Standing down after 15 years

A long-serving Trustee has been praised for his superb work and support over the past 15 years.

Andy Simpson was first involved with the Memorial at Capel-le-Ferne as an officer in the Air Training Corps (ATC), an organisation that regularly supports events organised by the charity.

That was back in 2002, but his more direct involvement began in 2009, when he was invited to become a Trustee and given particular responsibility for overseeing the clifftop Memorial and grounds.

At this year’s Christmas lunch for Trustees, staff and volunteers at the Dover Marina Hotel & Spa, Trust President Sir Stephen Dalton and Memorial Manager Jules Gomez presented Andy with a copy of Men of the Battle of Britain and a hamper of seasonal goodies to mark his retirement from the role.

“In 2009 I was responsible for supervising the various comings and goings in the shop and tea bar in the old Hunting Lodge, then the visitor centre, and then was heavily involved in the deliberations about what eventually became The Wing,” Andy recalled.

“As part of this I was jointly responsible for hiring Jules to oversee the development of the site, which involved seeing The Wing built and, later, the redevelopment of Hunting Lodge.

“Once The Wing was open, Jules’ job changed to site manager (now memorial manager) and my role evolved into overseeing the site. I was essentially the link between the site and the Board of Trustees and the formal link between Jules and the Board, although as with most things that work well, we rarely used the formal link.

“I also served on the Memorial Day sub-committee, where my previous job in health and safety was useful in carrying out all the risk assessments for those pre-lockdown large public events as well as liaising with the ATC.

“I have also worked on the Trust’s Database of the Few – formerly Men of the Battle of Britain - alongside consulting editor Geoff Simpson FRHistS and his team, and plan to continue with this work in my new role as life vice-president, as well as maintaining the Trust’s links with the Battle of Britain Memorial Flight at Coningsby.”

Trustee Ian Woodhouse will be taking over Andy's site responsibilities from January 2025.

From left, Jules Gomez, Sir Stephen Dalton and Andy Simpson