A collector is holding an aviation exhibition and donating the proceeds to GNAAS.
John Keith, of Long Marton, near Appleby, is displaying the private collection which has never been seen before in public.
The collection has three components relating to the history of aviation and space.
There is a large assortment of aviation photos from World War One, brought home by Arthur Fielding, an observer flying tandem with the Royal Flying Corps in Egypt and France. These include aerial views in Britain, France and the Middle East, and aircraft (many crashed) in 1915-19, and give some idea of what it was like being an observer flying early aircraft in the RFC in the First World War when life expectancy was short.
Additionally there will be photographic postcards and autographs from the 1910 Blackpool Aviation meeting which include the historic early flyers such as Claude Graham-White, AV Roe, Paulhan and Latham – the first flyer to attempt to fly the Channel.
The last part of the exhibition is related to space, and includes photos and autographs including both the first Briton in space, Helen Sharman OBE, and the first American women to walk in space, plus many others, together with a collection of NASA Mission Badges.
John said: “Much of the collection was acquired by chance and has been in my attic for over 30 years now, and I thought it may interest others and deserved a public outing. Given the subject it seemed fitting to use it to raise funds for the Great North Air Ambulance.”
The exhibition is being held at the Tourist Information Centre in Appleby and opens on the 12th February until further notice. There will be a fun quiz testing learning alongside the exhibition.
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