Museum at Shoreham Airfield, 1999/2001
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Museum at Shoreham Airfield, 1999/2001
I got such amazing help here a couple of years ago figuring out an airfield I visited in 1986, I'm going to try my luck again, this time a wee bit more recent.
I did a couple of work trips to the UK in July 1999 and April 2001, both working out of Lancing, and staying nearby in Brighton. Between the two was the "sleepy" Shoreham Airfield which I would visit occasionally on my way back to the hotel in the evenings. During the 2001 trip, I found and visited a small museum which was among the hangars on the south side of the airfield (off Cecil Pashley Way). I think it was all in one small hangar and consisted mostly of small items including a lot of personal effects of airmen from WW2. There was also a 1:1 scale fibreglass replica of a Spitfire parked in a small grassed area on the airfield side of the hangar.
Does anyone remember this museum, the name of it, and what became of it? I see there is "The Shoreham Collection" there now but I don't know if that is related and I'm pretty sure it was not in the terminal building when I was there.
Edit: Oops! I don't think I can change the title. I wasn't sure when I started writing if it was 1999 or 2001 when I visited the museum but I dug out photos that pinned it to 2001. I would post one of the replica Spitfire but cannot as I do not yet have the requisite 10 posts.
I did a couple of work trips to the UK in July 1999 and April 2001, both working out of Lancing, and staying nearby in Brighton. Between the two was the "sleepy" Shoreham Airfield which I would visit occasionally on my way back to the hotel in the evenings. During the 2001 trip, I found and visited a small museum which was among the hangars on the south side of the airfield (off Cecil Pashley Way). I think it was all in one small hangar and consisted mostly of small items including a lot of personal effects of airmen from WW2. There was also a 1:1 scale fibreglass replica of a Spitfire parked in a small grassed area on the airfield side of the hangar.
Does anyone remember this museum, the name of it, and what became of it? I see there is "The Shoreham Collection" there now but I don't know if that is related and I'm pretty sure it was not in the terminal building when I was there.
Edit: Oops! I don't think I can change the title. I wasn't sure when I started writing if it was 1999 or 2001 when I visited the museum but I dug out photos that pinned it to 2001. I would post one of the replica Spitfire but cannot as I do not yet have the requisite 10 posts.
Last edited by zkarj; 23rd Apr 2022 at 08:53. Reason: Correction to title
Gnome de PPRuNe
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I remember it, it was in a building on the eastern (terminal) side of the Municipal Hangar.
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While I didn't think the current Shoreham Collection was the same collection, I nevertheless decided to contact them and ask. This morning I received this very helpful reply.
So I'm glad I got to have a look around when I did, and I hope everything found a worthy home.
The museum you visited in 2001 was the D Day Aviation Museum which closed in 2003 to make
way for a Ricardo Engineering development, the contents of the museum were sold by auction.
way for a Ricardo Engineering development, the contents of the museum were sold by auction.
If I remember correctly the D Day museum was originally at Apuldram/Dell Quay,near or on the edge of the old Apuldram Advanced Landing Ground near chichester harbour before moving to Shoreham.
Long time ago but I think they had a Typhoon Cockpit section.
Long time ago but I think they had a Typhoon Cockpit section.
I think some of that museum's collection ended up at the aviation museum at Tangmere which is well worth a visit.
