Simon Davies of the Sutton and Wawne Museum has made a detailed study of Hull 's air defences in the First and Second World Wars, identifying the locations of the various anti-aircraft gun sites around the city, explaining how evidence was found at the National Archives, and showing where local information and memories are still available. As well as gun sites, Simon also covers the activities of the barrage balloon units, largely 'manned' by women, as were the radar and direction-finding equipment installed as the war progressed. Simon will show RAF aerial reconnaissance photos, explain the type of guns used, and discuss progress from gun batteries to rocket batteries and the current evidence for these. A substantial section of his talk, again supported with maps and aerial photos, deals with the once-secret ‘Starfish’ locations along the Humber Bank below Paull, where mock-ups of Hull docks were dredged from the marshes to deceive enemy pilots. These were man
TALKS, VISITS, SOCIAL EVENTS ...