Ivor Ramsden began his talk to a packed Centenary Centre by saying a little about himself and the truly remarkable aviation and military museum at Ronaldsway Airport.

In many respects, there has to be a concern that he is the ’General Factotum’. Who is going to follow with such enduring enthusiasm, knowledge and commitment?

The first recorded flight in the Isle of Man was in November 1902 when a large crowd gathered in Peveril Square to watch a navy balloon, filled with town gas, take off over Douglas Bay heading for Scotland.

The photograph showed that a lot of the men were smoking pipes, oblivious to the danger!

The centenary of this event was recreated by the museum in front of the Sea Terminal but used safer gas!

After the First World War, pleasure flights took off and landed on Douglas beach to the consternation of the boarding house keepers who dried their linen there!

The first airport was at Ronaldsway 1928/9 with the first regular passenger flights in 1933/4 operated by West Coast Air Services. In WW2, it was taken over by the RAF and the Navy who installed a fourth runway to train torpedo bomber crews. It was sold to the Isle of Man government in 1948.

Hall Caine Airport near Ramsey flourished for a while but suffered when all private flights were banned in WW2.

RAF Jurby was constructed at the start of the Second World War as a training camp for observation, gunnery, bombing and navigation. It closed in 1963. RAF Andreas was operational between 1941 and 1948, initially as a fighter squadron base to help protect the northern Irish Sea and the cities of Belfast, Glasgow and Liverpool.

At the end of 1943 it was transformed into an air gunnery school to help train bomber gunners. The effect on the island with these large constructions with accompanying infrastructure, including defences such as pillboxes with armed defenders, fuel and ammunition stores, hundreds of personnel and all their needs was dramatic.

Ivor spoke about some of the air disasters and consequent loss of life. He also spoke about individual bravery, including Major Robert Cain VC at the Battle of Arnhem. We were pointed to the exploits of the Manx Regiment and relevant displays in the museum.

Questions after refreshments reinforced the important part the island played in defending Britain against invasion and even greater destruction.

The museum is open daily from TT Practice Week to September 30 and weekends, October to May 10am to 4.30pm.You can’t miss it.

There’s a former Manx Airlines plane parked outside. Admission is free but donations are welcome.

Our next event is in the Centenary Centre, 7.30pm, May 16, when Dr Michael Teare is talking on Teare and Sons, Ships’ Chandlers and Sailmakers of Peel. This will follow on splendidly from previous talks on our shipbuilding and fishing tradition.

John Salter

Peel Heritage Trust