Cornwall At War Museum

 This year the R.A.F celebrates 100 years of service. To commemorate this important anniversary there will be a celebration at the museum on Sunday April the 8th.  We are delighted that Wing Commander Alex Mason, Station Commander, R.A.F St Mawgan will be attending, along with servicemen from the base, to join us in celebrating this very special occasion. Proceedings will start at 2 o'clock on the dot for the unveiling ceremony of .............??? If you want to know what we're unveiling you'll have to be there! All I can say is it's a truly beautiful and very meaningful monument to commemorate the centenary. Refreshments will be available and all the buildings in the museum will be open as normal. Our "special" days are always well attended and our car park gets full very quickly. We have permission on the 8th for cars to park on the actual airfield and there will be a shuttle bus service back and forward to the museum at no extra cost. The area fo

On Wednesday this week we had a visit from St Breocks school. Despite the very cold wind and torrential downpours it was a good visit for the children, teachers, helpers and us. At the end of the visit the children did their drill perfectly. Every school that visits with us gets a diploma for completing the drill to put on the school wall.

Today the museum opens it's gates for the 2018 season. We're open Wednesdays to Saturday inclusive from now until the beginning of July - any school holiday within that period we'll be open 7 days a week.  July through to the end of September we're open 7 days a week.Don't forget to book in good time for our airfield tour every Thursday afternoon. October is back to Wednesday to Saturday inclusive with 7 days a week during the school holiday at the end of the month. Sunday the 28th Is the last day of the season. Admission fees are:  Adult £6. Children 6 -16 years £4 (under 6 free). Concessions £5. Family ticket for 2 adults & 3 children up to 16 years old £15. The NAAFI is open for hot or cold drinks and crisps biscuits etc. Everything is 50p and you are trusted to put the money in the honesty box. Dogs are more than welcome to walk around the museum with you and are allowed in all the buildings. We do not charge admission for them as some pl

The museum hosts quite a few school visits during the year.  WWII is now on the education schedule as part of history lessons and a trip to the museum gives the children a valuable insight as to what it was like during the war in their own county of Cornwall. Yesterday we had our first international school visit from the College General de Gaulle, near Metz and Nancy, in the east of France. Despite the language barriers the visit went very well with the children and teachers enjoying themselves. Mike had printed extra guide sheets in French ( we always have guide sheets in French, German and Dutch to accommodate our visitors) to make it easier for the children to understand a little about the different buildings. Steve went on their coach at the end of the visit to give them a quick tour of the airfield.  Unfortunately we are not allowed to take photos of children on their school trips to the museum to put on social media. They also have that rule in France. A sad reflection of

Usually Cornwall doesn't get any snow. On top of the moors may get a small layer, but generally the Gulf Stream keeps Cornwall quite mild through the winter months. This year the Gulf Stream has left us out in the cold and we've had two lots of quite heavy snow. Steve took these photos at the museum a couple of days ago before all the paths and doorways were dug out.

Yesterday was chaotic as we prepared to open for the new season on 24th March. New displays had to be put up, old ones re-arranged and cleaned, and the mannequins brought out from their heated room where they over-winter to save being damaged by the cold and damp.  Wandering around with a camera can result in some odd photos as you can see. Steve had great trouble fitting this mannequin back into his WWI display. We thought that a caption competition would suit these photos. So if any of you can think of something suitable tell us by using the comments facility, but please keep it clean and inoffensive. There's not a prize, just the satisfaction of having your humour published on the blog. Sent in by Les: "I'll hold you, you have a look."  "Erm Nope!! It's not in here, Steve." From Steve: " Actually we left the poor soldier locked in all winter and he expired." From Kovac: " Action man and a dummy................

Les has been busy again with his red and white paint.  This time he has built from scratch, a replica 1930's Nestle chocolate vending machine. A time when you could have a bar of chocolate for 1d - we don't have a coin with such a small value anymore. It took Les 3 days to build and paint this replica. It's now in the hangar in the Cafe Royal corner, where it stands with original 1930's petrol pumps. Les, you are a very talented person.

One of our two planes housed in the hangar is Hawker Hunter XG 164. She has had a varied career since coming into service in 1956 when she flew with 111 Squadron and was part of the aerobatic display team, The Black Arrows who preceded the Red Arrows that we know today. From there she flew with 74 Squadron, also known as the Tiger Squadron with their tiger head motif. She also saw service with the station flight at R.A.F West Raynham and the Fleet Air Arm at R.N.A.S Brawdy, before being taken back to the R.A.F and serving with the TWU - Tactical Weapons Unit. She came to the museum in July 2016 following quite a journey down the M5. Her wings had been taken off and packed beside her on the lorry that transported her - a military operation in itself. Sheila, Steve's wife, asked me to help her to paint the Hunter black to show her former glory. What a privilege that was, something that I'll never forget. It took us three weeks and we were lucky to get beautifu