The Development of Aviation Museums in the United Kingdom

Abstract

The thesis is the first investigation of the ways in which national museums, the Royal Air Force and volunteer groups have preserved the United Kingdom’s aeronautical heritage. It is focussed primarily on the period from the 1960s to 2020, but also examines the ways in which the Science Museum and Imperial War Museum covered aeronautics from 1912 and 1917 respectively. Data was gathered using questionnaires and a biennial directory to chart the growth in museums, while interviews with those involved aimed to explore their motivation and the origins of their organisations. Archive research at the National Archives and the Air Historical Branch reveals official policy and attitudes towards aviation history and the disposal of redundant aircraft. The thesis takes a multi-stranded approach to the history of the development of aviation museums in the UK. It argues that the lack of a national aviation museum is primarily due to economic factors and political decisions regarding funding. It first explores the role of wealthy collectors who restore and fly historic aircraft, arguing that this has led to a small industry providing aircraft for films and air displays. It then investigates the factors that inspire and motivate the enthusiasts who run most of the museums. Two important factors were encounters with aircraft at an early age, and the experience of the materiality of aircraft. The thesis examines the motivations of volunteers in other fields, including social interaction with fellow enthusiasts, using their existing skills and learning new ones, and a change from their paid work. The growth of aviation museums is analysed and compared with two other volunteer-led sectors: canal restoration and heritage railways. A detailed analysis is given of the Ministry of Defence’s and RAF’s policies on the selection of historic aircraft for preservation, and the disposal of redundant assets. It shows that aircraft selected for preservation at the end of the Second World War were primarily the fighters representing the RAF’s victory in the Battle of Britain, which would emphasise the need for strong air defence in the years that would follow. The lack of a formal policy enabled RAF stations to display redundant aircraft and the fleet grew until reviews in 1972 and 1987 curbed expansion. Case studies set out the involvement of the Science Museum and Imperial War Museum in aircraft preservation, showing that an opportunity existed to create a national aviation museum in the 1920s but was lost. After describing the role of national museums, the thesis examines such museums in other countries. A detailed examination is then made of the attempts to form a national museum for the United Kingdom and the arguments made by the Treasury and other government departments. Analysis shows that economic factors were never favourable, that the Treasury opposed new museums, and that the RAF and the Office of Arts and Libraries had strong reasons for opposing the last attempt in the 1980s. The thesis concludes that the UK has played an important role in the development of aviation. It makes a case for recognition of this role through the designation of significant aircraft that are held by various national and volunteer-run museums, appropriately supported, rather than by creating a new national museum.