4th October 2022

4th October 2022 - David Mackay

The Dumfries & Galloway Aviation Museum

Biggar Probus Club met for the inaugural meeting of its autumn session on 4 October 2022.

Our speaker was David Mackay from the Dumfries & Galloway Aviation Museum. He gave a fascinating and extensive presentation on the history of the museum and its role in recording the history of flying in Dumfries and Galloway.

He began his presentation by describing the origins of the RAF presence in Dumfries.
Aircraft first landed on the racecourse at Tynwald in the early twenties and an RAF base was established at the beginning of WW2. It was mainly used for aircraft maintenance and for training bomber crews. The 10th Bombing and Gunnery School was based there. Several Polish airmen were trained there, some remained after the war and one became a key member of the Aviation Group.

Maintenance was mainly carried out civilian crews , mostly working on Wellington aircraft for Coastal Command. By 1945 about 2000 aircraft had been maintained, though many were scrapped as beyond repair.

After the war several hundred more aircraft were taken there to be scrapped - most were bombers but there were a few virtually unused Spitfires, and their engines may have been buried on the airfield though they have not yet been found.

The airfield closed after the war and it was sold in 1960. By then the Dumfries and Galloway Aviation Group had been set up by local enthusiasts to investigate crash sites and recover engines and parts of aircraft.

By 1977 this had evolved into the current Museum which acquired the old control tower at the airfield which has become its base. Various operational aircraft have now been acquired and these are displayed at the museum. It is now an Accredited Museum, holding a major collections of exhibits and records covering a hundred years of flying in Dumfries and a wider area of Scotland.

The Museum is open regularly throughout most of the year and welcomes many visitors, especially from local schools. More details are on its website at www.dumfriesaviationmuseum.com.

The vote of thanks was given by Brian Swaine.

The next meeting is on 18 October in Biggar Municipal Hall at 10.00 when we will welcome Richard Phillips who will speak on “ The Buck Stops Here – A History of Money Boxes”. All are welcome.

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