HISTORIC FLYPAST TO MARK SECOND WORLD WAR ROLE - Monday, 13 August 2012
Royal Armouries is set to pay tribute to the role of Fareham, Portsmouth and the surrounding area in the lead up to D-Day by staging a historic flypast as part of the Fort Nelson Tattoo.
The September 8 event is in support of three Armed Services’ charities and the matinee performance will reach a spectacular climax with a flypast by a C-47 Dakota from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight.
The Dakota is one of the world’s most famous military transport
aircraft and saw widespread use by the Allies during World War Two.
It will take to the skies as part of the Fort’s World War Two sequence, which highlights the role of the servicemen and women, and local civilians, as Portsmouth came under sustained attack from German bombers.
Museum director Peter Armstrong said, “It’s particularly fitting that the Tattoo features a World War II sequence because Fort Nelson supplied ammunition to the AA batteries that defended the south coast. These weapons gave the local civilian population hope and a sense of fighting back, as they endured the dark days of 1940 and 1941.”
The Tattoo will see the Victorian Fortress come alive during this spectacular event – complete with explosive gun firings, rousing military bands, historic re-enactments and breath-taking displays.
At the end of the evening performance, the Royal Armouries will light up the darkness, with a dramatic fireworks display, staged by Selstar Fireworks, one of the UK’s leading fireworks companies.
Both performances will feature a stirring finale, featuring the massed bands, pipes and drums and the entire cast of the Fort Nelson Tattoo. Acts include:
- The Band of the Parachute Regiment
- Rose and Thistle Pipe Band
- HMS Sultan Volunteer Band
- British Youth Corps of Drums
- Solent Overlord Executive Military Collectors’ Club
- Screaming Eagles Living History Group
- Colonel Robert Hammond’s Regiment of Foote (Sealed Knot).
Profits will be shared by three Armed Services’ charities – ABF The Soldiers’ Charity; Royal Navy and Royal Marines Charity; and the RAF Benevolent Fund.
Tickets are now on sale and each performance lasts approximately two hours.
Grandstand prices range from £18 per adult.
A family ticket for the picnic area (two adults and up to three concessions, including registered disabled, plus serving members of HM Armed Forces) costs from £46.
For full details and more prices, visit www.fortnelsontattoo.co.uk or call 0113 220 1887. Alternatively, email tattoo@armouries.org.uk
...ENDS...
To find Fort Nelson, follow the brown Tourist signs from the M27. The Fort is open seven days a week, from 10am to 5pm.
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Notes to editors
- Royal Armouries is the national museum of arms and armour and has sites in Leeds, HM Tower of London, Fort Nelson and Louisville, Kentucky. It is the first British national museum to open a permanent presence in another country
- Admission to the museum is free. However, there may be a small charge for some special events.
- Open all year daily, 10am-5pm. Closed 24-25 December
- Information Line: 0113 220 1999
- Website: www.royalarmouries.org
- The Royal Armouries Museum should not be confused with Royal Armouries International plc, the private sector corporate hospitality business.
To find Fort Nelson, follow the brown Tourist signs from the M27. The Fort is open seven days a week, from 10am to 5pm.
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