Chairman
At the age of seventeen Dave became a Trustee of the Kent Battle of Britain Museum, where P7056 will be displayed. Dave has come to know hundreds of Word War Two airmen from around the world and is committed to maintaining their memory as well as being a practical preservationist of WWII aircraft.
Life President
Group Captain Tom Eeles served in the RAF for 44 years and totalled over 8000 hours of flying in twenty-eight different aircraft types. He is also the son of Air Commodore Henry 'Harry' Eeles, commander of 263 Squadron when first equipped with the Westland Whirlwind during the Battle of Britain.
Life Vice Chair
Jim is the son of 263's second Whirlwind Squadron Commander, John Munro. A Whirlwind fan all his life as a result, Jim has researched a documentary film about the forgotten aircraft and the men who flew it - including many interviews - and has been a material and financial supporter from the outset
Chief Engineer
Pete, an enormously experienced professional precision engineer, picked up the challenge of actually fabricating and assembling the airframe in his own time, in his own garage workshop. He walks the fine line between obsessive genius and obsessive madman but the results speak for themselves.
Secretrary
Like many of us Chris caught the Whirly bug from the Airfix kit. Scratching the itch meant time the Public Records Office and the IWM. The idea was to write a book but children came along and the information was filed away - until he came across the project online and offered up his research - and soon volunteered to put us on an official footing.
Treasurer / Researcher
Matt fell off Pete's line into 'obsessive madman' long ago, and also blames it on Airfix. A researcher in the darker corners of aviation history, Matt is never to be trusted with a rivet gun, never mind an English wheel (or a CMS). Once we had gathered in enough information to start work Matt was appointed treasurer to keep him out of trouble.
Engineering Design Lead
Gunnar appears sane, so it is a mystery why he has taken on the virtual re-engineering of an extinct aircraft to the point at which it can be authentically built again . He combines enormous insight with a mastery of CAD - his actual day job in Norway. Like Pete, his fees would amount to hundreds of thousands already, if he asked for any.
Membership Secretary
Growing up in Lincolnshire in the 60s the aura of the RAF and Bomber Command - as Pete says - 'just soaks into your skin'. Pete learned to drive his Dad’s Austin Maxi on the wartime concrete of Woodhall Spa airfield. A chance meeting with George Wood, Whirlwind pilot, at a meeting of a group building a flying Typhoon sparked an interest in the Whirlwind and on hearing of the project Pete signed up to help.
Engineer
Mike started working life as an apprentice at Hawker-Siddeley, working on Nimrods and Victors;. Retiring after a career in the aero-industry Mike was determined not to waste a lifetime’s expertise and so he formed the Aircraft Restoration Group which has been responsible for replicas and rebuilds across the UK. It was Mike who first took on the task of rebuilding a Whirlwind.
Project Archivist / Historian
Rob was born in England some 20 years after the Whirlwind was retired from service. His passion for Second World War aviation began at an early age and ‘263 and 137 Squadrons: The Whirlwind Years’ – his first book – was the culmination of many years research. His ultimate ambition is that in addition to having the only Westland Whirlwind in the World, the Project will house the biggest archive of Whirlwind documents and photos – both to be housed in the Kent Battle of Britain Museum.
All of the people on this page have an input into the ongoing build. Also, we have had considerable assistance from Matt Painter (with laptop), Rene Peters, Paul Fitzgerald, Jeff Beaumont, Jerry Brewer, Steve Vizard (right), Patrice Moreau, Steve Smith, Brian Marsh, Niall Couduroy, Colin Smithson, and several others. Also in the memory of founder member and the driving force that made it all real when others said it couldn't be done - Stuart Hawkins (left).