BOULOGNE BOMBED AGAIN

20^th August 1940

The 1940 Chronicle:  Bringing the Battle of Britain to life for the next generation

RAF Benevolent Fund launches innovative social media campaign

The RAF Benevolent Fund, the Royal Air Force's leading welfare charity, has launched an innovative social media campaign to mark the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain.

The ‘1940 Chronicle', a new online 1940s style newspaper, breaks daily news of Britain at war from the same day 70 years ago, as though it's happening in real time.

Interwoven with this historically accurate account of the Battle are the stories of five fictional characters: a Hurricane Pilot, a Radar Operator, an Aircraft Mechanic, a Nurse and a Journalist.  Their personal accounts of the Battle unfold in real time against the backdrop of the war through a series of blogs in the form of diary entries.

By giving people the opportunity to gain an insight into the characters' personal lives and interact with them live through Facebook and Twitter, the RAF Benevolent Fund hopes to engage a whole new audience in this critical chapter in our history and generate a greater understanding and appreciation for the RAF, both then and now.

Director of Marketing and Communications at RAFBF, Dean Benton, explains:

"This campaign is designed to engage the wider public in the story of the Battle of Britain and remind everyone of the huge debt of gratitude we owe to those who fought for our freedom as well as those serving today.  We also want to bring home the physical, psychological and emotional impact of conflict on serving personnel and their families and to remind people that the RAF Benevolent Fund has always been there to support members of the RAF family through difficult times.  We were there for them in 1940 and we're still here for them today in 2010."

Battle of Britain Hurricane pilot Bob Foster was consulted by the RAFBF in the development of the campaign.  He said:

"I'm delighted that the RAF Benevolent Fund has chosen to mark the 70^th anniversary of the Battle with this highly imaginative campaign.  It's so important that young people remember what we were fighting for back then and how the life that they are living today would be very different if we had not succeeded."

According to a new online YouGov poll commissioned by the RAFBF, less than half (43%) of young people aged 16-25 know that the Battle of Britain took place in 1940. The survey highlights a real lack of understanding about the Battle among young Brits; more than a third (34%) unaware of the main reason for it even taking place.

Despite this the overwhelming majority of young people surveyed by the charity expressed a real interest, with 81% saying it's important to continue to mark events such as the anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Over a third (37%) of young people said that they have a strong connection to the RAF and have a friend or family member who is currently serving or who used to serve.

Since its launch in June 2010 1940Chronicle.com has received over 30,000 visitors, with over 1000 people following the characters on Twitter.

To visit the site go to www.1940chronicle.com

FIVE POUNDS WORTH OF MOTORING FUN FOR MEDWAY COUPLE

WHEN Jo Mills of Chattenden, near Rochester, told her husband Robin she was planning to swap her sports car for a Jeep, she had in mind a modern 4 x 4.

But when the couple arrived home from work to find an original army Jeep sitting in their drive way, she was delighted.

Robin, a mechanical engineer at Aylesford Newsprint, had won the Jeep in an annual raffle run by the War and Peace Show and the Invicta Military Vehicle Preservation Society - IMPS.

"I bought five £1 tickets from a friend of mine Graham Rosser, who is a member of IMPS," he said. "I was amazed to discover I had won because I bought them months ago and had forgotten all about it.

"Jo was completely gob-smacked. I told her there was a surprise late birthday present waiting for her at home, but she had no idea what it was.

"We have already filled in application forms to join IMPS and will be driving the Jeep to next year's War and Peace Show."

At the moment Jo and Robin have to content themselves with starting up the Jeep and running it up and down the drive way of their home, until insurance and MOT is sorted out.

"But we can't wait to take it out onto the roads for a spin around the Hoo Peninsular," said Robin.

End

For further information contact Jacqui Curtis, Marketing Manager on 01622 870804 email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it or Peter Cook on 01795 536915/07796 172680 This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

This year's recipient of the Bart Vanderveen award has been known as the 'Grandfather of military vehicle collecting'. He bought his first vehicle, a Loyd carrier, for £15 in 1947 and since then has owned a great many Second World War military vehicles. However he is probably best known for his abiding love of Canadian Military Pattern vehicles. He is John Marchant.

John's first CMP was a Ford F60S bought for £17 10s -- that's 17 pounds 50 pence to you youngsters -- in 1948, a vehicle he owned for many years, and probably still does. He collected armoured vehicles when such treasures were virtually unknown in private hands. John has been a mine of information to owners of CMP vehicles, and during the late 'seventies he started compiling the CMP Register, to try to record the surviving CMP vehicles.

He produced a most interesting book Work and Play with Ex-Military Vehicles and many of the stories he recounts involve activities that must give nightmares to any Health and Safety minded reader.

Having been involved with ex-military vehicles so long ago, John was acquiring spares, manuals, and all manner of goodies for his vehicles at a time when much of this material was weighed in for scrap, or thrown onto a fire. He still manages to turn up at a show with a few choice items of the hen's teeth variety, and many vehicle owners have blessed his name after he has helped them out with a part that had seemed unobtainable.

John is a quiet, knowledgeable man, respected by all, and I know that Bart would hugely support my giving him this award today.