Friends of The Helicopter Museum

The Helicopter Museum at Weston-super-Mare, Somerset has appointed two additional members of staff to develop the conservation of the collection and services to schools and the general public.

To develop the new archive and library, and manage the restoration and conservation of the aircraft and associated large objects in the museum, the Trustees have appointed Kathryn Sherrington BA (Hons). In her new post Kathryn will manage the current team of volunteers working on aircraft restoration and recruit new volunteers to catalogue and organise the archives. These include a range of technical and other books, documentation, plans, film and photographs gathered together over the past 50 years and previously in storage. “The intention is to open up this unique facility for public research” says THM General Manager Lee Mills, “so obviously we need to log all the material on computer and arrange for it to be easily accessible". The Museum anticipates this will attract new volunteers interested in this aspect of the museum.

Meanwhile former Head Teacher Rod Wakelam M.Ed. /Adv.Dip.Sp.Ed. / LPSH has joined the museum as Education Officer, a post funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund and aimed at developing liaisons with Schools and Colleges in the West of England region, as well as organising presentations and outreach visits to other groups. “The Museum is a unique education resource for teachers, with links to not just science and technology but many subjects in the curriculum” says Lee, “Rod’s task will be to give teachers guidance and make visits to the museum informative and a positive learning experience, as well as promoting interest among outside groups and providing training for volunteers and students within the museum itself".

Both new staff members have taken up their posts and will be based at the museum from 1st September 2008.

Editors Note:  The Helicopter Museum houses the world’s largest dedicated collection of rotorcraft and is an independent registered charity, receiving no revenue grant aid from any government sources. It is unique in the United Kingdom with the majority of its exhibits listed in the highest Benchmark category in the National Aviation Heritage Register.

For further details contact Lee Mills (General Manager) on 01934-635227 or Elfan ap Rees (Chairman of Trustees) on 01934-822524.

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