NASAM Update as of the 20th Jul 2024
In This Edition
Summary of Contents
First up in this edition, we have news from Steve B that Air Marshal Sir Roger Austin, KCB, AFC, has agreed to become the museum’s honorary president. More details on where and when are below.
Then we have word from Tripadvisor that we have been given a “Travellers’ Choice Award 2024”, putting us amongst the top 10% of “Things to Do” in the UK. More information below under “Museum News“.
Also, in this edition of the blog’s “Museum News,” Gary updates us on the handing over of the Martlesham Heath Gate Sign (Heathens) to the Suffolk Aviation Heritage Museum (SAHM). Graham further explains this event and its reasons in his Archives Update, plus an addendum when he went to see the sign at SAHM.
The NSU Ro 80 Owners visited the Museum on Sunday the 7th of July 2024, and we have pictures from that visit, plus other vehicle owners, from Joe and John.
From the Teams “Inside and Outside – The Museum“, we have Barry’s updates on the Paint Team’s endeavours to keep the museum looking spick and span as well as Graham’s writeup on the move of the Heathens gate sign.
In the “Events Information” section, we give links to the two remaining events at the Museum in July.
Pete S
Museum News
General news from the Museum
A New Honorary President
The Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum is delighted to announce that Air Marshal Sir Roger Austin, KCB, AFC, has agreed to become the museum’s honorary president.
Sir Roger flew the Hawker Hunter displayed outside the main hangar, and his name was painted on the nose of the aircraft late last year. Sir Roger visited the museum last October to unveil the recently repainted aircraft and the seed of the idea to invite him to become president was born.
We have invited Sir Roger to visit the museum on Sunday, the 4th of August, 2024, which is our RAFA and Veterans Day, and he has kindly agreed. We intend to formally introduce him to the visitors and volunteers and “induct” him as our president.
Steve B
Travellers’ Choice Awards
We are pleased to share that the Norfolk and Suffolk Aviation Museum have won the Tripadvisor “Travellers’ Choice Award 2024“, placing the Museum among the top 10% of listings ‘around the world’ on Tripadvisor.
Every year, Tripadvisor choose their favourite destinations, hotels, restaurants, and things to do around the world, and the Museum has been listed in the “Things to Do” category. The award is based on the quality and quantity of traveller reviews and ratings posted on Tripadvisor over a 12-month period.
We want to say a big thank you to everyone who’s shared their experiences at our museum on Tripadvisor. Our volunteers and maintenance teams work hard to ensure that every visit to the museum is special and memorable, and we look forward to either welcoming you to the museum for your first visit or welcoming you back. We do have quite a number of returning visitors, given the number of artefacts that you can look at.
If you haven’t visited us yet, come along and take a look at our aircraft and cockpits, along with the thousands of artefacts that we look after. If there is time to spare, take the weight off your feet and enjoy a cuppa and a cake in the NAAFI Cafe. Enjoy the open cockpits and flight simulators when we have enough volunteers on site to open these attractions. Finally, don’t depart until you have taken a look in the shop for goodies to remind you of your visit to one of East Anglia’s premier aviation museums.
Click on the logo to see our results in Tripadvisor 
Pete S
Suffolk Aviation Heritage Museum
On Saturday, the 15th of June 2024, we had a surprise but not unexpected visit from The Suffolk Aviation Heritage Museum (SAHM). Graham Moss had previously been in contact with this group regarding the return of “their” Martlesham Heath Gate sign.
Graham had informed me that we were on the verge of returning the sign to them and would advise me when this had been organised. Surprise, surprise I had a visitor from this group at 0950 on the Saturday asking if they could collect the sign. Knowing that Graham had completed the paperwork in readiness I agreed.
The photo shows me officially handing over “The Heathens” gate sign to Steve Jon Thayer on that day. Photo courtesy of Gary.
They said that they were aiming to display this original sign on “Special Event Days”. They were very impressed with the general condition of the sign.
Gary
(Note Ed … a more detailed article by Archives is in the next section)
NSU Ro 80 Owners Visit
The NSU Ro 80 Owners’ visit on Sunday, the 7th of July 2024, saw a collection of these rotary-engined vehicles parked up on the main avenue of the museum. Among them were a few not-so-rotary vehicles, some modified and some not. One not modified was an Austin 7, contrasting hugely with wonderful Ro 80s. I think one can say that then Austin was in ‘original and unmolested condition’.
(Photos) NSU and Other Owners Visit
Inside and Outside – The Museum
Information from the various teams
Paint Team Updates
09/07/24 – A Hunting (for a dry piece of Percival Sea Prince) we will go!
It seems that Summer has been cancelled this year as the team rocked up at El Museo to yet another wet Tuesday. There was a great depression sitting over the Museum, or was that just the mood in the camp!
