Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Museum has launched a £10,000 funding appeal to help establish a Cold War exhibition.
The small independent museum, based in and around the former control tower of the wartime RAF Dumfries at Heathhall, is run by dedicated volunteers passionate about the history of aviation and the local area.
The appeal – which has dedicated fundraising page at https://www.justgiving.com/…/dumfriesaviation-coldwar – is now closed for the winter but has just taken possession of the latest airframe to join its collection, XZ222, which is a Westland Lynx AH7 from the School of Army Aeronautical Engineering at Lyneham.
Members are building a dedicated Cold War exhibit to display this, other aircraft and related displays.
A spokesperson for the museum said: “We have planning permission for a new building to tell the story of the Cold War and have been actively seeking support from a number of organisation and individuals to help with the costs of the build and the acquisition of new exhibits.
“The support to date has been very good with us able to start the journey with regarding the build, and the acquisition of new artefacts.
“RAF Heritage have been instrumental in assisting with our acquisition of a Westland Lynx from MOD Lyneham and we have secured enough funding to commence the building. But we need help getting this project across the line.
“Please help us in whatever way you can to ensure that we can reach our goal and create something that will educate, inform and engage with a wide audience. Whether the audience will be remembering how it impacted them, or learning about it for the first time, it is a story that needs to be told.
“The building will need to be fitted out, displays need created and of course we hope to bring even more new exhibits to the site, and the funding we have raised to date is not enough to get us across the line. “
The building will provide a home for a unique display in any Scottish museum covering not only Royal Air Force and Army Air Corps during the cold war, but also the role of the Royal Observer Corps, Civil Defence.
It will tell of the impact the cold war had on everyone’s lives as they lived through historic events such as the Cuban Missile Crisis and the fall of the Berlin Wall.
The museum is grateful to anyone who has donated so far, and thanks Lawson’s Haulage, WMB Haulage, RAF Heritage, and the School of Army Aeronautical Engineering for helping bring the Westland Lynx to Dumfries.
They would also like to hear from anyone with photos of it in service.