How the International Air Tattoo came to Greenham Common
The first International Air Tattoo (IAT) took place at North Weald in Essex in 1971. It featured 100 aircraft and was the first of its kind.
However, the building of the M11 motorway next to North Weald meant the organisers had to search for a new venue. With its exceptionally long runway, spacious RAF/USAAF Greenham Common was an ideal choice, especially as it wasn’t an active base at the time.
Tim Prince, a civilian air traffic controller and one of the main organisers of the IAT, approached the base commander with the memorable words ‘Can we borrow your airfield please?’.
Thus began a beautiful relationship that saw the event develop into the Royal International Air Tattoo featuring hundreds of aircraft. Greenham hosted the tattoo between 1973 and 1983.
To mark the 50th anniversary of the first International Air Tattoo, Greenham Control Tower has mounted an exhibition celebrating its years at Greenham.
Many local people remember these exciting festivals which brought thousands of visitors to Newbury to see historic and contemporary aircraft from around the world being exhibited and enjoy stunning aerial displays by the very best display teams from different air forces.
The exhibition tells the story of how the tattoo came to Greenham and how it developed into the world’s foremost event of its kind.
Contemporary photographs and original publicity posters by the celebrated aviation artist Wilf Hardy are on display, while an interactive kiosk and screens show rarely-seen video footage.
This isn’t just an exhibition for those who love aircraft, but also for anyone fascinated by how the common has been used in the past.
Visitors will have the opportunity to enjoy the views from the top of the tower where the replica control desk features real-time civilian and military flight radar.
At the recent opening weekend the local Mencap group Growing4All were in attendance selling their wooden models of some of the iconic aircraft that had appeared in the tattoo. The exhibition runs until March 13, when Mencap hope to return with a fresh stock of models.
The Control Tower is open Wednesday to Friday, 10.30am to 3pm, and Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 4pm. Over the holiday period it will be open on Wednesday and Thursday, December 29/30, and Sunday, January 2.
