Tag: Harwich

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 🙂

Was nice to be able to sit in the sunshine to welcome visitors outside yesterday. A steady flow of visitors from the time we opened the gate until we closed, 41 in all. Coventry was the furthest this week, followed closely by Northampton and a lot of interesting questions. Still receiving positive feedback too:

Bernard O: Wonderful effort

Richard P: Fantastic exhibits

Christina P: Great! Well done

Still adding small bits each week, trying to build up a picture of what life would have been like serving in the RDF Tower. Been an interesting project so far and looking forward to opening again on Sunday 26th June between 11am and 3pm – Admission free, Donations welcome 🙂

Bit quieter this weekend but so many interesting questions more than made up for the lower visitor numbers. More arrivals from the Netherlands and Germany were the furthest this week, but many locals still attending, many of which have never had the opportunity to visit the tower before.

John G: Impressed by extent of technical description – well done (ex Plessey & EMI Electronics)

Mr & Mrs Herron: Very interesting, great history to show my children.

Ron W: Excellent! very interesting, keep up the good work.

Next open day will be Sunday 29th May 11am to 3pm. If you would like to visit on another occasion or arrange a group visit we will try to accommodate as best we can, subject to availability. Look forward to meeting you soon 🙂

On the 6th April I was lucky enough to be interviewed on BBC Radio Essex to highlight the Radar Tower in Harwich, Essex. A small part of the war effort but an important early step in a system that is still widely in use to this day. Radio Direction Finding, as the British called it, became better known as RADAR. This was the American term that has become better known over the years. The system was being developed in 1935 at Bawdsey Manor in Suffolk so when the tower opened in April 1941 it was one of the first uses of land based RADAR in the world.

The tower will be open on Sunday 15th May between 11am and 3pm and entry is free. All donations will go towards the restoration of the tower and other historic structures opened on behalf of the Harwich Society. We open every other Sunday until the end of October. Hope to see you there 🙂

May 1st, nice bright but chilly day, and a lot of interest in the RDF tower. 49 visitors through the door and some very interesting questions. Also our furthest visitor today, one which will be hard to beat. Last year our furthest was from Perth, Scotland. Today they came from Perth, Western Australia! We also had a guy from Poland and two groups from the Netherlands. News of the tower is clearly going beyond Tendring.

Viv & Colin – Amazing. Particularly appreciated the ‘What can you see?’ board

Mavim (?) – Ciekawe (Polish) Interesting (English)

Nick – Fantastic presentation of our history

It is great to get such positive feedback each week and it encourages us to continue researching and presenting this fascinating building. We open again on Sunday 15th May, 11am to 3pm. Hope to see you there 

A nice bright day welcomed us on Easter Sunday and we were able to greet visitors outside in the sunshine. Between 11am and 3pm we had 36 visitors from as far afield as Tunbridge Wells and Bath. Everyone seemed to enjoy their visit and seeing the new exhibits that been added over the winter months. A new display case housing replica valves and a full size facsimile of the Resonant Chamber have been installed in the Operations Room on the middle floor.

Murphy family: Very interesting, well presented and informative. 10/10

Pumler family: Very interesting tower, some good info. Very atmospheric.

Osborne family: Really fascinating , some really great work to present & restore this, Thank you.

We are open again on Sunday 1st May at 11am. Hope to see you there 🙂