Birthday time for soaraway success

From humble beginnings, RAF Cosford Museum near Wolverhampton has become a soaraway success and is now celebrating its 30th anniversary. John Scott reports.

It was an idea that took off like a jet plane and has been soaring to new heights of success ever since.

Flt Lt Josh Wort had the brainwave after realising that 16 old aircraft were stored out of sight in a couple of elderly hangers at RAF Cosford near Wolverhampton.

"He thought people might like to see them - and how right he was," recalled 67-year-old Roy Martin from Newport, Shropshire as the Royal Airforce Museum Cosford celebrated its 30th anniversary with a party and Spitfire fly past yesterday.

The hangers were initially opened to the public on the first Sunday of the month between April and October in 1977. The entry fee was 50p per car regardless of the number of passengers.

See our photo gallery below

Father-of-two Mr Martin, who served for 22 years in the RAF, was stationed at the base at the time and was recruited to help with the first visitors. He became the museum curator the following year and revealed: "It was very popular from the word go."

In the third year of operating it turned over £16,000 in the seven Sundays it opened. By then military top brass had seen the potential and officially launched the museum with regular opening hours on February 26, 1979.

Mr Martin is in the official photograph that marked the handover. He admitted: "I knew it was a good idea but never imagined it would fly this high."

Len Woodgate, aged 81, and museum curator for seven years after taking over the post in 1984, travelled back from his home in Scarborough to join the anniversary celebrations.

Shoestring

"I would not have missed this for the world," he said. "I spent 38 years in the RAF with jobs all over the world but this was the best and most immediately satisfying of the lot.

"We started on a shoestring with just four permanent staff and a little collection of interesting aircraft - it was hand to mouth.

"A colleague told me if we did not have a good Easter one of us would have to do without a salary. Fortunately we had a good Easter and things went from strength to strength from there.

"Now it is the only national museum in the West Midland region. It is on a par with the National History and Science Museums. That is quite some achievement."

The museum soon became a magnet for retired aircraft from other RAF bases as they closed and had 72 planes by the time John Francis joined the six-strong staff in 1983. He had been in the RAF for 24 years and Cosford was the final posting.

His previous boss Derek Eastwood was curator and he went to the museum to work alongside him as administrator. Sadly Mr Eastwood died three days after he arrived.

"I was dropped in at the deep end as a result of that tragedy," recalled 68-year-old father-of-three Mr Francis, from Newport. "We were given no money and had to rely on gate receipts. There were no toilets for visitors and no restaurant. We had three hangers that were all in a pretty poor state but I was determined to make a go of it."

Staggering

Visitor numbers soared to 104,000 in 1986 and the annual attendance had topped 137,500 by the time he was appointed general manager in 1990.

Success bred more success and Mr Francis secured £950,000 from the Ministry of Defence and a similar amount from the Lottery as he managed to raise a staggering £3.65 million of funding during a two-year purple patch. That paid for the impressive visitor centre that opened in 1998 followed by the conservation centre two years later that now offers apprenticeships for technicians.

Millions of pounds more from regional development agency Advantage West Midlands, the Lottery and the European Union helped create Britain's National Cold War exhibition in a massive new hanger.

More than 330,000 people visited it in 2007. The museum now has 75 full and part-time staff and 120 volunteer helpers.

It was a double celebration for the museum's oldest volunteer Cyril Ashley, from Pound Street, Claverley, because it was also his 95th birthday.

He said: "This place is the tops. It keeps me young."

David Leek, the 52-year-old chairman of the Cosford Aerospace Museum Society, is another with much to thank it for. He met his wife Margaret there.