In 1981, West Sussex County Council donated a large SECO hut to the group and in June 1982, following much hard endeavour, the embryo Museum opened its doors to visitors. We have grown considerably since then to exhibit a vast number of artefacts.

Staffed mainly by volunteers, our mission statement can be described thus:

The Museum exists to promote awareness of the United Kingdom’s military aviation heritage and to educate present and future generations in military aviation by:

Exhibiting the history of aircraft and personnel involved in military aviation with particular reference to RAF Tangmere and its unique place in that history.

• Serving as a memorial to those allied airmen and airwomen who gave their lives in the service of this country.

In 1987, the Museum became a Charitable Trust and Limited Company. As such, its full title is the Tangmere Military Aviation Museum Trust Ltd and it is governed by Memorandum and Articles of Association.

The Museum’s governing body is the Trust Council, comprising 9 elected Trustees who, in effect, constitute the Company’s Board of Directors. The Council is responsible for all matters of policy, including the allocation of departmental budgets. Day to day management is delegated to the Museum’s Director who oversees a Management Team comprising the following areas of responsibility: Curator, Education, Engineering, Publicity and Simulators. The cafeteria (operated via franchise) and shop (Museum Trading Company) respond directly to the Trust Council.