The closure DIN in BPOM was an excellent evening. Now we know how you paid for it!! :rolleyes:

Lord Dowding locomotive nameplate
 

It was valued at £60,000, but as yet the RAF have not paid.

Lord Dowding nameplate
 

Lord Dowding nameplate
 

Where did you have the LORD DOWDING nameplate copied?
The RAF Police enquiry did not find where the copy was made as far as I know, and the CAS wrote saying the original was last recorded in the Mess records at RAF Bentley Priory in 1992.
It did not come back to the owner in France.

Whatever you do, don't answer that question. I know a good solicitor.

Bentley Priory and Lord Dowding memorabilia.
 

Bentley Priory and Lord Dowding memorabilia.
The chairman of the Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust http://www.bentleypriory.org/ is in contact with the owner of the Lord Dowding memorabilia previously on lone to the RAF.
Renovation of the Priory mansion is now in progress.
Details of the locomotive and nameplate can be seen here: http://svsfilm.com/nineelms/dowding.htm

Silk,

There are a number of replica nameplate manufacturers - Google Newton Replicas for one - so having a "copy" made is not difficult.

£60,000 valuation is over the top for a BoB nameplate, nearer £30,000 would be more realistic.

Fleetingly entertained the thought of 'liberating' the ones dotted around Biggin Hill when I went for my OASC selection. However, it probably wouldn't have boded well for my commissioned future :E

I can vouch for Newton Replicas. They really are the biz

http://i25.photobucket.com/albums/c9...7/P1120009.jpg

what happened to the coat of arms? And presumably theres a second name plate somewhere? They always came in pairs..

Lord Dowding nameplate
 

In terms of Railwayana valuation, after the Winston Churchill nameplates (that are on the locomotive preserved in the museum in York); Lord Dowding is the next valuable. I was with Lord Dowding when he named the first two B of B class locos: http://www.itnsource.com/jp/shotlist/BHC_RTV/1947/09/15/BGU410250020/
In addition, 34052 LORD DOWDING was the last B of B class to run on British Rail on 9 July 1967, marking the end of steam on Southern Region. Westbury 9.7.67 | Flickr - Photo Sharing!
The fireman’s (right-hand) nameplate was stolen while the locomotive was still in service and it is said was buried by a railway worker and some decade later was sold to a private collector.
Also, the name of Lord Dowding adds value to collectors of military, especially RAF memorabilia, as he was the man who devised the unique air defence system of the United Kingdom, the ‘Dowding System’, (still used today in modern form) that saved his country from invasion by a far greater military opponent.
A BBC recording with Lord Dowding at his home in Tunbridge Wells about the Battle of Britain: BBC - Archive - WWII: The Battle of Britain - Air Chief Marshal Hugh C Dowding
He was crippled with arthritis and died just a couple of years later on 15 February 1970. His remains are interred in the RAF Chapel, Westminster Abbey: Hugh Dowding - Westminster Abbey

Recast of the Spitfire one here

SpitfireSpares.com - warbird Miscellaneous

It came up for sale a few months ago, lot number 3149 at a sale at Tennants, The Auction centre, Leyburn in North Yorkshire with an estimate of 30~40,000 GBP. I believe the police were involved and the sale was stopped... ?

Found it, cool, I hope the owner has been reaquainted with his property, or did the RAF pay out?
https://www.tennants.co.uk/Catalogue/Lots/402120.aspx

Lord Dowding locomotive nameplate found.
 

Correct, police investigations continue

London police are holding the Dowding nameplate as evidence and two suspects, one for the theft and another for receiving stolen property. The case is awaiting a reply from the CPS.

Lord Dowding locomotive nameplate
 

Trial of two suspects, one for theft and the other for receiving stolen property begins at Harrow Crown Court, Monday 4 November 2019 expected to run for 4 days.

A few years ago I went to the Defence Disposals Store at Rosyth and bought new MOD silver cutlery, a soup ladle with an RAF pilot's badge on the tang, and three RAF napkins rings. In case there's doubt, the receipt is with my will...