With the Skipper (Cliff) having a late start (due to the AGM later) and Private Walker out of action due to a spot of lumbago, Painters were relatively thin on the ground.
In between the ‘dibbie dobbies’ of light rain that fell throughout the morning, Gwen managed to get a little bit more of the Office painted (see pic 01).
Over on the Sea Pest, Mark (Gene) Kelly-erher was “sanding in the rain, just sanding in the rain, what a miserable feeling, I’ve got neck, neck ache again…” How so? I hear you ask. Well, in the search for dry bits of aircraft to sand, Mark had elected to undertake the hard yards of sanding the underside of the Sea Prince’s starboard wing (see pic 02). Fair play to him, spending a couple of hours on his knees with an orbital sander stuck above his head! A spot of Ralgex anyone?
In the lee of the rain, Barry somehow managed to get the starboard side of the rudder prepped in the morning (see pic 03).
As luncheon was taken, the rain started to intensify and Gwen, understandably, decided to call it a day.
In the arvo, the boys had to dig deep to find bits of the Sea Pest that were still dry. Mark focused on the middle sections of the starboard wing underside, while Barry switched to the inside of the starboard engine cowling (see pic 04). With rain starting to run down the inner surfaces, enthusiasm started to wane around 2pm and the last hour of the day was spent with a tape measure in hand, sizing up the position and scale of the markings (roundels, reg number etc.).
16/07/24 – Match of the Day!
An air of gloom and despondency hung over the camp upon arrival, following the continuing 58 years of hurt on Sunday, and with Mr UK Weather forecast to deliver yet another (I’ve lost count now) wet Tuesday. Can it get any worse?
The day unfurled much like the footie on Sunday, with the Sea Prince mimicking the role of Spain and with the Paint Team as England FC. The Sea Prince had remained unbeaten all summer with the Paint Team still to beat it (into submission with sanders various). The first questionable call of the day by Cliff (the Skipper) Southgate was to leave our most experienced player on the bench. Gwen did it little bit of ‘warming up’ on the touchline, or as one might also say, painting the back of Gary’s office (see pic 05).
The second questionable call of the day by Mr Southgate was to overload the right wing with Private Kyle (Wing) Walker and Mark (he’s an Arsenal fan) Saka working almost on top of each other (see pic 06). Barry (Neville) was also deployed as a right back, being ‘right back’ on the underside of the starboard elevator. This left Mr Southgate out on his own on the left wing (see pic 07).
How was any play possible? I hear you ask, given the forecast. Despite leaden skies from before kick-off and with the odd spit and spot already in the air, the rain miraculously held off for the entire morning/first half.
During half time (lunch), some proper rain came in, forcing those on the touchline to call it a day early.
In the afternoon/second half, with the rain and a wet Sea Prince clearly winning, Cliff Southgate made some tactical adjustments to try and get us back in the game (i.e. make some progress on some still dry bits of Sea Prince). Kyle (Wing) Walker switched to right midfield and prepped the underneath of the starboard engine and cowling. Mark Saka was brought in a bit from hugging the touchline and found some dry bits of starboard central under wing to sand. Completing a midfield ‘diamond’ formation was Bazza (Neville), working on the underside of the inner section of the starboard wing.
After about an hour on the clock and with the lunchtime rain now abating, Mr Southgate decided more attacking options were required. Ivan Toney, or more accurately Ivor and Tony, were brought onto to pitch and immediately put ‘up top’ to replace the hitherto almost invisible England captain.
This move paid almost instant dividends as Ivor and Tony quite literally cut through the Sea Prince’s defence… with a grinder! In order to repair the previous glass fibre patches on the Sea Prince’s roof with flashband, Ivor and Tony had to create a level surface. This necessiatated the removal of some antennae and inspection plates (see pic 08).
As the final whistle blew, the Sea Prince came out on top again, with still quite a lot of surface area (especially on the port wing) to prepare, prior to paint. What seems like 58 Tuesdays of hurt continues…
Barry
(Photos) Paint Team Update
Archives Update
The Sign of the Heathens
The history of RAF Martlesham Heath has been writ large and long over the years – home to the RAF’s Aircraft and Armament Evaluation unit which carried out the evaluation of both Spitfire and Hurricane aircraft among others; home to various RAF squadrons and notable leaders, including Douglas Bader and Robert Stanford-Tuck, during the conflict; home to the 356th Fighter Group and its three squadrons flying both Thunderbolts and Mustangs at times when it was a USAAF base; home to the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight for three memorable years. Books have been written about the base, its people and the events that took place there – we’ve even covered the arrival of the WAAFs and their views of the local beer in our own blog articles.
