Letter from the incoming Chairman of FONFA

As the incoming chairman of FONFA I feel I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself. Hopefully some of you have already met me at the Centre, the Memorial or an event FONFA has held or attended. At 6ft 7inches (in old money) and of mixed parentage I am hard to miss!

Firstly, a bit about myself personally. I am local to the area being born at Southampton General hospital in the May of 1960.My mother was the daughter of a British soldier sent to India in 1908 who then joined the Madras Police force after his 21 years of military service. Retiring from the police he returned to England in 1948 with his Anglo-Indian wife, my mother. Members of the family were already in England. How my mother ended up with my Zanzibarian father on a caravan site in Hythe Hampshire is another story. Moving to Calshot in 1967, as the caravan site in Hythe turned into houses, gave me my first contact with the 12 Airfields of the New Forest. However, I only discovered recently my late mother had already been in Hut number 11 on the site of the former Holmsley South Airfield.

At Calshot we were accommodated in half of a barrack building. These barrack buildings were converted to housing in the early sixties for the evacuees from Tristan de Cunah. Originally the barracks were accommodation for the service personnel at RAF Calshot. The local pub, later renamed “The Flying Boat” , had been the officer’s mess. At Calshot began my interest in model making and my interest in aviation, as my bedroom was soon adorned with aircraft models. I also became an avid reader of comics filled with stories of flying in WW1/ WW2 and books about the pilots who flew during these wars. Moving back to Hythe in 1976, as the local council decided that converted ex-military barracks accommodation was no longer suitable for its tenants, gave me time to explore the New Forest.

My career has been in in two way radio. As well as leading to overseas travel it also allowed me access to many Airshows in the late eighties/early nineties. At these I supported the two way radios, supplied by the company I worked for, being used. I particularly remember air shows at Bournemouth, Boscombe Down and of course the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford, fond memories.

Visits to the Air Museums at Hendon, Duxford, Middle Wallop, Tangmere and Yeovilton enhanced my knowledge of aircraft types. In 2017 the early death at 61 of a friend and long time work colleagues caused me to rethink my work life. I decided to retire from work early. Luckily a close friend had advised me when I was eighteen to take out a private pension. As the pension was with a company he had recently joined, this may have influenced his decision to approach me, but I prefer to believe he had my long term best interests at heart! By this time, I was living with my wife, another local born in Tiptoe village, in the southern outskirts of New Milton in Hampshire. As she is a member of FONFA I will take this opportunity to thank her for her support for me and the organisation. We still have some more painting and new display panels to put up!

After 2 years of slowly restoring our turn of the century home I decided to seek out somewhere to volunteer. My other interest is in movies old and new. This included the “First of the Few” the story of the creation of the Spitfire starring David Niven and Leslie Howard. I realised the flying sequences involved a local airfield called Ibsley and wished to find out more. This led me to FONFA. I wished to volunteer somewhere local and with my interest in history specifically WW2 and aviation this appeared to be the ideal place.

It has indeed proved to be the ideal place. I have been lucky in the support of Henry, the board and the volunteers of FONFA in carrying out changes and additions to the displays of the centre. The addition of the CGI (Computer Generated Imagery), thanks to Spitfire CGI, has proven to be very popular. I have also been lucky through FONFA to meet and to continue to meet some remarkable people, Stanley Booker and Nancy Crossen, Mo Crossen’s (who flew from Stoney Cross) daughter, to mention just two.FONFA is also lucky in having the support of its loyal membership who continue to support our organisation.

Henry’s letter has explained the history of the organisation, and I have no more to add. He has also indicated the future for the organisation, and I can only say we will strive to meet our goals. I feel I am privileged to be given the opportunity to lead the organisation in its next stage of development. I also feel with the management team and the volunteers we have, FONFA will progress well, in the coming years. I hope to meet you our members in the coming year and thank you for your support of the organisation.

Sam Ruddy

Chairman FONFA 2nd April 2025