The Yorkshire Air Museum & Allied Air Forces Memorial is a Registered Charity (no. 516766) and a Nationally Registered Museum (No. 66) under the Department of Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS). We are proud to have attained fully Accredited status from Arts Council England, since 2008, and therefore we follow and comply with the National guidelines for the care of the items that are donated to us. Significant items are Accessioned, so that they become part of the National Collection and would be transferred to other Museum’s of the same stature in the event of the forced closure of the Museum and Memorial.
Accreditation is a minimum standards scheme and addresses a number of questions that the public and funding authorities are right to ask of museums. By registering in this scheme, this Museum affirms our commitment to the adoption of agreed standards and collecting protocols and to increasing co-operation and sharing of experience between museums and similar organisations.
One of the largest archives of its kind in Europe, the Collections Department holds a comprehensive collection of important paper, film and photographic records as well as artefacts relating to the history of aviation and especially the Royal Air Force, French Air Force, RAuxAF, RAAF, RNZAF and RCAF Squadrons during WWll. Items include uniforms, logbooks, squadron photographs, personal as well as aircraft artefacts and many other interesting items from early flying days right up to the present day. The Air Crew Association Archive Trust and the Air Gunners Association Archive are part of the Museum Collection. The unique collaboration between the Museum and the Air Crew Association Archive Trust has secured the Collection of numerous items, now incorporated into the Museum’s care, and the Trust greatly supported the construction of a new temperature and environmentally controlled building in which to house these and other artefacts, for which the Museum remains very grateful.
There is always a selection of interesting items from the stored Collection on public display and the department has research and restoration facilities. The Museum Library holds nearly 10 000 specialist books covering technical, reference and historical aviation subjects for research and reference purposes.
Donating Items – Collections Policy
The Museum operates a Collections Management Policy and Frameworks that encompasses both acquisitions, loans and disposals, with the ultimate responsibility laying with the board of Trustees.
As we currently have a very large collection to record and manage, the Museum is now more selective in the items we will take into our care. We DO NOT take items on loan from individuals, as this can lead to areas of contention of ownership in the future. Similarly, as we have vast collections of historical aviation magazines and models, we are also unable to take these at the present time.
We remain very grateful for interesting items offered to us, but we do kindly request that arrangements are made in advance. Please contact Ian Richardson, Head of Memorials & Heritage in the first instance (01904 608595 / pr@yorkshireairmuseum.org) who will discuss the potential donation of artefacts with the Collections Co-ordinator. It would be helpful if the owner would initially provide some concise details about what is being offered for donation. Thereafter, we will contact you as soon as possible concerning our decision, to discuss the potential donation in more detail.
The Collections (Archive) Department is operated by volunteers and is open on Monday’s, Tuesday’s and Thursday’s between 10.30 and 15.00. Please note the volunteers are unable to carry out research on an individual’s behalf due to the time and resources this would require.
The Archive department is operated by volunteers and is open on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays between 10.00 and 15.00. Please note the volunteers are unable to carry out research on an individual’s behalf due to the time and resources this would require.
Instead, we have created these two useful resources as a guide to family members wishing to learn more about war records and researching family history.
