Visitors to the Army Flying Museum at Middle Wallop in Hampshire are being given the rare opportunity to go behind the scenes and spend some time exploring the archive with the curatorial team at the local aviation Museum.

The Museum staged their first ‘Access the Archive’ event in May which was described by one visitor as “excellent and informative”, with the next event offering visitors the opportunity to find out more about the Museum’s collection relating to the Glider pilot operations of North Africa and Sicily.  The event will focus on the role of the Glider pilots that took part in Operations Turkey Buzzard, Ladbroke and Fustian, with everything from first-hand accounts and photos to stories of tragedy, success and of course – luck!

Visitors to the Museum never fail to be awestruck by the sheer size and scale of the gliders on display in the breathtaking Hayward Hall, including the opportunity to step inside a Hamilcar – a large military glider produced in the Second World War.

This latest event will give visitors the opportunity to hear the stories behind the artefacts, photographs and documents on display and previously unseen. 

Going behind the scenes with the curatorial team, visitors will also be given a rare chance to visit the archive storage room to see how the vast collection of records are preserved and gain a unique insight into how the Museum’s stories are researched and presented.

A visitor from the previous event said, “Having visited the Army Flying Museum many times in recent years, this was a fantastic opportunity to look behind the scenes. The Museum has such an impressive collection on display and delving into the archives revealed just how much work goes into researching and compiling the stories we see today throughout the hangars.”

The Museum offers a range of services from the Archive from research visits to transcription services.  More information can be found on their website at https://armyflying.com/the-collections/the-archive/archive-services/

Access the Archive will take place on 28 September from 6-8pm and on 2 October from 1.30-3.30pm – for more information and to book, visit www.armyflying.com/what-s-on