Sunday 8 May 2011

Day out and 158 SQN commemorative sculpture

Have done a little more this evening, turned in the edges abit and used coptic markers and fabric paint markers to add some grounding at the bottom.......keep watching......lol

Felt so much better today that I drove out to the jet ski lake where my son has a caravan and met them all there. First time Id been across and was tempted to buy a £700 caravan there myself to simply go and chill at weekends in! Of course there is about £1500 in ground rent to pay as well but still......its in the country, next to water and wild life... anyways...................
I took my grandson off with me for a walk on Fraisthorpe beach, not that far away, where folks congregate to wind surf and sand surf.........if thats what flying about on the sand on 4 wheels powered by a sail is?
If you get a magnifying glass.....................duhhh...thats one of the wheelie guys in the pictures lol......he looked so much nearer when I took it! Grandson was mesmerised by him! ( almost 3 yrs old...grandson, not the guy..)

Stunning sandy beaches, stretching for miles each way, you can see why they like it for the sports!














Anyway on the way back to the caravan we took a detour off the main road, for me to find a fairly new sculpture thats been erected at the edge of the old RAF Lisset site.
The RAF station is not there any more, infact on the land now are several gi-mungus wind turbines.
Huge magnificent rotating windmills, I love watching them, they are fascinating.
I fell for them years ago when I saw them all over the place in Denmark, they have an elegance to them and of course on this east coast we have enough wind to make them turn! But they are pretty lethal to bats did you know that? In their turning, ( simple explanation this...since Ive forgotten the exact explanation lol) air pressure drops and bats need that to fly with so they simply drop and die........I hadnt known that, until recently.

This was a former bomber command station and home of 158 SQN who lost a  good many of the airmen sent out on bombing missions from there.
There was a silo explosion on the station at some point and I think it was 5 airmen who were killed in it, so 5 of the turbines are named after each of them and this award winning sculpture, is to commemorate the 851 aircrew lads who died. Their names are inscribed on the bodies of the aircrew figures here. 
The fabulous thing about this is that
they look as if they are walking towards you, back from flight perhaps or towards their aircraft. They are made of the same steel that our Angel of the North is made from and they are magnificently rusted.
And though there was too much low cloud, at sunset, the sun sets through their faces.........imagine that!
12' tall figures, 15' wide spread, 3 central guys and 2 either side of them with names inscribed on both sides of their bodies.......very, very touching and hidden away off the main road with no obvious signs to tell you they are there.
I think they were placed in positionin 2009 so maybe a sign will appear in due course. You can just make out the wind turbines in the background below...

I cant explain how touching this is to look at, though maybe because I too was RAF aircrew (VC 10s), it means more to me.
But the rusty finish too.........bonus!












Since I had grandson with me and it was nearing his tea time, I didnt get chance to read the bumf so I will go back with a flask and sit on the bench there, and listen to the birdsong and watch the turbines, another time.
But if you google the 158SQN sculpture, theres a fabulous piece about it, will see if I can find the link.
The SQN motto, strength in unity, explains the linked chain emblem and this other sideways on picture, shows you how slim the sculpture is and how the figues are set apart.
So all in all a great day!
http://wn.com/Lissett_Airfield_Memorial_to_Raf_158_Squadron_pt_1_Propellers_at_Lissett_by_Novera_Energy_2009
http://www.bbc.co.uk/ww2peopleswar/stories/22/a2473922.shtml
http://www.raf.mod.uk/bombercommand/s60.html

2 comments:

  1. I saw the guy sand surfing, he's little, but I saw him there just the same.

    The rusting of the metal adds so much to this type of sculpture. Gives it a real earthy feel which is eons better than a clean metallic finish, I think.

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  2. lol just had a look at the second pic enlarged and it was a guy walking, not on the sand surf gadget at all.......I must need new glasses!!
    I agree that rust finish is organic somehow, though bet it takes all manner of chemicals to get the right effect.
    Mind you the Angel of the North was shiny steel when she was first erected and now she is an amazingly rusty hued creature

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