£4.89million grant helps the Royal Air Force Museum's centenary plans take off
This article originally appeared on Culture24.
The RAF Museum, London has plans for an extensive programme of activities and events to mark its centenary
Aircraft in the Milestones of Flight exhibition at the Royal Air Force Museum © Les Chatfield2018 will mark the centenary of the RAF, the oldest and longest serving air force in the world, to celebrate the Museum is planning an extensive programme of activities and events to tell the story the air force’s first 100 years.
“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,” says Maggie Appleton, the museum’s CEO.
“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.”
The museum has received an initial £404,100 enabling it to progress its plans for developing new exhibitions in anticipation of a full £4.89million grant following the second-round of their application for Heritage Lottery funding.
The plans include a re-landscaping its London site with a new visitor centre including a café, shop, soft play area and community spaces. A 1930s RAF supply building, currently derelict, will be transformed into a new restaurant.
The museum's Short Sunderland, on September 21 1939, two Sunderlands rescued the 34-man crew of merchantman Kensington Court from the North Sea© Nick-D“The foundation of the Royal Air Force is one of the most significant legacies of the First World War,” says Sir Peter Luff, Chair of Heritage Lottery Fund.
“I’m sure National Lottery players will enjoy the museum's outstanding collections of aviation technology combined with the extraordinary stories and courage of the men and women who have served in the RAF over those one hundred years.”
For more information visit, rafmuseum.org.
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