A new statue of aeronautical engineer Sir Barnes Wallis was unveiled on Saturday 15 November 2008. The statue is sited on the Downs Beacon Hill, close to the Kings Hall, and looks out towards Reculver where tests of the "bouncing bombs" took place.
The statue was funded with £78,000 of lottery money, and sculpted ... in America! It now forms part of the Herne Bay Cultural Trail.Barnes Neville Wallis was born the son of a doctor on 26 September 1887 in Ripley, Derbyshire. Wallis worked first at a marine engineering firm and in 1913 he moved to Vickers, where he designed airships, including the R100. In 1930 Wallis transferred to working on aircraft. His achievements included the first use of geodesic design in engineering, which was used in his development of the Wellesley and Wellington bombers. When World War Two began in 1939, Wallis was Assistant Chief Designer at Vickers Aviation section. Barnes Wallis went onto design the bouncing bomb, where he held the trials off of the shores of Herne Bay.
Thursday, 4 December 2008
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