People in Shropshire rubbed shoulders with royalty when Princess Anne travelled to Cosford’s Royal Air Force Museum to officially open its multi-million pound Cold War exhibition.
The Princess Royal and Baroness Thatcher spent time viewing the huge exhibition, which is due to open to the public today after more than a year of preparation.
Much of the credit for the expansion of the museum is down to John Francis, who was awarded the OBE for his work in the Queen’s Birthday Honours last June.
He retired in September as the museum’s general manager. He joined the museum in 1983 after 22 years in the RAF.
Mr Francis said yesterday’s opening was a “very proud” occasion.
“I have seen the site grow from virtual dereliction to what it is today,” he said.
“It was a very proud moment for me to see all of this and for me to introduce Princess Anne to all of my old staff.
“She wanted to know where the idea came from and I told her that I had had a vision for what this site should look like when I retired.
“She told me it was all wonderful and she wished she had more time.”
Mr Francis introduced the Princess Royal to 18-year-old Rebecca Pitts, an apprentice aircraft engineering technician.
Rebecca said meeting the Princess Royal had been “a bit nerve-wracking” and she told her that she absolutely loved her job.
She said: “She was asking me questions and I was a bit worried about what to say.
“I told her I absolutely love it here, it’s a lot of fun.”
RAF veterans Peter Holland and Percy Woodhouse, of the Cosford branch of the National Service (RAF) Association, also met the Princess Royal.
Mr Holland and Mr Woodhouse were joined by another dozen ex-RAF “erks”, who were called up as 18-year-olds to do national service in the late 1940s and early 1950s.
Mr Woodhouse, 76, said the Princess Royal was very pleasant.
Mr Holland, 71, said: “I’m very honoured. I’ve met her grandmother, I’ve met her mother and I met her brother at a Battle of Britain service at Westminster last year.
“I’m greatly honoured she was here to open this wonderful museum.”
Councillor Keith Austin, the leader of Telford & Wrekin council, said the exhibition had provided him with a “touch of nostalgia”, as Monday had marked the 45th anniversary of him arriving in Shropshire to start his RAF training.
Councillor Austin worked as a crash rescue firefighter during his five-year air force career.
He said: “It’s a coincidence I arrived in Shropshire on February 5, 1962 to do my training at RAF Bridgnorth.
“It seems a long time ago but I’ve seen some of these aircraft flying during my service and it’s nice to see some of them being exhibited.
“I think I served during quite a critical time during the 1960s, so I’ve seen some of the Cold War activities that went on.
“It’s nice to know it’s behind us and it’s good to know that there is an excellent exhibition to show how it happened.”
The Princess Royal ended her day by sitting in on a class of children from Priorslee Primary School.
The new split-level exhibition includes “hot-spot” kiosks, aircraft suspended from the roof and fighters such as the American F-111 and the Soviet MiG21.
It was funded by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Advantage West Midlands, the European Regional Development Fund, Bridgnorth District Council, the Ministry of Defence and initiatives organised by the RAF Museum.
The exhibition is sited in a new twin-apex structure, representing the Cold War struggle between the two superpowers.
Visitors enter through a concrete nuclear bunker-style section.
By Deborah Collins
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