Midlands RAF and Aviation Heritage Bursaries

In 2023, as part of the Inspiring Everyone: RAF Museum Midlands Development Programme, the RAF Museum announced a cadre of new research bursaries to support a programme of research and dissemination telling the story of the RAF and its people, and their connections to the Midlands region.

The Midlands region has a long and important connection to the history of the RAF and aviation, which endures to the present day. The bursaries supported an intellectually diverse range of projects, and the bursary holders made use of local and national archives as well as published secondary sources, in addition to interacting with the vast collection held within the RAF Museum's archives.

A group of people wearing safety vests stands inside a modern museum exhibit area labelled "Collections Hub." Visitors, including a person in a wheelchair, observe and interact in the space.

The project culminated in a workshop held at the RAF Museum's Midlands site in April 2024, where the bursary holders were able to share some of their findings with the public. They have now completed their research projects, and the outcomes of their research can be found below.

Dr Harry Bennett,	'Beyond the Air Field: The Physical, Human and Emotional Footprints of RAF Ashbourne/Darley Moor.'
Paul Calder,	'RAF Lichfield, 1939-58, and the Social, Cultural and Economic Relationship with the Local Community.'
Karen Pearson,	'The RAF and the Aviation Industry in the Midlands - Working Together.'

The Inspiring Everyone: RAF Museum Midlands Development Programme has been made possible thanks to a generous investment from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The RAF Museum is developing plans further and ground works will commence in 2025.