Please help us keep sharing the RAF story to inspire everyone through challenging times
Published on: 5 June 2020
The RAF Museum is a charity and we need your help to enable us to keep sharing the RAF story, the stories of the people who shape it, and its place in our lives. In March the RAF Museum, along with other National Museums, temporarily closed its doors due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Museum relies heavily on fundraising and our commercial operations to generate the income required to deliver our mission. As a result of this closure, we will experience at least £1.5M reduction in our income this year – almost 50% down on our pre-closure plans.
The RAF has been responsible for some of the greatest stories ever told… stories of ordinary people doing extraordinary things. These stories have the power to inspire us, amaze us, educate us, motivate us, and change us for the better. They are part of our national narrative and collective identity, but a story is only powerful if it is heard.
Our ambition (and our responsibility) is to continue to share these stories – past, present, and future – to engage, inspire and encourage learning, for current and future generations.
These stories are not just of the heroism of the Battle of Britain that took place over the skies of Britain 80 years ago, but also of the RAF today. From the RAF nurses on the front line supporting the NHS, to the aircrews evacuating patients from remote parts of the UK and the transport crews delivering much needed PPE.
Our collections underpin these stories. The RAF Museum collection comprises several hundred thousand objects, ranging in size from aircraft to lapel badges, and spanning more than a century of aviation history. This is a precious part of our history, and our teams are working tirelessly to continue to share and engage our audiences – of all ages and backgrounds, everywhere.
Just a couple of examples of our work in the past few weeks – You may have seen the Virtual VE Day 75 Festival, a joint event with the National Army Museum and National Museum of the Royal Navy, which reached 140M people, and we are planning a similar virtual VJ Festival in August. We have also created free online learning resources and shared printed copies within packages of support for low income families in both the West Midlands and London.
Your support really matters – now more than ever.
We would like to thank you for all the support you have shown to the RAF Museum in the past and ask that you continue to do so now more than ever. Please support the Museum’s mission to continue to inspire by donating now to support our work. Find out more by watching the video below: