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Our Board of Trustees

Rachel Semlyen publicity shot - Trustees

Rachel Semlyen MBE

Chair of Trustees and Chair of the Fundraising Committee

She founded the Museum in the early 1980s, inspired by visiting French and 77 Squadron RAF veterans to what was then a derelict airfield next to her family’s home. With her job as Press Officer for the City of York at the time, she could see the potential for a museum and memorial and was able to gather support, publicity and sponsors to restore the site and establish an educational charity. She was the museum’s chair of trustees for its first seven years and has been on the Board for three different spans of time since then.

A graduate of the University of Sussex where she was the first secretary of the Students’ Union. Fundraising, public relations, marketing and publishing have always been a part of her professional life, in both the public and private sectors. Formerly: Marketing Director of horticultural company, Rolawn Ltd, and of Royal Fireworks Press, New York; owner of PR and marketing company, Rachel Semlyen & Associates; sixth form teacher; co-author of a history of York’s Mansion House and its Lord Mayors, and a former school governor.

When not involved with the museum or with 77 Squadron Association committee, she organises weekly home-baking for a local food hub.  She enjoys visiting other museums, classical music concerts, reading avidly, evensong at her local church and being part of the lives of her adult children and granddaughters.

Rachel was honoured to be awarded an MBE for Services to Heritage in the late Queen’s Birthday Honours, June 2022.

Timothy Kitching

Vice-Chair and Chair of Governance & Nominations

Born near Pontefract in West Yorkshire, Tim left school at 16 and began a 36 year career in local government. He served in a number of roles supporting schools and colleges, embracing human resources, school improvement, programme management and school governance. After leaving local government service, for eight years he was a co-director of a small company providing training and consultancy to school governing bodies. He also studied on a part-time basis and was awarded an Honours degree in Management and Administration and a Masters in Leadership and Management, both from the now Leeds Beckett University. He is a Fellow of the Chartered Management Institute.

For thirteen years Tim was a reserve member of the Royal Observer Corps, serving in 20 Group (York) and remains a member of the Royal Observer Corps Association. Other voluntary service includes over twenty years as a school governor, being elected Chair of Governors in four schools at different times.

Tim has had a lifelong interest in the history of the Royal Air Force and for a number of years acted as honorary historian to the 219 Squadron Association. Married to Kathryn in 1984, they have two children, both now in their thirties. Tim’s other interests include running (largely 5k and 10k distances) and hill walking.

Jon Armstrong publicity shot - Trustees

Jon Armstrong

Chair of Health & Safety Committee

A graduate of the University of Newcastle Upon Tyne (BSc. Hons. Mining Engineering) and a qualified Chartered Accountant. After completing a short service commission with the Corps of Royal Engineers, part of which was spent supporting the Harrier Force in Germany, he then completed his professional accountancy training with KPMG, one of the “top 4” global audit and accountancy firms.

Since 2000 he has been employed in a variety of roles by PD Ports Limited, one of the major UK ports groups. Whilst he is currently the Group HR and Statutory Compliance Director, responsibilities have previously covered a wide range from core accounting and finance through to the warranted Harbour Police and Security functions. He is also Designated Representative for the Group’s Port Marine and Safety Code (“PMSC”) obligations. In addition , he remains a Trustee for two of the Groups pension schemes.

Married to Stella for 29 years, with four children who are all now in their 20’s. The perfect weekend, aside from family life, would incorporate some military aviation, a little bit of military history, some photography and a dip in the river Tees.

Anthony Ridge

Chair of the Finance Committee

Born and grew up in London. After Oxford he took law exams and was admitted as a solicitor 1969. He practised law in Zambia, Central Africa, then newly independent, and settled in York on return to UK in 1973. By then he was married to Judy and they had three children, all now grown up and married and living in Leeds, so they become a true Yorkshire family.

He worked at the York firm Denison Suddards, later Denison Till, and was senior partner for ten years or so, then consultant, retiring in 2008. He specialised in company, commercial and employment law and also had some international practice as he speaks several languages.

He has been associated with the museum for many years being brought into it by his uncle, Robert John Sage, who flew Halifaxes from Elvington during the war with 77 Squadron RAF and later was the Museum’s first President.

Anthony Ridge
Robert Emmett

Robert Emmett​

Trustee

Born in Hereford in the West Midlands and has been married to Pat for 53 years. He graduated with a degree in Chemistry from Manchester University in 1967 and took up employment with the leading manufacturer of friction products for automobiles (cars and commercial vehicles) in the same year.

