THE year is 1938 – the year before Britain went to war with the Third Reich.

While the onset of war was a concern in the back of the mind rather than an immediate threat, there were still defensive preparations afoot.

The two pictures at the beginning of the reel show a group of Hawker Hurricane aircraft stationed at an airfield.

It could be Tangmere near Chichester, or Shoreham, though we are not sure. Do you have a better idea?

The planes in the background could give us a clue. Never ones to pass up a bit of plane-spotting, we used our magnifying glass to guess that they could be Avro Ansons – a twin-engined multi-role aircraft used before, during and after the war. Note the glass bubble on top, which could be either an observation turret or for a machine gun. The large windows on the side would likely have been used for reconnaissance but do tell us otherwise.

And what of the men stationed at this airfield? The group pictured may well have been pilots connected with both types of plane. Were they local lads?

Let’s hope none of them were involved in this crash also featured, which appears to involve a Hurricane fighter.

The plane is painted a brighter colour than the fighters left, so perhaps it was an earlier model. The number on its tail reads “K 6150”. Perhaps a more authoritative plane-spotter can shed some light on this?

You will notice the top left corner of one street image still has a marking from the original scan. We decided not to crop this out so as to keep as much of the street scene in. Can you help us work out where this was?

Of interest regarding the nature of the crash is the fact that the hedge behind the plane in this picture remains perfectly intact – meaning either the plane landed at a strange angle or caught something on its way down.

The image showing the front of the house gives us a clue. Note how the lip of the roof on the house is damaged top right. Could it be that the plane’s wing caught the house on its way down and spun 180 degrees into the yard?

If you remember this event firsthand, it would be great to hear from you.

Email timeout@theargus.co.uk.