JANUARY 2009

The Assault Glider Trust wishes you all a Happy New Year!!

Education News  

 During the latter part of 2008 the Trust welcomed three students who have currently been working hard on their own woodwork projects. Using the facilities at Shawbury the boys, all aged 16, have produced their own project drawings and progressed considerably on the development of a Scooter, miniature Horsa Glider and a Jewellery Box. All three of the boys attend the AccessSchool in Shropshire and will continue to take part in educational projects at Shawbury throughout 2009.

The Young Apprentices from TelfordCollege’s School of Engineering have had a successful year helping with aircraft restoration work and creating exhibition units for the Trust. The Work Experience is an essential element of their course and offers them not only the opportunity to sample a work environment revolving around aeronautical engineering but allows them to interact with their aviation heritage as well.



Enable and CountyTraining: Last year the Trust welcomed the help of Gary Lewis who spent nine months working voluntarily at Shawbury. Gary was part of a Shropshire County Council initiative to help young adults with learning disabilities find work placements within the county. Gary helped the team with the aircraft restoration work and stated that it had been a great experience and he had enjoyed learning new skills. Gary has recently undertaken a work trial with KDS Solutions and has been offered a paid position within the business.



 Press

 The Trust has featured in a number of Newspaper and Magazine articles during the past month which has highlighted the significance of the organisation as an important charitable institute within Shropshire. The following articles were produced to show what the Trust had achieved during 2008 and what it hopes to achieve and accomplish during 2009.

Britain At War Magazine and The Assault Glider Trust!

 The Assault Glider Trust will be featured in an upcoming addition of Britain At War magazine. The article that will be featured in the March issue is based on Operation Freshman. The purpose of the operation was to destroy a heavy water plant at Rjukan in Norway due to fears that the Germans might have utilised the facilities there to advance the development of atomic weaponry. A five man team consisting of 4 serving RAF personnel and a Norwegian military historian conducted a successful expedition to Norway in 2004 to recover the wreckage of one of the Freshman gliders: Horsa DP349. The Trust currently holds the artefacts that were recovered from the excavation and has provided Britain At War with images of the Horsa objects and the expedition.

The magazine is committed to supporting veterans and organisations such as the AGT and as a result we have managed to establish significant links with the magazine and will now include articles, appeals, news and events in the magazine each month. Keep an eye out for the magazine in March.

Calling For Volunteers

 The Trust is interested in recruiting new Volunteers to help with the construction and restoration work on the Waco during 2009. It is hoped that by late summer 2009 the wing of the Waco will be completed. A background in mechanical engineering would be advantageous but the Assault Glider Trust welcomes anyone with basic wood working skills or anyone who has a passion for aircraft restoration.

Please get in touch with us if you are interested in becoming involved with the project:assaultglidertrust@btconnect.com 

 Many thanks,

AGT

We had the volunteers from Cosford to look around the base and Trust on Monday 19th Jan.The day was a success and everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves.