Speakers

Book one of our guest speakers on WW2 & aviation history

Marc Heighway

Hidden in Plain Sight: Reminders of WW2 in the New Forest
During the Second World War the New Forest area saw a huge amount of activity. It was home to several airfields, training areas, D-Day camps and an embarkation point, a secret spy school, a POW camp, traps were set for invading armies, and it was also the scene of the biggest ever bomb dropped on UK soil. This presentation takes the form of a photo tour and talk on areas of the New Forest you will be familiar with, but showing you things left over from the war you might not have noticed before, and the stories behind them.

Noor Inayat Khan: A Spy Descended from Royalty, Trained in Beaulieu, Murdered 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.

History of RAF Beaulieu: Airfield Stories & What Remains
Marc Heighway presents the history of Beaulieu Airfield from the lead-up to its construction, into wartime, and through to modern day. The talk includes never before seen photography and film from the airfield, tales of bravery, inspiring stories and strange events that happened at the RAF and USAAF Station, plus tributes to the many men who lost their lives. It also includes a visual tour of what remains today.

RAF Lymington: An American Airfield in the New Forest
Uncover the remarkable story of RAF Lymington – a temporary wartime airfield that became home to the USAAF for just three pivotal months during World War II. In this engaging talk, Marc Heighway traces the journey of the American airmen from their departure in New York to combat missions flown from the fields of Lymington. With rare photographs and gripping tales of bravery, hear how P-47 Thunderbolt pilots launched from this rural corner of the New Forest to support the D-Day invasion. A powerful and little-known chapter of local history brought vividly to life.

RAF Needs Oar Point: A Story Rarely Told
Marc Heighway explains how for just three short, yet eventful months in WW2, the peace of farmer’s fields south of Buckler’s Hard was shattered by the arrival of four squadrons of Typhoon fighter bombers and lorries full of men. Some have said that this was the busiest airfield on D-Day. But just how true is this? Marc investigates the stories of Needs Oar Point and shows how agricultural land near Park Farm and St Leonards was converted into a wartime airfield. The story of RAF Needs Oar Point is one that has rarely been told despite the role it played in wartime. The talk includes never before seen photography and film, tales of bravery, inspiring stories, and how tragedy and high casualty rates struck the young men who flew from these local fields of green.

Wings Over the Forest: The New Forest’s Aviation Pioneers
The New Forest has a rich aviation history; from the early dreamers and inventors, to the pioneers of Great War aircraft. This presentation explores the innovative spirit of those magnificent men and their flying machines. Marc Heighway presents tales of adventure, bravery, sacrifice, plus many strange inventions that didn’t quite take flight.

The Beaulieu River at War
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 the defence of Beaulieu Village, explaining how this idyllic New Forest village was set as a trap for an invading army, whilst showing the remains of the Second World that are hidden in plain sight. The next time you drive or walk or drive through Beaulieu, it will completely change your perception of the village.

The Waterside at War
Marc Heighway tells the stories of the Waterside villages of Blackfield, Dibden, Dibden Purlieu, Fawley, Hardley, Holbury, Hythe & Marchwood during wartime, and how the local communities banded together to protect and serve the area. Find out how the local Home Guard and Air Raid Precautions were organised, how defensive and anti-invasion measures were set-up, the roles people took on, how local companies pivoted for wartime, where the bombs fell, and the lead up to D-Day… plus what remains you can still spot in the Waterside that are leftover from WW2.

Colin van Geffen

• Airfields of the New Forest
• Beachcomber: The Secret Sunderland
• Betty Hockey: Last of the Non-Stops
• Calshot: A Place in Time
• Calshot: The Flying Years
• Calshot: The RNAS Years
• Strange Planes
• The Red Arrows: Behind the Scenes
• The Red Arrows: Selection & Training
• The Story of the Schneider Air Races
• Lawrence: Before & After Arabia
• Lucy Houston: The Lady who Saved a Nation
• Nelson & HMS Victory: Their Lives and Times
• Noel Pemberton-Billing: Adventurer, Maverick or Genius?
• Schneider Trophy to Spitfire: The Struggles for Success
• Spitfire!

