Tiny aviation museum in Cumbria gets 'fantastic' support for its rescue mission to save world's last Blackburn Beverley

Fundraising by a tiny aviation museum in Cumbria to give Yorkshire's giant Blackburn Beverley a permanent new home is well over the halfway mark with chairman Dougie Kerr confident they'll hit the £60,000 target.
Alexandra Wood
By Alexandra Wood
Published 16th Mar 2024, 06:00 BST

The man who restored Donald Campbell's record-breaking Bluebird Bill Smith has offered to help Solway Aviation Museum’s rescue mission for the plane which is at Fort Paull, near Hull.

Meanwhile the Solway museum is also hoping to get actor Robert Lindsay to promote the fundraising drive as the actual plane – now the last surviving example of its kind in the world - was used in the 1970s sitcom Get Some In! about National Service life in the RAF.

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Attempts by businessman Martyn Wiseman to move the XB259 aircraft from the former Fort Paull museum, which closed in 2020, stalled and the plane was in danger of being scrapped. He is donating the aircraft – which is largely dismantled – free of charge.

The plane has been largely dismantled Picture taken 24th August 2021 by Jonathan GawthorpeThe plane has been largely dismantled Picture taken 24th August 2021 by Jonathan Gawthorpe
The plane has been largely dismantled Picture taken 24th August 2021 by Jonathan Gawthorpe

Mr Kerr said his sleepless nights over the project were long gone and thanked everyone for their support.

Fundraising stood at just under £44,000 on Thursday. He said: “As soon as you see the money coming in (you know) you are onto a winner. It is because it is going to be preserved for the public to see.”

Mr Kerr said volunteers are planning on coming in April to Fort Paull continue dismantling the plane and they were already preparing the hardstanding at the museum at Carlisle Airport to accommodate the giant aircraft.

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Moving the Brough-built behemoth out of Fort Paull will be a major project – a 100-tonne crane will be needed to get it over the walls. Mr Kerr said he’d asked the RAF to help but they told him they would have to charge commercial rates. He said: “We are just going to plug on.”

Dougie Kerr, from Solway Aviation Museum, is encouraging people to donate to the rescue mission for the world's last Blackburn Beverley transport planeDougie Kerr, from Solway Aviation Museum, is encouraging people to donate to the rescue mission for the world's last Blackburn Beverley transport plane
Dougie Kerr, from Solway Aviation Museum, is encouraging people to donate to the rescue mission for the world's last Blackburn Beverley transport plane

Allan Winn, chairman of Aviation Heritage UK, said they were delighted the plane’s future looked secure in the hands of Dougie and his team.

He said: “The response of the heritage aviation community to Solway’s JustGiving appeal for this project has been fantastic, and I would urge anybody interested in this wonderful project to donate to it.” To donate visit https://www.justgiving.com/crowdfunding/dougie-kerr

Related topics:RAFCumbriaYorkshire