Washing Finds

The Great Fen Archaeology Group (now Heritage Group) began the process of washing pieces of airframe and other finds shortly after the excavation in October 2015.

Four bags full of pieces were sorted in to different categories of finds including the very corroded that couldn’t be receovered; pieces that could be cleaned by hand and lastly bigger pieces that were mechanically cleaned by OAE (Oxford Archaeology East) at Bar Hill.

The Great Fen Archaeology volunteers sorted through the pieces which were then hand brushed, washed and left to dry, over a 9 month cleaning period. The majority of finds were examined by Peter Stanley (Pathfinder Museum) and Oxford Archaeology East.

Jessie (on of our volunteers) describes her experience of washing the finds:

'Personally I found this not only a rewarding task but also quite an emotional one.  Through working through the remains of the spitfire it made me think of the wider picture - this was piloted by a  young man, most probably very keen to help protect this country from the enemy, who was a son, no doubt much loved by his parents, whose life was cut very short by the awfulness of war. On the lighter side of things, it was also good to be part of a team who wish to preserve this important piece of history.'

Sue (Chair of Great Fen Heritage Group) describes her experience:

'What on earth is this?' a team of a dozen enthusiastic volunteers scrubbed away at bits of twisted metal.  We weren't daunted at the need to work in a unheated concrete floored barn in January 2016, using only cold water and brushes. We were rewarded by parts of the Holme Fen Spitfire gradually coming into view and being identified by a knowledgeable member of the team. The parts ranged from bits of fuselage, to rubber hosing, radiator parts and even a few fragments from the pilot's seat.  We felt proud that we had helped in the telling of the story of this plane and its brave pilot.'

Piece by piece the story of the Spitfire keeps on evolving.