HISTORY tours of a former RAF base seen as the spiritual home of The Few have been planned for December.

There will be an arts and crafts event at Bentley Priory, in The Common, Stanmore, on December 5, along with an opportunity for residents to walk around the Grade II* listed mansion at the heart of the base.

The site was home to Fighter Command during World War Two and contains the office from which Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding planned the country's air defence during the Battle of Britain.

The RAF Bentley Priory Battle of Britain Trust will then run another set of tours the following week, with festive choir singing and mulled wine.

The base was due to be turned into a museum to commemorate the air war, which many believe turned the tide of World War Two.

But the project had to be shelved after a contract with a developer collapsed in the wake of the credit crunch earlier this year.

The trust still hopes to set up a museum and has been generating support for the project through a series of open days, which started when the public were allowed into Bentley Priory for the first time in eight decades in September last year.

Thousands of people flocked to the site again last month, when re-enactors brought the base back to life, dressing up in costumes from the war to provide a living history.

Anyone who wants tickets to the winter tours can contact Squadron Leader Erica Fergusson, of the trust, by emailing bentleypriory@btinternet.com.