RAF Duxford from the west, shortly after the First World War. As part of Duxford’s 90th anniversary celebrations, this photo exhibition shows how Duxford began.

Duxford is known to most people as a dynamic branch of the Imperial War Museum. Many visitors are aware of the part it played as a fighter station during the Second World War. But Duxford in fact dates back 90 years, to the end of the First World War.

A pilot stands by the wreckage of a crashed Royal Aircraft Factory RE8. A fascinating photo exhibition in AirSpace reveals snapshots of station life in 1918, and contains aerial photographs of the site as it was being built.

You can also pick up (or download and print out here) a mini trail leaflet that guides you to some of the oldest parts of the site. Alternatively, you can download a short mp3 of this trail here, to listen to on a mobile phone or portable media device.

An audio version of the exhibition text is also available for download by visitors who are blind or partially sighted, or by those who are unable to visit Duxford in person. This can be downloaded in three parts:

Part 1 (mp3)

Part 2 (mp3)

Part 3 (mp3)