Welcome to the official Friends of Duxford website.

Where have the years gone? In 1999 a small number of us offered to organise some social events for the fledgling Friends of Duxford... ten years on that ‘events team’ has morphed into the Friends of Duxford committee. None of us are any younger, many of us are now much greyer (those of us who retain our hair of course!) but we’ve enjoyed every minute of it.

On October 18 a special event was held at Duxford to mark the tenth anniversary and to say thank you to you, our loyal members. Nearly 200 people arrived during the day and were treated to a variety of guest speakers as well as cut-price Dragon Rapide flights, tank rides and a sumptuous hog roast.

Of course there were also a few speeches of thanks along the way, beginning with IWM Director Richard Ashton who expressed his thanks for the support ‘Friends’ had given the museum over the last decade. “The money raised by Friends of Duxford is vitally important to the museum” Richard explained. “Quite simply, the AirSpace hangar could not have been completed without the ‘Friends’ and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

He went on to explain that the latest donation has enabled the museum to secure and display a section from the Wright brothers’ 1903 Wright Flyer.

Duxford Aviation Society Chairman Graham Hall said a few words, and reiterated the close relationship between Friends of Duxford (FoD) and Duxford Aviation Society, before current FoD Chairman Brian Arney added his gratitude.  Brian also singled out Joan Buckerfield and Brenda Linsdell in the FoD Office for special praise.

The day continued with a diverse variety of events aimed at offering something for everybody, and it was gratifying to see so many smiling faces.

To conclude the day Jim Starmer, FoD’s founding Chairman (he says he signed up for six months but was ‘conned’ into doing the job for eight years!) took to the stage. As well as cutting the special FoD birthday cake he also took great pride in handing over the latest donation to the Museum.

Lesley Tyler, IWM Duxford’s Head of Visitor Services & Volunteer Development graciously accepted the cheque for £50,000, taking the figure raised by Friends of Duxford to £680,000 over the last decade.

Thank you for helping raise that ‘vitally important’ money and thank you for your ongoing support of Friends of Duxford. Here’s to the next ten years...