Last remaining Blackburn Beverley RAF aircraft to be preserved at aviation museum

Two pieces of East Yorkshire's military heritage look set to be revived after almost four years of being locked away from public view.

The last remaining Blackburn Beverley aircraft, which was built in Brough, had been a visitor attraction at the Fort Paull Museum near Hull for two decades before the site's closure in 2020.

The transporter plane was among hundreds of museum exhibits sold at auction after the land's owner retired.

It had appeared destined for the scrap heap last year when its new owner, who bought it for £21,000, deemed that moving it was not financially viable.

Solway Aviation Museum, which maintains 23 heritage aircraft at Carlisle Airport, has now taken ownership of it - with volunteers dismantling it and moving it to the North West bit by bit.

"It being scrapped - we don't want that to happen with it being the last one," said Dougie Kerr, managing director at Solway Aviation Museum.

"You don’t really get close to newer RAF aircraft but the ones that we keep in museums we like people to touch and get in them. It’s for future generations to see and engineering as well - to bring kids on."

The Blackburn Beverley could carry 100 troops. Credit: PA

The group plans to restore the Blackburn Beverley, which was the RAF's largest aircraft when it was built in the 1950s. They were used by the air force until 1967.

An online fundraiser has so far generated more than £72,000 to help with transportation and restoration costs.

Meanwhile plans to reopen the site that has been home to the Blackburn Beverley are taking shape.

Fort Paull has history dating back to Henry VIII. The present structure was built in the 1860s and the site was used as a Second World War munitions store before it was sold by the Ministry of Defence in the 1960s. It opened as a military museum in the late 1990s but closed in 2020.

Nick Taylor, who has been managing the security of the site since October, has announced plans to reopen the land to the public.

Once it is cleared of brambles he hopes it can host car shows, dog walkers and other events by the summer.

Nick said: “The response has been absolutely unbelievable and it has really hammered home to us how much people want to see this site open again."It’s been here a very long time and we’re really hoping we can keep it going for generations to come."

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