This is my version inspired by Buckham’s work of Spitfires over the US Assault Training Centre concrete landing craft on Braunton Burrows. These concrete structures, were laid during the World War 2 by the Americans when practising for the D Day Landings on Omaha and Utah by 146th Eng, Co C, 1st Platoon. Al
I’ve been looking recently at the old 1920s aerial photographs by Alfred G. Buckham. I loved looking at his pictures in old faded books when I was a child and marvelled at their imagination and camera angles, I later understood that they were actually skilful photo-montages.
Alfred was born in London on 6 November 1879. He began his career in photography in 1905 and joined the RAF as a reconnaissance photographer in 1917. He became the first head of aerial reconnaissance for the Royal Navy, in the First World War and later a captain in the Royal Naval Air Service.
Buckham was involved in 9 crashes, 8 of which saw him relatively unscathed. After the ninth, however, he had to have a tracheotomy and breathed through a small pipe in his neck for the rest of his life. Despite this, he carried on his aerial photography career, often in very perilous conditions. He felt the best shots were made standing up, writing “If one’s right leg is tied to the seat with a scarf or a piece of rope, it is possible to work in perfect security”.
Hawker Hurricane over the Linhay on the Marsh!
Al Brown Multimedia Artist. 
What a concept! My father was with the US Army Combat Engineers, came to Devon late 1942 to scan locations for D-Day training. Met and married my mother in Braunton. Her father (my grandfather) was the Lead Engineer on the Spitfire design and build team at Southampton, and Winchester. Your work hits close to home, and wonderfully done.
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How wonderful thank you so much for your post. What great memories and what important roles they had. Al
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