About Us
Committed to Honouring those who served and preserving aviation heritage
FONFA was formed by a group of aviation enthusiasts, service veterans, historians and authors with an interest in establishing a memorial to the personnel who served in the New Forest and to preserving the aviation heritage of the New Forest for future generations.
our Mission
To inform and educate residents and visitors to the New Forest about the local aviation heritage and the twelve airfields, through our Heritage Centre and outreach programme.
To preserve the information and memories that we hold in trust both in the Centre and electronically for the benefit of future generations.
Our Trustees & Board Members
Chairman of the trust: Samuel Ruddy
I joined FONFA as having retired early I was looking for somewhere local to volunteer that had an aviation connection. With my interest in aviation, it seemed a logical place My interest in aviation started at an early age by making Airfix aircraft kits. I also read WW2 aviation books and watched WW2 aviation films. Luckily in my working life, as a service manager involved in the repair and maintenance of two way handheld radios, I found myself involved in many air shows. These took place from the mid to the late 1980s through to the late 1990s. Memories of times spent at Bournemouth, Boscombe Down, Middle Wallop, North Weald. Great Warbirds at Wroughton and the RIAT at Fairford, bring a smile to my face. At the centre my electronic and electrical background helps in the maintenance.
life president: Dr Henry Goodall
Dr Henry Goodall is a retired Consultant Occupational Physician and former Territorial Army paratrooper, with a lifetime interest in aviation and military history. Having developed an extensive knowledge of the New Forest Airfields over the past decade, he was elected Chairman of Trustees in 2015. Henry co-ordinated the transfer of FONFA into the new Heritage Centre in 2015-16, with support from the New Forest District Council LEADER finance scheme, which provided ‘state of the art’ interactive visual display screens. He is a keen modeller, having created many of the model aircraft and dioramas in the Centre and gives PowerPoint presentations about the Airfields and other World War II topics of local interest, to local groups, on behalf of FONFA.
Trustee: Paul Moores
Retired aeronautical and Air Data engineer. Historical interest in Aviation and the twelve New Forest Airfields, particularly Christchurch. Aircraft Scale modeller specialising in WWII aircraft from the New Forest Airfields.
Honorary Secretary: Dave Connor
Having spent my entire life in HM Customs & Excise (latterly HMRC) I retired in January 2015 and set up my own first aid training business which closed in 2020 when we moved from south east London to Bransgore. I have been a member of St John Ambulance for over 20 years; during which time I have been ambulance crew and an Area Manager, attending many of the major London events. I am now the Heritage Co-ordinator for Hampshire.
I have had an interest in aviation since I was at school, regularly attending air shows around the country. Whilst we were living in Sussex I started research into Tangmere airfield and have subsequently donated my material to the museum there.
When we moved to Bransgore I searched for any local aviation groups and was delighted to discover FONFA in my village. I have been volunteering there since 2021 and have been trained as a fire marshal for the centre. I was subsequently invited to join the Board, which I was honoured and delighted to accept.
Trustee: Andy Martin
Board Member: Edwin Levett
our History
The Registered Charity, Friends of the New Forest Airfields, was established by a group of aviation enthusiasts, veterans, authors and historians who lived in the New Forest National Park area, which is located in south-west Hampshire on the south coast of England.
In the late 1990s, the Friends raised a memorial to the twelve WWII airfields of the New Forest and all those, civilian as well as military, who participated in their activities. The memorial contains a time capsule containing memorabilia, books, and documents relevant both to the operations of the airfields but also the lives of the people involved at the airfields and in the wider community.
Much of the initial work of the Friends was to raise funds for the memorial through membership subscriptions, and donations. Donations large and small were received for all over the world, from organisations and individuals. Over a number of years steady progress enabled the construction of the memorial, to a design by Basil White of Sopley.
On August 16th 2002, a formal dedication of the memorial took place. Since then, the grounds of the memorial, including two garden areas, which flank the memorial’s enclosure, have been landscaped and planted.
The time capsule contents were collated and catalogued, and the capsule was interred during 2005, to be opened in 2045.
The Friends have an outreach programme to help schools, students, historians, authors and enthusiasts of all ages and backgrounds understand the activities, achievements and sacrifices of the New Forest Airfields in war and peace. The Trustees make educational visits to schools and host visits to the Heritage Centre by school parties and other interested groups, and provide speakers to groups and societies, on-line information and information stands at local venues.
The New Forest Airfields Heritage Centre originally opened to enable visitors to use our reference library, see our collections and meet our History Team. At the end of 2014 the old Centre was closed, and the contents were put into storage. In November 2015, FONFA relocated the Centre into a replacement building and spent the next six months creating the new displays and exhibitions.
The new Heritage Centre building, which also contains the charity’s registered office, stores and workshop opened to the public on 29th May 2016 and was open from 10 am to 4 pm on most Sundays, throughout the summer, until October 2016. Now, we normally open the Museum on two Sundays per month, from March to October.
