A truly magnificent 2024 season for Bottisham Airfield Museum came to a poignant end on Remembrance Sunday, 10th November.
A service was conducted with over 100 people in attendance by Suzanne Bone and Jason Webb in which the names of those killed whilst serving at Bottisham with the RAF and the USAAF were read out as was John Gillespie Magee Jr’s poem ‘High Flight,’ before the Last Post was played.
From the moment the season started on Sunday 31st March we had an inkling that something special was brewing and we broke all attendance records for an opening day. Furthermore, we had great feedback on the changes we had made over the previous winter, improving the displays in the hangar and creating a new communications room.
From that point the year went from strength to strength, consistently seeing more and more visitors each weekend.
Two real high points of the year were the 80th anniversary of D-day and the 105th birthday party we hosted for a WW2 veteran, Dorothy who served at Bletchley Park helping in cracking the Enigma code.
For the 80th anniversary of D-day we were able to participate in a commemoration event in the village and then joined by some amazing Belgian re-enactors we visited Hilton Park Care home, Bottisham Hall, Duxford and an event in Newmarket.
On Monday 21st October we hosted a 105th birthday party for Dorothy and were joined by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Cambridge, the Hon Frances Stanley and the national and regional TV news & radio teams. It turned out to be a remarkable send off to an amazing lady as sadly she passed away a few weeks afterwards.
Over the winter the museum will not rest on its laurels, instead will be working hard to improve the museum and change up many of the museums. Work has already begun on a new display room, previously rented out for storage, that will significantly add to our display footprint.
The museum will re-open on Sunday 6th April 2024 and will be open every Wednesday and Sunday until Remembrance Sunday in 2025.
We look forward to welcoming you back!