There is an element of RAF Martlesham Heath that doesn’t get too much attention, though, which is a shame because NASAM has unwittingly played a part in it. Tucked a couple of miles away from the western extreme of the airfield are a series of metal-girded towers, some flat buildings and a large sign that invites passers-by to visit the Suffolk Aviation Heritage Museum. There is also a blue painted sign that welcomes visitors to RAF Martlesham Heath – the Home of the Heathens. The buildings date from the late 1930’s when the MoD built the place as a radio relay station for the RAF to use for the duration of the war. The buildings have been extended when, in 1961, the US 3rd Air Force set up a radio signal station to relay radio communications via a chain of UK based stations through Iceland and on to the mainland of the USA. The sign however, is very new – painted by a local signwriter, as the original disappeared suddenly around 1996.
Some say that it was ‘borrowed’ to hide it away to protect it. Others that it was ‘borrowed’ to be displayed in a local pub. Others, although not many, reckoned it had found its way back to the USA to live with some of the ‘Heathens’ that had served at the station. Whatever the cause of its disappearance we do know that it has hung on the wall of the NAAFI in the Main Hangar at Flixton since about mid-1999. What happened to bend it is speculation, but its not inconsistent with being strapped to the roof of a car and driven at speed, possibly during its abduction, but we can’t be sure. Whether it came to us with its current wooden frame, we can’t be sure. We can’t even tell you how it came to be at Flixton as there are no donor details and no indication of where it was or what it did for the intervening three years.
The USAF used the station to as an automatic voice network (AUTOVON) relay and switchboard with its 250 circuits linking forces in Europe back to the USA. It also supported SHF voice and morse traffic links and had large UHF tropo-scatter dishes to link to the ballistic early warning base at Fylingdales with Belgium and the Hook of Holland. In the sixties and seventies it was a busy place with staff, taken mainly from nearby RAF Bentwaters and, mostly living offsite as the dorm could only take ten people. As digital comms began to evolve in the eighties, the capacity was reduced and, while the buildings remain – in various states, only three of the six masts are still there. The station closed for good in 1992 – some four years before the sign went missing.
As I live nearby, I took a tour of the place earlier this year on one of its frequent open days. Talking the volunteers there it became very clear very quickly that they missed their original sign – and that NASAM had the capacity to return to its spiritual home. So I asked. The Chairman agreed, the Committee agreed and, just in time for the Suffolk Aviation Heritage Museum D-Day celebrations on 15th June this year, it was collected from Gary at NASAM at about 9am and whisked back down the A12 in time to be displayed in the Martlesham Heath ‘Heathens’ tribute room which forms an important part of the SAHM displays. After 28 years in the wilderness – well, mostly in our NAAFI, the Sign of the Heathens was restored.
I do like a happy ending…
Graham
Archives Addendum
Heathens -Work in Progress
Despite being rescued and returned to Martlesham Heath to play its part in the D-Day commemoration open day at the Suffolk Aviation Heritage Museum (SAHM), the Heathens sign is still to find its final resting place. Some years ago the rain drainage channels on the flat roof of the main building were badly damaged when the metalwork was stolen – and the ‘Heathens’ display room was badly affected in the recent heavy rains.
The roof has now been repaired to keep out the summer rain, but the displays themselves will need some rearrangement to allow SAHM to fit the sign onto the wall and fill in some of the blanks concerning its history. It’s a work in progress – but made possible by the donation of the sign from the NASAM NAAFI wall.
Graham
(Photos) Heathens Sign
Event Information
What next at the Museum
July Events @ NASAM
Two events that are still to happen at the Museum in July are below. Click on the appropriate poster below to see the details.
Pete S
The Repeat Info
Here we are in 2024 and the repeat information is still here I’m afraid, and I make no apologies for keeping his section in our blog. We are a charitable organisation relying on monies from the public to keep us going. Any help we receive is gratefully accepted and enables the museum to continue in our mission “To conserve, preserve and promote the history of aviation in East Anglia, whilst providing a fun, family-friendly and interactive museum, promoting education and remembrance of the events of the past“.
Are you thinking of helping ??
We obtain most of our finances by donations and by membership fees. We save money by having a dedicated group of volunteers that keep the museum and the exhibits both manned and maintained. We hope therefore a few people may consider helping in the ways below.
There are three easy ways to help: Help by becoming a Museum Member, also by Volunteering to help at the museum, or by Donating to assist in our running costs. Please click on the appropriate button below to access the appropriate information:
Click to see how to becomeMUSEUM MEMBER Click to see how to becomeMUSEUM VOLUNTEER 
Click to make aDONATION
Keep Up To Date
To keep up to date with further information, please keep an eye on our Social Media (see the Social Media buttons at the foot of this blog) or click on the button below to be notified by email of any upcoming changes by seeing the latest blog.
Go to the form forEMAIL NOTIFICATIONS
Pete S
