Page 70 - The Old Ratcliffian 2015 Magazine

70 RATCLIFFE’S PAST

THE RATCLIFFE SPITFIRE

On September 15th, Battle of Britain Day, the College launched not possible to assemble any large parts whilst the project
a brand new website dedicated to the Ratcliffe Spitfire project remains upstairs in this location. We have hopes to build an
(www.ratcliffespitfire.com). Many of you will have read about Education Centre dedicated to the project, to the history of the
the building of the replica Mk1 Spitfire at Ratcliffe, which has Aerodrome, and to the memories of all ORs who have paid the
been an ongoing project for over three years, but now we have ultimate sacrifice for their country. We have an exciting proposal
a wonderful new website which we will continue to update as for this, and more details can be found for the Spitfire Education
our work progresses. Please do take a look and sign up for our Centre on the website. The building will allow us to begin,
regular updates. and subsequently complete, the construction of the Ratcliffe
Spitfire. This will be a very exciting time, because we have the
The project has continued to make steady progress, with a parts ready, and it will not take long for a full-size Spitfire to
number of key purchases made recently, following the extremely begin appearing. Please consider making a donation to support
generous donation of funds for them. Perhaps the biggest of the continuation of such a unique project. Every penny counts,
these has been the purchase of the full canopy set - this being and helps the project to get that little step closer to completion.
the front wrap-around screen, main flat-sided canopy with
correct knock-out panel, and rear perspex canopy. This extremely Dominic Berry
expensive purchase, from the company who supply the canopies Head of Art
to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight, was made possible by a Ratcliffe College
donation from The Spitfire Society, and the project is indebted
to them for such generous support.

In terms of the build itself, parts do continue to be drawn and
cut, but the pace at which we are working has had to be slowed
considerably. This is due to the fact that we have almost done
everything we can do, until we can start to fully assemble the
fuselage, and this will only be possible in a hangar. At present,
the project has been built entirely in the Art Department, which
some of you would remember as dormitories, and it is simply

Ratcliffe students with the tail section of the model Spitfire The proposed Spitfire Education Centre: an artist’s impression
(courtesy of CAD Works Engineering Ltd)
THE RATCLIFFE ‘SPOTTERS’

During the years 1943 and 1944, as far as I can see, there has
been no mention in the Ratcliffe media about the activities of
the ‘Aeroplane Spotters Club’, which was a National Government
organisation under the control of the late Sir Peter Masefield.

The purpose of the club was to supplement the activities of the HRH The Princess Royal with Basil D’Oliveira (44)
Observer Corps, by providing aircraft recognition, height and
speed. The Ratcliffe team operated from the tower, which was
an excellent vantage point. The number of aircraft flying in the
Ratcliffe area was quite high, as a result of all the Ratcliffe airfield
movements. I wonder if any members of the ‘Spotters Club’ are
still alive. Paul Burdon (40), for one, was a leading light.

Wg Cdr Basil D’Oliveira OBE (44)

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