We’ve just met with the Poole Flying Boats Celebration (PFBC) with the view to working with school pupils and their families to highlight the role of the Fying Boats in Poole. Poole Flying Boats Celebration, a charitable organisation, has been set up to celebrate the era of the flying boats in Poole.
Maybe you can remember them in Poole harbour during the Second World War through to 1948? Amongst the VIP passengers using the Flying Boats were King George VI, Winston Churchill, Lord Louis Mountbatten and General Charles de Gaulle.
Local landmarks such as the Poole Harbour Yacht Club at Salterns were requisitioned by the Flying Boats and the Harbour Heights was used for overnight stays of passengers, together with an Officers’ Mess. Further into the War, women started to play an increasing role in sustaining the varied roles of the Flying Boats.
The Flying Boats charity has its own website http://www.pooleflyingboats.com/ which contains a fascinating archive of information and they even have their own YouTube video to hightlight the cause.
We look forward to working with the PFBC in the future, especially as 2012 will be the 70th anniversary of RAF Hamworthy.