Peter Power

The Secret Saboteurs of WW2
This topic relates to Beaulieu in the New Forest where Special Operations Executive agents were trained during WW2. SOE was a fascinating and secret unit tasked by Winston Churchill to “Set Europe Ablaze”. However, from the outset the organisation faced considerable opposition from the allies, well before the enemy had ever heard from them. Yet SOE agents demonstrated remarkable courage and resourcefulness in their guerrilla war, resulting in General D Eisenhower saying “…they played a very considerable part in our complete and final victory”. This talk will bring back to life the organisation, its Obstacles, Triumphs, Tricks & Tragedies.

Heroines, Hazards & Honours. The truly remarkable Women Agents of the Special Operations Executive in WW2
This topic relates to Beaulieu in the New Forest where SOE agents were trained during WW2. It is about the incredibly brave women of SOE in WW2. In no previous or post war conflict have women been parachuted behind enemy lines to act as saboteurs. Their hazardous exploits were truly remarkable. The Recruiting Officer for SOE (F section) wrote “In my view, women were very much better than men for the work. Women, as you must know, have a far greater capacity for cool and lonely courage than men”. This talk will specifically highlight some of these extraordinary women such as Krystyna Skarbek who, most likely, inspired the character Vesper Lynd in the James Bond novel Casino Royale.

Characters, Courage and Calamities. The brave male agents of the Special Operations Executive in WW2
This topic relates to Beaulieu in the New Forest where agents of SOE were trained during WW2. It explains the intriguing story of the men within SOE and their astonishing adventures, often working in tandem with no less remarkable women agents. This talk will focus on individuals such as Wing Commander ‘Tommy’ Yeo-Thomas (aka ‘The White Rabbit’), one of the most extraordinary SOE secret agents of WW2 who survived the war by defying unbelievable odds and enduring brutal treatment. Many believe that he was the inspiration for Ian Fleming’s fictional hero, James Bond.

Norway and the race to prevent Armageddon
This talk will feature the west coast of Norway (and its links to the Shetland Islands) plus the area west of Oslo. “They did nothing less than save the world” wrote one CBS News correspondent. Changing the course of history in one of the most inhospitable environments on earth. With temperatures as low as -10 degrees Celsius and carrying over 30 lbs. of individual kit, this is the fascinating story of highly dangerous missions in Norway by Special Operations Executive during WW2 that prevented Nazi Germany from developing a nuclear bomb. The commander of enemy troops during the occupation of Norway reported “British gangsters….the finest coup I have seen in this war”. Some years ago the presenter met the leader of the most successful SOE mission and will use his words to describe what actually happened to stop a global catastrophe and in so doing rewrote the course of history. Failure to succeed would have meant an utterly different world today.

The extraordinary story of Tripple Agent ‘Zig Zag’
Agent Zig Zag to the British, Agent Fritz to the enemy. A lover, dashing hero, part time conman, debonair safecracker, spy, patriot, and crook, but most especially a truly remarkable triple agent unique amongst all others during WW2. The unbelievable Eddie Chapman was a charming and brave Bon viveur who doubtless saved many lives, but received scant recognition from his home country. From Double Cross to Iron Cross, the enemy awarded him one of their highest awards, without ever realising who Fritz really was. The only British citizen ever to be given one. A film of his exploits ‘Triple Cross’ was made in 1966.

The Untold story of Agent Jack.
Mild mannered bank clerk Eric Roberts might not fit the physical image of a dashing hero, but as a perfect spy for MI5 he was a brave master of espionage and uncovered a truly worrying situation on the British home front that had to be kept quiet during WW2. Acting as the enemy’s man in London, agent Jack built up a secret network of British enemy sympathisers in the UK, with many passing secrets to him in the mistaken belief that he had a direct link to Berlin. One sympathiser even got close to the greatest secret of the entire war: The wide scale monitoring of coded enemy messages. For many years this intriguing story remained under lock and key but can now be told. There is also some reference to North Africa.

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