Fun-filled night raises funds
Attendees at our Gala Dinner had a night of fine food and fun while raising funds for the restoration of RB396. Ticket sales, successful auction bids (live and online) and other contributions ensured the hard work of the volunteers in organizing the event was rewarded, with well over £10k profit made.
More than 50 attendees (supporters and their families and friends) gathered in their glad rags at the RAF Club in London on the evening of 20 September and were welcomed with a glass or two of bubbly. Held in the elegantly decorated Sovereign’s room, the evening began with a welcome from RAF Club member, Adrian Kilby, and a short talk on the history of RB396 from Andrew Boakes. For those who were not supporters of the Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group, it was the first time many of them had heard the story of RB396 and our mission to return her to flight. Indeed, several of them were moved to comment on the importance of our task over the subsequent fine-dining meal.
The fun started with a slightly raucous ‘heads and tails’ game led by the host for the evening, Mark McMurrugh. As the number of people still in the game began to dwindle, so the competitive edge came to the fore with players leaving it late to make their choice having scanned the room to see what others were doing. Our eventual winner not only walked away with half of the entry fee cash, the other half adding to our funds, but also two of our iconic and rare Stop Fannying About mugs. Adding to the fun, there was a resounding Happy Birthday to one of the attendees, Danny Rankin, who was celebrating his birthday during the dinner. He and his son looked resplendent in their formal Scottish dress.
As a prelude to the live auction, our patron, Air Marshall Cliff Spink, informed the diners of his reason for championing the project. He had met our Project Director, Sam, shortly after Sam had left the RAF. Once Cliff found out about the Hawker Typhoon Preservation Group and saw for himself the passion that Sam had for the project, he was keen to help out in any way he could. Thanking Cliff for his kind words, Sam stressed the importance of the Typhoon in the final years of the war and urged everyone to participate as much as possible in the live auction.
Mark was our auctioneer for the evening; bringing a light-hearted approach to the proceedings, he even persuaded one of his own dinner guests to model the Red Arrows flying suit auction lot. Perhaps surprisingly, it was a perfect fit! Other items in the live auction included two limited-edition and signed Typhoon prints, a Spitfire flight, an air combat flight experience, a flight in a wartime glider and VIP visits to the Aircraft Restoration Company (to see the rebuild in action), Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, and the Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre. The latter included a taxi ride in Lancaster, Just Jane. There was competitive bidding for many of the items and much hilarity; particularly when one fellow made a final bid for the Spitfire flight behind the back of his, we assume, partner, while she was telling someone else not to bid as it was too much money! A silent auction also took place for various items, with one of the highest bids being for a framed piece of fabric from the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight Hurricane, PZ865. Congratulations to all those with winning auction bids; enjoy whatever item or event you bid for and thank you for your support.
A special thanks to the following who supplied auction lots for the event: Aces High (Typhoon prints), Aerial Collective (Spitfire flight), Aircraft Restoration Company, Airfix, Heritage Glider Centre, Lincolnshire Aviation Heritage Centre, Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, Timeless Aero (Hurricane fabric), the Red Arrows and Ultimate High (air combat experience). We would also like to thank the team at Global Expert Fundraising who helped organize the auction and supplied silent auction lots; in particular Georgia Betts, Seth King and Eleanor Overton who supported us on the night and took the oh so crucial payments.
With the auction over, it was time to finish our drinks and depart (unfortunately the Bar shut at 11pm). Everyone was able to take away a brochure on the project and a metal coaster with a Typhoon-shaped cutout. Our thanks to Sulaco Steel & Plastic Products who donated the coasters.
It certainly seemed everyone left with a smile on their face even though some of them had a little less in their bank accounts. We would like to thank all the attendees for helping make it a very memorable evening and for their support for this important fundraising event.
We plan to hold various events next year and our supporters will always have early access to tickets. So if you have not signed-up to one of our supporter tiers, do it now so that you don’t miss out. We have packages for all budgets, starting at just £2/month – so for one less caramel latte a month, you’ll actually save money, reduce your calories and help make a Hawker Typhoon fly!