Britain’s RAF Museum has been awarded a grant of almost £5million to take forward the next phase of its centenary programme, “The First 100 Years”.
2018 marks the centenary of the Royal Air Force, the world’s oldest air force and the grant, from the Heritage Lottery Fund, will allow the museum to plan its programme of activities and events for the summer of 2018.
The plans include a series of new and permanent exhibitions entitled “The First 100 Years of the RAF” and “Now and the Future” which will showcase the story of the RAF from its earliest years in the First World War to its global role today.
The museum is also planning a new digital programme “My RAF Story” which will collect and share the personal stories and experiences of the men and women who’ve served with the air force preserve them for future generations.
A new learning programme in scientific and engineering disciplines will be developed for young people and new apprenticeships and volunteering activities will enable the RAF Museum to conserve and display more of its collection of over one million objects.
‘First World War in the Air,’ the RAF Museum’s exhibition telling the story of the growth of air power in 1914-18, opened with lottery funding in December 2014 (Photo: Centenary News)
Maggie Appleton, Chief Executive Officer of the museum, said: “The story of the RAF is one of bravery, ingenuity and dedication which echoes within all our lives and will endure and enrich future generations.
“We are very excited to be given the opportunity to tell this story through the museum’s collections and the voices of the individual men and women who served in the RAF and whose lives have been influenced by it.”
Future phases of the RAF Museum’s centenary plans will highlight the history of the London Aerodrome and RAF Hendon from which the first airmail, parachute jump, night flight and aerial defence of London took place.
Centenary News reported from Hendon on the opening of ‘First World War in the Air’ in 2014. You can read more here.
Source: RAF Museum
Images: Centenary News
Posted by: Jim Hamilton, Centenary News