Flying visit to museum lifts memorial garden

Thursday, 16 June 2022 01:00

Power workers helped transform the grounds of the Army Flying Museum in Middle Wallop last week.

Ahead of the popular venue's Wallop Wheels and Wings event next month, fifty staff from UK Power Networks donated their time to ensure a speedy makeover of their memorial garden, outdoor seating areas, visitor pathway and service courtyard.

Volunteers cleared flowerbeds, re-laid pathways, replaced plants and edging, laid bark and gravel, trimmed hedges, painted picnic benches and cleaned memorial plaques and windows.

The team also built a new memorial garden bench, featuring a plane propeller design.

Staff gave their time through a company initiative, Donate a Day, which gives employees two days each year to volunteer in their local community. Many of the UK Power Networks Services’ staff involved on the day work on defence-related projects designing, building, maintaining and operating electrical infrastructure on military sites across Hampshire and Wiltshire.

Caroline Martin, business support assistant at UK Power Networks Services, said, “It was great to see the team come together to help the museum, which means so much to many people and tells the story of British Army aviation bravery and service.

“This is the first time we have managed to volunteer with an Army-related project and the team loved making a difference at this fantastic museum. Once we had completed the work, we were taken airside and given the Historic Army Aircraft Flight (HAAF) hangar tour, which everyone thoroughly enjoyed.”

Lucy Johnson, Chief Executive at the Army Flying Museum, said, “As an independent charity, we are so grateful to UK Power Network Services for donating their time and expertise to helping us improve our outdoor spaces. It has made such a huge difference to the museum, particularly following two very difficult years. The UKPN team brought energy and enthusiasm and they did a fantastic job!”

UK Power Networks Services recently joined the museum as a corporate partner.

The museum's Wallop Wheels and Wings event is on July 2nd and features flypasts as well as 50 classic aircraft and over 400 super and classic cars and motorcycles.

Salisbury Radio will be broadcasting live from the event.