first female wireless operator sent undercover into occupied France. This talk traces her Sufi upbringing and family background descended from Indian royalty, to her training in Beaulieu, before her perilous missions for the SOE, capture, and ultimate sacrifice at Dachau concentration camp where she was executed.

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WEDNESDAY 20 MAY 2026 (BROCKENHURST)

My Flying Boat War

During the Second World War, Wing Commander Vic Hodgkinson DFC, of the Royal Australian Air Force completed a heavy flying boat course at RAF Calshot. He flew Short Sunderland, Consolidated Catalina, Martin Mariner and Dornier Do 24 flying boats in the battles of the Atlantic, Mediterranean, and Pacific.

During his service he attacked Axis shipping, rescued torpedoed sailors, survived a crash in the Irish Sea and outwitted a faster and more heavily armed Focke Wulf Condor. He later flew Short Sandringhams for BOAC from Poole and Southampton Water. He lived in Lymington until his death in 2010. His son, Richard Hodgkinson, will give an illustrated presentation of his flying life.

Please note, this talk was previously given in East Boldre in 2024.

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SATURDAY 6 JUNE 2026 (DIBDEN PURLIEU)

Southampton & D-Day: The Greatest Achievement of All

Andy Skinner tells how Southampton played a monumental role in the embarkation of troops and equipment during Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy which began on 6th June 1944: D-Day. Over the next year three and a half million service personnel passed through the port of Southampton, along with 250,000 vehicles. This was more than any other British port during the Second World War.

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WEDNESDAY 10 JUNE 2026 (BROCKENHURST)

Operation Pimento: My Great-Grandfather’s Great Escape

On 14 August 1943, Adam Hart’s great-grandfather Frank Griffiths took off from RAF Tempsford, the SOE ‘Special Duties’ airbase in rural England. Frank and his crew were on a secret midnight mission codenamed Operation Pimento, but they were shot down near Annecy in southeast France.

Only Frank survived.

Though seriously injured, Frank felt it was his duty to get back to England to continue the fight against the Nazis. He embarked on a perilous, 1,200-mile, 108-day escape across Europe, via the attic of a brothel, a Frenchwoman’s chimney and a Spanish prison cell. Seventy-nine years later, Frank’s 22-year-old great-grandson Adam Hart retraced the epic escape through France, Switzerland and Spain. His emotional encounters with descendants of people who’d risked their lives to help his great-grandfather reveal the enduring legacy of Operation Pimento and how we should never forget their sacrifice.

Operation Pimento is not only a riveting true story, but also a vivid account of one young man’s journey to discover more about a man he’d never met, but always knew to be a hero.

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SATURDAY 4 JULY 2026 (DIBDEN PURLIEU)

Mosquitos in the New Forest

Alan Pickford from The People’s Mosquito charity presents the stories of the New Forest pilots who flew the Mosquito, including tales of 418 (RCAF) Squadron based at RAF Holmsley South. He will also explain how Mosquitos were constructed at the Airspeed factory at Christchurch.

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WEDNESDAY 15 JULY 2026 (BROCKENHURST)

Mongoose White: SOE Behind Japanese Lines in Burma

Simon Leney shares the extraordinary story of his father, Sergeant Roger A. Leney, a SOE Wireless Operator with Force 136 in Burma during the war’s final months. His talk, Mongoose White: Behind the Japanese Lines in Burma 1945, reveals the incredible challenges faced by these covert teams, operating deep behind Japanese lines as the conflict drew to a close. Simon’s father was awarded both the Military Medal and the Croix de Guerre for his wartime service.

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SATURDAY 1 AUGUST 2026 (DIBDEN PURLIEU)

Thunder Run: Meiktila 1945

Author Jack Bowsher returns, but this time with a new talk. The Battle of Meiktila should be the stuff of legend in our collective memory of the Second World War. Had it been carried out by Monty, Patton, Rommel, or Zhukov, it would be as well-known as the battles of France, Alamein, the Bulge, Kursk, or Overlord. Yet it is the most incredible battle that you’ve never heard of.

The culmination of all-arms manoeuvre warfare in the Second World War; tanks, motorised infantry, self-propelled artillery and air support charging across the dusty dry belt of central Burma, striking the Japanese Burma Area Army decisively. Outnumbered and surrounded, 17th Indian Division and 255th Indian Tank Brigade annihilated their enemy in the battle that really finished the Japanese in Southeast Asia.

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SATURDAY 5 SEPTEMBER 2026 (DIBDEN PURLIEU)

Drivers, Dangers, & Drag Queens: SOE Characters of WW2

Tales of the lesser known characters of the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during WW2. Agents ranged from Grand Prix racing drivers to code makers, pilots and deceivers. Their colourful stories all form part of perhaps the most extraordinary allied organisation ever to appear during WW2. Peter Power will highlight their tales of danger and sometimes treachery.

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SATURDAY 3 October 2026 (DIBDEN PURLIEU)

Schrecklichkite: Zeppelins over England

This talk regards the first Blitz of 1915 to 1918. The story includes two Victoria Cross actions, the first strategic bombing raid of WW1 and the first bombing raid from aircraft carriers by the Royal Naval Air Service.

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SATURDAY 7 NOVEMBER 2026 (DIBDEN PURLIEU)

Finding the Few: No Known Grave

This talk by Andy Saunders focusses on the story of Sgt ‘Paddy’ Adair of 213 Squadron, RAF Tangmere, who was shot down and killed over Hampshire on 6 November 1940 when his Hurricane crashed on the downs at Widley. He was posted as ‘missing in action’. He has no known grave and is commemorated on the CWGC memorial at Runnymede to ‘missing’ RAF aircrew who were lost over NW Europe during the Second World War.

The talk charts the extraordinary story of the disappearance of Sgt Adair in 1940, the recovery of wreckage from his Hurricane in 1979 (including the discovery of human remains) and will explore why Sgt Adair is still listed as missing – despite that discovery!
The wider story of missing RAF aircrew will also be covered, as will the story of the Runnymede Memorial, the recovery of missing aircrew (including the conflicting policies of the British and US governments in this respect) and will also touch upon the ‘official’ dates of the Battle of Britain.

Note: Copies of Andy’s book ‘Finding the Few’ will also be available for a heavily discounted price at the talk.

Andy Saunders is a military historian and author, founder and first curator of Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, former editor of ‘Britain at War’ magazine, founding editor of the German military history magazine ‘Iron Cross’, a regular contributor to military history magazines and TV documentaries worldwide and a frequent feature writer for daily newspapers in the UK. He is currently editing a major update of the iconic 1980 title ‘Battle of Britain Then & Now’.

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