Source : Jimmy Moorhouse (News & Star)
A Carlisle museum was delighted to be named the Museum of the Year in the Corporate LiveWire North England Prestige Awards.
Solway Aviation Museum, based at Carlisle Airport, is home to a collection of aircraft, aviation artefacts, and displays.
Originally formed by five members of the Royal Observer Corps in 1961, the group now boasts 100 plus members, all of whom played their part in winning the museum this award.
Solway’s stature compared to other museums in the north of England meant that procurement director David Kirkpatrick originally felt it wasn’t worth the museum applying for this award.
He said: “It was something that the organisation had contacted us about two or three times over the year.
“With it being the north of England, I thought, with all the resources that the big cities and big-funded museums have, there was no point in us actually going for it.
“I thought we wouldn’t stand a chance.
“But then they contacted us again and I thought ‘right, let’s do it.’
I sat down, filled in all the forms, gave them all the information, and then they came back to us to say that we’d won, which was a great surprise!
David Kirkpatrick
“I sat down, filled in all the forms, gave them all the information, and then they came back to us to say that we’d won, which was a great surprise!”
The award wouldn’t have been possible without Solway’s customers, who keep on returning as the museum adds new things to see each year.
David said: “It was amazing for us to actually do it. The fantastic people that we have, either working for us here as volunteers or the customers that we have.
“You couldn’t pick a better bunch of customers. They all appreciate what we do, they all enjoy themselves, and they all say they’re coming back.
“The number of repeat visitors we have is absolutely amazing and they love coming back because of the changes we make every year.
“More and more now with museums, you find one painting or picture on a wall. If we’ve got a wall, we fill it, because we’re trying to tell a story.”
Solway currently opens on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays but David is hoping that more volunteers would allow the museum to accommodate for an ever-increasing demand.
He said: “We’re always short of retail volunteers and would love some more, as it would allow us to open more days. The demand is out there, we’re just short of bodies to provide that service.
“Everyone played their part in winning this award. We’re one big family really. Everyone who comes up here enjoys themselves.”