One of the highlights of this year’s Vintage Motor Cycle Club Festival of Jurby will be a display by the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight (BBMF), commemorating all those who have lost their lives serving in the Royal Air Force (RAF), or its predecessor the Royal Flying Corps.
The BBMF is a regular RAF unit, manned by Service personnel and funded by the Ministry of Defence. Those who serve with the Flight feel extremely privileged to work with and to fly the BBMF collection of historic aircraft, which are all precious artefacts of the RAF’s and the Nation’s aviation heritage.
At precisely 2pm on Sunday 28th August, the skies over Jurby will roar to the sound of a Hurricane, a Spitfire and a Lancaster bomber in remembrance of ‘The Few’ who defended our skies during the Summer of 1940.
The Lancaster is one of only two left flying in the world – the other is in Canada – and to see it in flight is one of the most evocative and emotional aviation sights.
The Spitfire and Hurricane single-seater fighters were at the forefront of the Battle of Britain and while the Spitfire has tended to dominate the limelight as the most iconic fighter of WWII, most veterans pointed out that the Hurricane was the real work-horse of the battle, which raged over the skies of England between July and October 1940.
A staggering 2585 aircrew lost their lives during the four-month battle and 1977 aircraft were destroyed. The ‘Battle of Britain Memorial Flight’ appears in displays all over the country during the Summer months in honour and remembrance of those who gave their lives.
The BBMF display, which has been arranged by the Department of Economic Development, is just one of the many attractions at the Festival of Jurby. The airfield circuit at Jurby will also host the incredible sounds and sights of a plethora of stunning rare and classic motorcycles, many being piloted by famous riders. There will also be static displays of many more machines as well as stalls, refreshment tents and live entertainment.
The festival, run by the Isle of Man chapter of the VMCC, is an integral part of the Classic TT presented by Bennetts and is one of the biggest events in the organisation’s annual calendar as well as being the biggest annual one day event on the Isle of Man.
The Festival takes place at Jurby airfield in the North-West of the Island and runs from 10am to 5pm. Tickets are available on the gate and are priced at £5 for adults with free entry for children under the age of 16.
David Cretney, Isle of Man Government Political Member responsible for Tourism and Motorsport commented:
“It is entirely fitting that the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight will take place at Jurby given that the RAF were based there between 1939 and 1963. The memorial flight will really complement an excellent day’s entertainment lined up for for the VMCC Festival at Jurby this year, which has grown to become a huge part of the Festival of Motorcycling.”
He continued:
“I’m delighted that the DED team has been able to facilitate the RAF display coming to the Island as well as the star international riders.”
Classic TT Grandstand tickets are available for Friday’s final qualifying session priced at £5. All prior qualifying sessions are free for the main Grandstand. There are also race day tickets available for both Classic TT race days on Saturday 27th and Monday 29th August as well as VIP and Platinum hospitality tickets. To purchase tickets go to iomtt.com or phone Duke Marketing on (00 44) 1624 640011