Worked within this industry for 41 years in total, the final 22 years of which were based in Germany. During this time he progressed through a series of management roles which included Company Research and Development Director, Group European Product Business Director, Group Global Product Research and Development Director, culminating with the position of Company Managing Director (Geschäftsführer) from 1997 until early retirement and return to the UK at the end of 2007.

He joined the Museum as a volunteer gate steward in March 2008, moved into Aircraft Engineering in 2010 and joined the Board of Trustees in July 2018.

He enjoys DIY, golf and travel and speaks fluent German and French to “O” level standard.

Dr Ian Horwood

Trustee

Ian is a Senior Lecturer at York St John University where he has taught History, American Studies and War Studies at both undergraduate and postgraduate level since 1994.

He holds a PhD in history from the University of Leeds, an MA in history from the University of Missouri-Columbia, USA and a BA in politics and modern history from the University of Manchester.

His principal areas of academic interest are in United States military history, airpower history, and the wars in Indochina.

Ian is a regular presenter at academic conferences and has made several appearances on national and local radio discussing US politics and military affairs. He is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society, a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and a member of the York Historical Warfare Analysis Group.

Ian contributed to the Yorkshire Air Museum’s ‘Falklands Air War’ exhibition in 2022, and to ‘Minutes to Midnight, Hot Jets in the Cold War’ in 2023.

Recent research has involved the history of the American military experience in the Vietnam War, while current research includes projects on the grand strategy of the John F. Kennedy presidential administration, the projected German invasion of Britain in 1940 and Allied strategy in the Mediterranean during in the Second World War.

He has been personally interested in military aviation history and hardware for as long as he can remember and has been an enthusiastic visitor to the Yorkshire Air Museum since he moved to the region in the mid-1990s.

Ian met his wife Caroline when they were both studying at the University of Missouri in the U.S and they have two sons, Jack (22) and Tom (18). He is keen to help ensure that the museum is able to continue and develop its valuable service to the public into the future.

EXPLORE THE MUSEUM

Yorkshire Air Museum has a lot to offer, take a look around and discover the museum and the surrounding areas. From squadrons to sandwiches and everything in-between!
FIND OUT MORE

Blackburn Mercury Monoplane 1911 (Replica) AH (BAPC) 130 YAM Jan.1995

The Blackburn Mercury Monoplane is regarded as the first truly successful aircraft made by Blackburn at their factory in Leeds. The Mercury I, powered by a 50 hp Isaacson radial engine, was displayed at the Olympia Aero Show in March 1911 and made its debut flying from the beach at Filey with the newly formed Blackburn Flying School. In May 1911, it flew from Filey to Scarborough and back in 19 minutes at an average speed of 50 mph, reaching an altitude of 1200 feet.
This aircraft crashed the next day when the engine seized and the propeller flew off! The Mercury I was followed by two Mercury II aircraft powered by 50 hp Gnome engines, and six Mercury III aircraft, with a number of different engines. Sadly, a Renault powered Mercury crashed at Filey in December 1911, killing an instructor and passenger.
The Museum’s replica was built for Yorkshire Television in 1979 for the Edwardian drama series ‘Flambards’, and was taxied with a car engine. It came to YAM on 10th January 1995 and after a long period in storage it was painstakingly restored to a superb display standard, and was unveiled in June 2000 by Professor Robert Blackburn, grandson of Robert Blackburn, the aviation pioneer.

AVRO 504K ‘H1968’ (Replica) AH (BAPC) 42 YAM Oct. 1994

The Avro 504 first flew in 1913. In the opening phases of the First World War, it served with front-line squadrons in the Royal Flying Corps and Royal Naval Air Service for bombing and reconnaissance, but from 1915 onwards the aircraft entered the training role for which it is most celebrated.

Over 8,000 Avro 504s were built. In 1918, the Royal Air Force had about 3,000, of which 2,276 were trainers.

The Avro 504 was stationed at many Yorkshire airfields, including Tadcaster near the A1/A64 junction, where a period hangar can still be seen.

The Yorkshire Air Museum’s replica was built by apprentices at RAF Halton and appeared at the Royal Tournament in 1968 to commemorate what was then fifty years since the end of the First World War. The aircraft was refurbished in early 2015 to be transported to Thiepval, Northern France, for the Somme Centenary commemoration event, on request of the British Government. In May 2018, it was also displayed at the impressive Hotel Les Invalides in central Paris for a joint RAF / French Air Force event to mark the Centenary of the Royal Air Force and over 100 years of British and French Air Force collaboration.