Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II: a royal visit

The days, weeks and months leading up to 12:50pm on Monday 10 May, 1965, at RAF Bicester must have been fraught. The whole of the working Royal Air Force site would need to be perfect, with no blade of grass out of place. Luckily, a 30-page minute-by-minute, inch-by-by inch preparatory document would make sure of it.

The hard work and the furore was for good reason: Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II was to visit with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh. It was not without precedent, because on 19 July, 1940, with the country in the grip of the Second World War, HM King George VI had done likewise.

This, a quarter of a century later, was to be the final call on a whistle-stop tour of the town, having arrived at Arnott before visiting Market Square and travelling on, via a bespoke Rolls-Royce through streets lined with locals and school children hoping to catch a glimpse of that famous royal wave, to where we today call home.

Minister of Defence for the Royal Air Force Lord Shackleton, himself a veteran of the RAF and son of world famous explorer Ernest, was waiting in what is now the Paddock, between Hangar Nos 2 and 3 – Historit and Hangar 113 as we know it.

Beside Lord Shackleton, presumably feeling more than a hint of trepidation, were Air Chief Marshal Sir Charles Elworthy, Air Marshal Sir Norman Coslett and Air Vice-Marshals PH Holmes and WM King. Wing Commander SM Russell, Station Commander, would accompany HM The Queen throughout the visit.

A Royal Guard of Honour flanked the paddock by the RAF Band, with the VIP enclosure and press stationed in the Tanker Sheds.

The assembled display of aircraft, working and retired, was imperious with a Bristol Boxkite, Gloster Gladiator, Spitfire, Sopwith Camel, Westland Lysander and Hawker Hunter lining Hangar No 1, all veterans of RAF Bicester.

Contemporary planes, a Gloster Javelin and Vickers Valetta, guided the route from today's disused hangar to Hangar No 2, which for this visit was housing an array of equipment and elements of the Ground Defence School. Meanwhile further along in Hangar No 4, and underlining just how vast the now home of the Bicester Aerodrome Company is, was the mighty Bristol Beaufighter, the fast and versatile Mosquito, the fearsome Hurricane and the legendary Spitfire – heroes from the Battle of Britain, both. There was still space for missiles and cockpits, including that of the Vulcan, to be artfully placed to show the important expertise of the site.

The Hangars would have to wait, though.

Station Commander Russell in a Police Land-Rover led the Royal Car to the Officers’ Mess off Skimmingdish Lane to retire for lunch – fried scampi tartare followed by escalope of veal zingara with garden peas and Parisienne potatoes, with strawberry creole for dessert.

After various receptions in the Ladies Room an hour was spent soaking up RAF Bicester, being introduced to the Mechanical Transport in Hangar No 1 before passing the Valetta on lifting bags, a Chipmunk being carried by a Wessex helicopter and a Javelin on a Jones crane to demonstrate the skills being honed on the base.

Onwards through Hangar No 2 and Hangar No 3, minding the parachutes hanging from the roof, the skies filled with the gliders performing aerobatics, leading neatly into the spectacular Hangar No 4 where planes, complete and disassembled, concluded the visit.

'Royal Aircraft departs. The Royal Visit ends,' states the detailed programme, matter of factly. 

Many of the locations will remain familiar, and we are immensely proud of our small part in Her Majesty’s reign. It was with great sadness that we, everyone at Bicester Motion, read the news of her passing.

We extend our sincerest condolences to the Royal Family.