SPECIAL EVENTS:

A Battle of Britain exhibition opens at Duxford on Sept 15, granting access to previously unseen Second World War rooms. Visitors will be able to step into the former nerve centre of RAF Duxford, and immerse themselves in the tension felt on the ground on Sept 15 1940.

Duxford Battle of Britain Airshow Weekend, Sept 18-20.

on Friday Sept 18 will feature afternoon flying entertainment, followed by The D-Day Darlings choir. iwm.org.uk/visits/iwm-duxford

BATTLE OF BRITAIN MEMORIAL, CAPEL-LE-FERNE, FOLKESTONE, KENT

“This a monument to the Few. It’s very moving. It’s a memorial on the top of the White Cliffs, between Folkestone and Dover, and it’s just a beautiful place – a memorial more than a museum, essentially. It’s a wonderful place for reflection, with beautiful views looking out towards France, and a sculpture of one of the Few sitting there looking up to the sky, and the names of all those who died from Fighter Command etched on the wall. I find it a wonderful place.”

REACH FOR THE SKY HUGHENDEN, HIGH WYCOMBE, BUCKINGHAMSHIRE

“Hughenden is a very special place. Maps were something the Germans were bad at: they had terrible maps and terrible intelligence. If bombs are going to work. they need to be based on accurate intelligence.”

Hughenden Manor’s top-secret role in the Second World War only came to light in 2004, when a visitor revealed that Disraeli’s former home was code-named Hillside and housed a 150 strong team of cartographers and artists, producing accurate bombing target maps from aerial photographs.

Produced in white and magenta, to be visible in low light during night time raids, the maps contained only the key geographic features that would help navigators identify the target. The Battle of Britain underlined the need for accurate offensive bombing, and Hughenden was requisitioned by the Air Ministry in 1941.

The manor garden, parkland, café and lavatories are open. The National Trust hopes that the house itself will