In honour, celebration and remembrance of 'Mart', a one-off event is being held at Astrium, Gunnels Wood Road, Stevenage on 3rd September this year. The aim is to bring together old friends and colleagues so that all may share memories of Mart and the many projects in which he took part and on which he left his own unique stamp. obituary...
The event will commence at 14:30 in the restaurant ('The Lunch Pad') and conclude with an early evening buffet around 18:00 - but there will be no hard deadline to leave afterwards so that people may stay on and talk.
The affair is intended to be completely informal and will commence with a series of short talks by willing volunteers; so far 15 of these are prepared to talk for over two hours. It is hoped that many of those who originally declined to speak when registering their interest will feel moved to stand up and add their anecdotes on the day itself. It would also be good to have a display so please feel free to turn up with any artefacts, photographs etc that you think will be relevant.
Total numbers are already over 50 and the word is still going round so please do not hesitate to pass this message on. The only consideration is that you must notify me of your intent to attend (at least a week in advance - unless you have already registered) otherwise you will not get on site! Please use the contact details below.
Astrium are pleased to offer lunch to those coming from far away but, unfortunately, cannot extend this to ‘locals’ for the simple reason that the restaurant will be swamped and we have to reconfigure the dining space in order to hold the event! Please let me know if you intend to be here for lunch and aim to arrive between 12:30 and 13:30. The site access map is attached.
The following organisations are putting their names to the event as a reflection of Mart’s wider involvements:
Astrium (covering the de Havilland, Hawker Siddeley and British Aerospace eras).
British Interplanetary Society.
British Rocket Oral History Project.
De Havilland Aeronautical Technical School Association.
Institute of Contemporary British History.
Royal Aeronautical Society (via the Space Group).
I look forward to seeing you on the day and to having a lot of fun through the afternoon.
John Thatcher
| An email notification is preferred: | john.thatcher@astrium-space.com |
| Telephone: | 01438 774382 |
| Snail mail: | 20 Western Way, Sandy, Bedfordshire, SG19 1DR |