A new fight is on, to save 20th Century 'heritage sites' such as the innovation hothouse that gave us Concorde.
Some time after helping to found the Royal Aircraft Establishment preservation society, Laurence Peskett was rummaging through discarded test tubes in the institution's chemistry block.
"I found one with a bit of stuff in the bottom and a note stuck in top. It said 'First carbon fibre ever made at RAE. Could be of interest'."
Carbon fibre, the rigid, lightweight material that has revolutionised everything from Formula One cars to tennis rackets, is just one of the landmark discoveries to be made at the now defunct RAE's headquarters in Farnborough, Hampshire.
Key parts of the site, which is steeped in aviation history, have been saved from the bulldozers and wrecking balls. Earlier this year two of its wind tunnels were given Grade I protected status.
'CRADLE OF AVIATION' IN THE UK
Built in 1934, the biggest of the two looks nothing like your typical heritage site. Driven by a six-blade mahogany fan (see picture) with a diameter of 9.1m, the tunnel was used to test full-sized aircraft prototypes like the Spitfire.
Campaigners such as Mr Peskett, who have fought for 10 years under the banner of the Farnborough Air Sciences Trust (FAST) to save the RAE site, must now move on to phase two of their plan: restoration.
Restoration is about to become the new "makeover", with the launch of a major BBC television series. With a few exceptions - most notably a dilapidated World War II prisoner of war camp in County Durham - all the buildings are pre-20th Century.
"It is not architectural importance but immense historical importance that should save this site," 'Save British Heritage' says of Farnborough.
Certainly, the buildings are anything but attractive - a grey corrugated iron clock tower, 1940s brick huts and a collection of civil service-style office blocks.
Wind-tunnel from outside
But within these walls, some of Britain's most iconic aeronautical triumphs were forged.
Hothouse of innovation
Concorde, the bouncing bomb, the Harrier "jump jet" and the Spitfire were all developed here, to a greater or lesser extent, as was Sir Frank Whittle's first jet engine.
In 1908, Colonel Samuel Franklin Cody made the first powered flight in the UK at Farnborough.
Ten years later the Royal Air Force was founded here and the space suits for Nasa's Apollo astronauts were developed here.
Since the site was sold off by the Ministry of Defence in 1998, much has been demolished, its land given over to new office developments. But the historic core remains in tact, thanks largely to the campaigning of the preservation society and Save Britain's Heritage.
Not only have they helped achieve Grade I listing for the two main wind tunnels - fondly known as Q121 and R133 in their MOD days - but they have also won protection for the oldest wind tunnel on site, built in 1916, and another building.
"It's been a colossal struggle to get this far," says Mr Peskett. "We set out to do something positive and show how it could be turned into a science park or something and not just whinge about the destruction of historic buildings."
But the struggle has some way to go yet. They have to begin repairing the wind tunnels' crumbling concrete and figure out a use for them. Doing nothing is not an option since an empty building will decay faster than an occupied one.
While there is an obvious case for saving some of Britain's oldest buildings, Farnborough is a reminder that heritage did not stop with the death of Queen Victoria.