RAF museum seeks volunteers to pack up collection

An RAF museum is looking for more volunteers to help it catalogue and pack items in its collection, ahead of a big move.

More than 50,000 objects are due to be transferred to the Royal Air Force Museum at Cosford, from an MoD storage facility in Stafford.

They will go on display in a new permanent exhibition at the Shropshire museum in 2028, a year later than originally planned.

The museum's Collections Care and Conservation Manager, Amy Seadon, said the items in Stafford dated from "the early days of flight, to the modern day".

She added: "We have everything from the very tiniest pin badge, all the way up to full aeroplanes such as Spitfire."

The packing and cataloguing began with the larger items and has gradually moved down to smaller and smaller objects.

She said getting the items out of storage and out on display would be "transformational".

"At the moment it feels very hidden away, but when we are at Cosford in a brand new hub, then any visitor will be able to come and see this and interact with these items," she said.

The collection is made up of items donated by individuals with a connection to the RAF and from the air force itself.

She added: "I'm constantly finding interesting objects."

Packing up the collection for the move will take thousands of hours, and Seadon explained that the volunteers would be involved in almost every step of the process.

Almost every item needs to be cleaned before being carefully packed and she said it was a bit like a house move, but "a lot more complicated and with more packing materials".

Volunteers are given the training and tools to complete their tasks, but do not need a background in museum work.

Seadon added: "You just need to have practical skills and also just be interested in the museum and the objects, you don't have to have any special knowledge."

"Just have an interest and be willing," she said.

Volunteering opportunities can be found on the RAF Museum Midlands website and she added: "The more the merrier, because we have a lot to move."

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