wargames and walking: International Bomber Command Centre

Made a visit to the International Bomber Command Centre ,near Lincoln today and even though it is not completely finished itwas still an amazing experience .The gardens and the spire are free to walk round although there is aparking fee and if you want to see the interactive exhibition centre there is a entry fee but you have the option to upgrade your entry to a years pass for free . The gardens (one of the bits that was unfinished during our visit) will contain plants from every country that contributed in any way to bomber command during WW2 either with man power or financially ,the centre piece is the Spire at 102ft its the same lenght as aLancasters wingspan the shorter part of the spire is the length of a Wellingtons wing span .Around the base of the spire are a number of walls , which eventually will have the names of all the men women and children(yes children ) lost in Bomber commands aircraft ,besides the obvious bomber crews ,test pilots ,ferry pilots and in one case a 14 yr old air cadet who won the chance to fly in a lancaster that he helped raise funds for and sadly it crashed during his prize flight . There is a ribbon of Rememberance that will run from the visitor centre to the spire which will contain names of crew members and others who perished on tiles funded by relatives or sponsors. The visitor centre contains a really nice cafe , a well stocked shop which carries lots of unusual items ,even clothing I bought arather nice jacket .The exhibition is amazing lots of interactive things such as the chance to be part of the crew of a Lancaster flying mission against Peenemunde ,how you and the other participents perform means if your mission is asuccess or not .Other things include life size hologram type figures describing their roles in Bomber command , you can use period phones to dial up and listen to real life recollections from air crews ,ground crews and civilians ,film shows and artefacts make up a wonderful display ,its amust see tribute to the crews who were mainly ignored after the war ,relying totally on public funding your visit will count .