Enfield at War 1914-1918

Enfield Museum is currently marking the centenary of the start of the First World War with an exhibition illustrating how the conflict affected the local community, and how the London borough contributed to the war effort.

One notable event that occurred on September 3rd 1916 was the attack on the German Airship Schütte-Lanz SL.11 by Lt. William Leefe Robinson, which caused it to ignite and crash in a nearby field in Cuffley, Hertfordshire. This was first airship to be shot down over England and made Leefe Robinson a national hero, later receiving a Victoria Cross for his service.

Berry Place was commissioned to recreate the SL.11 airship and Leefe Robinson’s B.E.2c fighter in miniature to welcome visitors to the exhibition.

Berry Place was actually quite familiar with the Schütte-Lanz SL.11, having previously modelled it in a larger scale for the Imperial War Museum London’s Extraordinary Heroes Exhibition. The smaller scale of 1:72 (although still large at 2.5m long) allowed the construction to be executed differently than before. Rather than applying individual panels and fabric to a sub frame, it was instead made from 5 SLA built sections over an aluminium core support.

Due to the comparative small scale of the B.E.2c fighter plane, a heavily modified model kit was utilised, with many details replaced with custom made brass parts to strengthen the model so it could withstand display in a public venue.

The exhibition is currently open and runs until 11 January 2015. www.enfield.gov.uk/museum