Museum homeless
Artefacfts in storage as bid to buy former Dunkeswell command centre struggles to take off.
Dunkeswell Memorial Museum has closed and hundreds of artefacts put in storage.
The museum, dedicated to the veterans of United States Fleet Air Wing 7 and RAF personnel, is now homeless and facing an uphill struggle to raise enough funds to purchase a new base.
Shirley Sharland, who helped to run the museum, a registered charity, said: “Our previous premises are being sold. We had two weeks to get out.
“Everything is in storage and it is costing us money.
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“We are still in the running to buy a command centre, the only one of its kind in the country.”
Dunkeswell was ‘home’ to the only American naval air base on UK soil during the war.
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“We have got these premises in mind, but need to raise �110,000,” said Mrs Sharland. “People are not giving at the moment.
“The command centre comprises 32 rooms and is in 10 acres.”
Mrs Sharland said the museum’s former premises, on the Flightway Business Park, were too modern and that an older building would probably attract more visitors.
Anybody able to help get the museum back on its feet can contact Mrs Sharland at 17 Dwelly Close, Chard TA20 2AT.
