Tangmere Museum sign

As an original founder member of Tangmere Military Aviation Museum, I write this to allow you to consider the facts about the sign, which was the Ltd Co’s property long before the trust was formed.

Tangmere Museum was originally founded under the leadership of Jim Beadle (Author of ’43 Squadron Fighting Cocks’). Jim served as senior ground crew with 43 Sqd and made it his quest to found a museum in memory of all those who fought and died from Tangmere during WW11. In the late 1970’s he encouraged a group of young aviation archaeologists to join together with their items of B of B aircraft bits, and open up the original decrepit buildings still used by the museum today. In 1980, Jim approached the Tangmere council and negotiated a peppercorn lease for the buildings and some of the surrounding land. To get started, his group of enthusiasts dug in their pockets and funded as best they could, the reclamation and decor of the first hall. As much WW11 memorabilia and aircraft parts that were available between the helpers and their friends was put on display, and a ‘cloth cap’ served as a till on the weekends the museum was open. A Ltd company was formed with Jim as the first Director of Tangmere Military Museum Ltd. and over a period of the next 6 years, the museum matured and grew to become a nationally recognised wartime aviation musem of great interest.
This did not happen by chance. One of the ‘group of enthusiasts’ that Jim had seconded was Andy Saunders. He was a major contributor of his own personnel items in the early days and was appointed curator and director of the museum by his fellow helpers and Jim Beadle. Without his efforts of many long week end hours, as well as time in between his work and away from his then young family in Hastings, Tangmere museum would not have had the wealth of items on show, the publicity required, the new High Speed Hanger with the Hunter, Meteor and many of the exhibits still there today. As a Ltd Co. it was necessary to give guarantees to the bank for a loan to expand and develop the museum. Andy put his house up as part of the collateral required for the loan, along with others who dug deep to finance the project. All this and more from an ever growing band of enthusiasts ( of which there are none present at the museum today), brought the museum to a status of becoming a trust The trust was formed in 1987 and a trust council was formed. A large percentage of the exhibits were privately owned by the original Ltd Co., who had bought them with the income raised on the door, and it was decided by all concerned to leave them on display at no cost to the new trust. Legal advice was sought concerning the ownership of the items and that advice was that the Ltd company should retain ownership and control of those items collected before 1987. This was agreed by all those concerned until 1993 when the then chairman of the trust and his council cohorts decided renege on that agreement, and maintain that the trust should own and control those items. A high court writ was issued by the trust against the original Ltd Co. and over the next 12 years the trust wasted in excess of £35,000 on solicitors, barristers and court fees, to lose a case which they had been advised in the first place, it could not win.
The original Ltd Co had to defend each court action as it arose and was responsible for for its own defence costs even though the courts had given a majority of the costs against the Trust.
When at last in 2005, common sense amongst new trust councillors prevailed, the court order was obeyed, and the remains of the original exhibits ( many of which had been ‘lost’ during the period) were handed over to the remaining directors of the Ltd Co. of which Andy Saunders was one.
The Tangmere sign was one of those items deemed by the courts as belonging to the original Ltd Co. It was offered back to the museum for all the reasons stated by the Forum writers. However, the new trust decided decided they could not afford the asking price (not surprising after the money already wasted on legal fees) and it was again offered as a swap for something of equal value. This was also refused.
The blame for the past lies squarely with the Chairman and councillors who chose to try and ‘grab’ the disputed items after being told legally that they belonged to the Ltd co. The financial cost to the Trust for that decision, might interest the Charity Commissioners if they were ever told the truth.
The items sold on Ebay have helped pay the cost of outstanding defence solicitor’s fees and for the wind up of the original Ltd Company.
There are virtually none of the original-founding members left from the early days.

Prognosis:
If you form a museum, do not form a charitable status, and allow those who were never involved in the original project, to take over and form an old boys club!
Tangmere could have been a progressive flying museum by now, with active restoration on site and the use of a runway for fly in’s, aeromarts, conference hall, etc.
As it is now, it is stuffed full of silent exhibits and very few personnel who know anything of their real history.