We here at SoRM never forget the sacrifices our veterans have made, but Remembrance Day is something very special. On the 11th day of the 11th month, we see the men and women who served standing together and we can see the lines etched in the faces of those who served during World War Two.

Radar was a new technology in 1939 and the men and women who worked with it were pioneers in the field. There are fewer and fewer WW2 radar veterans with us each year. If it wasn't fresh in our minds before, we lost a beloved member of our community, Ed Morgan, just on November 1st. We are reminded that these people, not so different from me and you, led deep and meaningful lives, were brave in the face of adversity, and though now advanced in age, once they were strong and firm, vibrant members of their communities, both military and civilian.

Today, two different WW2 radar veterans visited us. We were happy to host Hilda, a WAAF who served as a radar operator in England, her grand daughter and four great-grand sons. John Tevlin, who came with his son, served his whole WW2 radar career with the night fighters.

We humbly thank Hilda and John for their service and wish them all the best, as we do for all veterans, old and young.

Hilda is surrounded by her family, attentively listening to one of our volunteers talking about wavelengths.

Our volunteer and WW2 veteran Roy Taylor stands with another visiting radar veteran, John Tevlin.

Image borrowed from this site, which has nothing at all to do with radar.

The year is drawing to a close and, as is traditional in Canadian society, we look to the future with an eye for betterment, improvement, enjoyment, hopes, and wishes. Museums tend more toward vision statements, strategic planning documents, and exhibition plans rather than New Year Resolutions, but there's a nice informality to resolutions, and if you fail in achieving them, you don't lose your funding.

So, for the sake of the season, here are our Resolutions for the betterment of the museum. In 2013:

We resolve to be a more engaging museum, be it through our exhibits, our research amenities, or through social media.
We resolve to make sure we give all facets of our Mandate equal weight.
We resolve to become the best known "secret" in London so that we're secret in name only!
We resolve to build excitement through new approaches to our subject matter.

Do you think we can do it? It may not be easy, but we're confident. With plans in the works to refurbish old displays and to create new content, and with ideas for building both partnerships and audiences, we think this is going to be a pretty exciting year. As 2012 wraps up, we're anticipating that the energy and interest we've been building through the fall will take us to some fantastic new places.

As a final thought, we'd like to take a moment to thank our volunteers for their hard work. Norman Warnick and Roy Taylor are two of our wonderful volunteer tour guides. Norman loves history and telling stories, bringing enthusiasm to all his tours. Roy has been with the museum since the very beginning and is a WW2 Radar veteran able to share his own real life experiences. Lawrence Petch has recently retired from volunteering, but his love of history and research have helped make our story that much stronger. Thanks, Lawrence! New volunteers Liz Myers (with her huge personality and love of organisation) and Bill Hilton (he's the guy who 'makes things go' for live demos) are happy additions to the Radar family. Welcome!

We wish you a very safe and happy New Year's Eve and all the best for the coming year. See you in the future!