News

May 2023 has proved to be a busy month here at the Radar Tower. A busy weekend at the beginning of May, a school visit, a visit from the ex-friends of the Imperial War Museum and another busy weekend to close the month.

St Philomena’s Catholic School, Frinton visited us on 10th May with 2 staff and 18 year 6 pupils. Following a visit to the tower, they were also shown around Beacon Hill Battery next door.

“Children (and adults) thoroughly engaged by an excellent tour from Peter (Curator). A great visit for our work on WWII – so informative”

The ex-friends of Imperial War Museum visited Harwich Redoubt, Radar Tower, Treadwheel Crane and the Electric Palace before walking to the seafront to visit the Kinder transport Memorial on the quay side by Ha’penny pier.

The last open day of May was our busiest so far this season with 73 visitors from far and wide including San Francisco, Manchester and Nottingham.

F Morgan – well researched, nice time

Mason Family – Very interesting and impressive history

Lindsey & Matt – Very interesting history, good exhibits, very informative

Our next open day is Sunday 11th June between 11am and 3pm. As always, entry is free but donations are always welcome. Please come and visit us at this unique survivor from WWII. Hope to see you there 🙂

Our best open day so far this year, with 64 visitors between 11am and 3pm. Some interesting questions, as always, and several positive comments. One visitor was impressed with the amount and balance of information available in the tower. He also appreciated the panel ‘what can you see?’ which can be found in the operations room on the middle floor. It shows photographs of what can be seen on the other side of the estuary, outside Landguard Fort.

Bethany R: Awesome to learn about local history

Allison M: I’m a Harwich girl, first time in having a look around. Really interesting

Fleur: Hidden Gem!

The tower has been an interesting journey for us, learning about Radio Direction Finding (Radar) and trying to represent the tower how it may have been seen in WWII. We are still sourcing material and information so hopefully it will continue to improve. Next open day Sunday 14th May, 11am to 3pm. Hope to see you there 🙂

Another fine day and some interesting questions from our visitors. Many visitors are from the Tendring, Colchester or Ipswich areas but one from Hartlepool this week which was the furthest until the last guy who was from Poland. The tower is proving equally interesting to adults and children alike which is good.

S Irwin: Amazing

D Avery: Excellent

King Family: I love the music!!!!! Great work!!!!! [Ed note: we have a period soundtrack playing in the background in the accommodation room – some of the hits from 1939, ’40, ’41 and ’42]

Our next open day will be Sunday 30th April between 11am and 3pm. As I also volunteer in Beacon Hill Battery on alternate Sundays, I can usually open the tower most Sundays for a small donation. Hope to see you there 🙂

Was a great first day last Sunday with beautiful weather heralding a new open day season. We had 19 visitors from Tendring and beyond and look forward to meeting many more over the next few weeks.

Michael: Very interesting

Neil: Excellent & interesting

The Hemingway family: Kids liked seeing it / I liked the radar

Already looking forward to our next open day on Sunday 16th April between 11am and 3pm. Entry is free but donations towards the upkeep of this unique building are always welcome. Hope to see you there 🙂

The new open day season is nearly upon us. Starting on Sunday 2nd April 2023, we will be opening the tower between 11am and 3pm on alternate Sundays until the end of October.

We had a successful year in 2022 with 699 visitors, including a couple of group visits, so we hope to improve on that this year. We also collected almost £300 towards the upkeep of this historic and possibly unique building. Harwich RDF Tower is believed to be the only WWII Radar installation to still have its original array in situ.

Entry to the tower is free, but donations are always welcome. Children are encouraged to come along too, although under 16’s will need to be accompanied by an adult. Hope to see you there 🙂

Sunday 9th October was another successful day with new visitors from far and wide, Warrington being our furthest traveller this week. Some interesting questions and kind comments left in the visitors book.

Mark, Gill and Paul Didn’t know this was here. Interesting

Bev + Terri So interesting. Thank you. The guide made the history of the tower come to life.

Aaron & Miranda Very good local history site

After many years giving guided tours of various sites and local talks, it is always great to receive positive feedback and to know my enthusiasm hasn’t waned. Sadly, we only have one open day left in the 2022 season. Sunday 23rd October between 11am and 3pm will be the final chance to visit until spring 2023. Group visits and other Sundays may be available out of season (depending on availability). Please email me at [email protected] for further information 🙂

On Saturday 24th September we had a visit from Subbrit who spent a day with us in Harwich. The morning was shared between the Harwich RDF Tower and Harwich Redoubt before a well earned lunch break.

The afternoon saw us all in Beacon Hill Battery looking round the many structures that have survived from late Victorian, 1901, WWI and WWII. The battery retained its weapons right up until 1956 when it was finally stood down with the cessation of Coastal Defence.

Beacon Hill Battery will remain open throughout the winter every Saturday and Sunday between 10am and 4pm. This will be dependent on weather so please check availability before setting out if travelling from some distance away.

Some positive feedback received at the RDF Tower:

Zamojoa Family: Not expected at all !!! 🙂

G Ward: A lot more to see than I expected. The Harwich ‘Tardis’

Webb Family: A well kept secret ! Interesting

We have two more open days this year, Sunday 9th and Sunday 23rd October between 11am and 3pm. Free admission but donations welcome, hope to see you there 🙂

Following the sad passing of Her Majesty the Queen, the decision was made to continue with the heritage weekend, but keep it low key. The bunting was not put up, and Union Flags were flown at half mast when appropriate. A steady stream of visitors attended on both days despite the changeable weather Saturday. A total of 115 visitors from far and wide including Germany, Portugal and even Sydney, Australia.

Becky and Sean Very interesting. Good to see it open. Was great to learn about Harwich history and it’s relationship with WWII.

Don V. Interesting

James, Jane and Cormac (5) Very interesting Didn’t realise they had to manually push the aerial!

Our next open day is Sunday 25th September between 11am and 3pm.

Rest In Peace your Majesty, Long live the King

With the summer holidays upon us and lovely weather, we have been getting a steady flow of visitors during our open days. Many local residents are being joined by guests from all over the country. We also get visitors from Netherlands, Ukraine and even Tenerife.

Rachael: Impressive display + Rada [sic] Wow Big

George et al: Interesting/Impressive

Carrie, Andy, Ethan, Jacob: Fantastic place to educate children about their surroundings

We have a few more open days before the end of the season, including a two day event on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th September. This is Heritage Weekend when all the historic sites in Harwich will be open including Harwich Redoubt, Beacon Hill Fort and Harwich Maritime Museum. Hope to see you there 🙂

On June 27th 2021, we opened our doors for the first time following a major refurb and we haven’t been disappointed with the response. As of June 26th this year, we have met 873 visitors during 20 open days, an average of 43.6 guests per day. We would like to thank all those who have visited over the past year.

Rob & Sue: “very good” thank you

Tadana & Derrick: Very interesting

Dave & Sandra: Interesting

We will be opening again on Sunday 24th July between 11am and 3pm. We also have a two day event in September when we open the doors for the Heritage Weekend event on Saturday 10th and Sunday 11th, again between 11am and 3pm each day. Hope to see you there 🙂