Tag: Harwich

Thank you to the 30 visitors who came to see us at the tower today, despite local road closures due to the half marathon. The weather was on our side and we enjoyed meeting you all. Our furthest party came all the way from Northampton, so nice to know people are hearing about us.

Wicks family: Lovely to be interactive with WW2!

Case family (clan): Very interesting

Jones family: Interesting and great to be able to get inside, thanks

We will be open again on Easter Sunday, 17th April between 11am and 3pm. Group bookings can be made via our contact page (subject to availability). Hope to see you there 🙂

We are almost at the end of our 2021 season with one more open day on Sunday 31st October between 11am and 3pm. Our open day on Sunday 17th was well received with positive feedback and visitors from Stevenage, Chelmsford and South London.

Sue & Family: Great Stuff

Lawrence: Every day is a school day and I have learnt something new.

T Williams: Very historical and educational. Everything is saved 🙂

For our first season running this fascinating building we couldn’t have asked for a better reception. Plenty of visitors and positive comments make it all worthwhile. We have a few projects over the winter so hopefully adding a few more bits before opening again in 2022. Dates have not been confirmed yet due to the ongoing issues but we will let everyone know ASAP. See you there Sunday perhaps? 🙂

Following another successful open day on 3rd October, we only have two dates left for 2021. Sunday was a bit quieter than the Heritage Weekend but we still had a good amount of interest. Many local visitors are still keen to see what has been hidden in the tower all these years, and others from further afield. Leicester was our furthest traveller this week.

Elsie G – Very interesting I liked it much [sic] 🙂 🙂

Archie and Maddison – it’s cool, great

We have two dates left, Sunday 17th and Sunday 31st October between 11am and 3pm. Group visits can still be arranged all year (subject to availability) and can be made by emailing us at [email protected]. Already looking forward to 2022, hope to see you there 🙂

As part of a nation wide event, we opened the tower on Saturday and Sunday, along with other historic sites in Harwich. We were busy from beginning to end of each day, welcoming 56 visitors on Saturday and 101 on Sunday, a new record for us. We had lots of positive feedback and even spoke to a couple of people who worked on post war Radar and were more than happy to talk about their experiences. Also had a retired Royal Navy crew member who operated Radar at sea during the 60’s and 70’s.

Chris, Kye and Ben – Amazing place

Carol and Kevin – Woh [sic] very interesting !

The Headford – Fascinating & very informative

Tony & Chris – Very interesting and informative. Thank you

We have three more open days on 3rd, 17th and 31st October between 11am and 3pm. Have a few ideas to work on over the winter, then hopefully reopening March 2022. Hope to see you there 🙂

Sunday 29th August proved to be our busiest day so far. We had 74 visitors through the door, from Tunbridge, kent to Stevenage, Hertfordshire and everywhere between. Lots of interest and positive comments, so looking forward to meeting more people up to the end of October.

Catrina: Fantastic place to visit

S & M Bond: Very interesting

Doug: Very good information Kept in good condition

Our next open days are Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th September between 11am and 3pm. This is Heritage Weekend when other landmarks in Harwich will be open too. Beacon Hill Fort next door is also well worth a visit and covers many years between 1890 and 1956. Hope to see you there 🙂

Following Banksy’s trip to East Anglia over the past few days, it seems he has now visited Harwich. His latest addition (yet to be proven 19.08) has appeared on the side of an historic building overlooking the river estuary between Essex and Suffolk. His latest canvas is the side of the Extended Defence Officers (EXDO) tower which was an important part in the WWII protection of Harwich and Parkeston. A pair of EXDO towers were installed, one each side of the river, to control the observation mines laid c1941.

If you are thinking about coming to Harwich to see this new work of art, why not pop in and see us in the Harwich RDF (Radar) tower to find out more about Harwich during WWII and how the EXDO tower fitted into the system of defence. We will be open again on Sunday 29th August between 11am and 3pm. Hope to see you there 🙂

The weather stayed kind to us today so we were able to welcome people as they walked up to the tower. A quick head count, note of postcode and a brief introduction and visitors are shown into the tower for a tour. Our furthest today came from Nottingham, so word is getting out about our great location 🙂 Some excellent feedback in the visitors book too:

Mick & Elaine: Very interesting

Elaine & Carl: Fantastic building, if only these walls could talk x

Dan & Jordan: Thank you for keeping this going & sharing. Great Job!!

Mara & John: enjoyed the experience well done on all your hard work 🙂

Looking forward to our next open day on Sunday 29th August between 11am and 3pm. If you are planning a trip to Harwich in September, we will be open for the Heritage Weekend open days on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th between 11am and 3pm on both days. Other attractions will be open too including Beacon Hill Battery, Harwich Redoubt, Maritime Museum and the Highlight (lighthouse). Hope to see you soon 🙂

July ended on a good note, and August began on another. Two back to back open days and a steady stream of visitors has made the hard work over the winter worthwhile. We introduced a visitors book on the 25th July and were pleased with some of the entries:

Dan, Amy, George and Benji – So cool! couldn’t believe the Radar! Very interesting.

Harry, Robert and Levene – Great place, love the radar, Thanks.

Dave, Ben and Alex – Very interesting.

The entries kept coming today too:

Tina and Bob – Very interesting.

Nikola and Gervaise – Absolutely fascinating! Incredibly well-maintained, very knowledgeable + friendly staff, Thoroughly enjoyed this visit.

A big thank you to all those who visited us today, and looking forward to out next open day on Sunday 15th August. Hope to see you there 🙂

Following a low key opening on Sunday 27th June, the interpretation panels were back from the printers this week and we were able to open properly today. Even without all the content, the open day on 27th still attracted 34 visitors from as far afield as Sheffield and Stockport, Manchester. These families were on holiday in the Harwich area, and looked up which attractions were open before coming along to see us. This week we posted on the Beacon Hill Facebook Page which is associated with the battery adjacent to the tower. Word must have spread as we had 54 visitors during the day, again with people from Wanlip in Leicester and Gerrards Cross in Buckinghamshire. We took the time to speak to visitors as they left, and all had positive feedback which was great to hear.

Hopefully, with further research, advertising and an increasing interest in this little known WWII relic, Harwich RDF Tower will be able to make it’s story known to a new generation. We are looking forward to our next open day on Sunday 25th July, starting at 11am. Hope to see you there.