£100,000 has been awarded to The Tank Museum, by the Department for Digital, Culture Media and Sport (DCMS) and the Wolfson Foundation, to support upgrades to the Supporting Collection, allowing the stores to become more environmentally sustainable.
The Supporting Collection encompasses approximately 15,000 objects related to armoured warfare including weapons, uniforms, flags, memorabilia, personal equipment, and fine art. Highlights of the collection include original pastels by Eric Kennington, and the colours of the Royal Tank Regiment flown from General Elles’s tank at the first major tank action, the Battle of Cambrai in 1917.
The money, which has been awarded from the DCMS/Wolfson Museums and Galleries Improvement Fund, will be used to upgrade the environmental controls in the Supporting Collection stores. They will be changed from active, power hungry, heating and ventilation to a passive system which will be more energy efficient and provide more stable conditions for the collection itself.
The £100,000 investment comes from a joint fund which the DCMS runs in partnership with the Wolfson Foundation, providing investment for museums and galleries in England. Awarding this money to The Tank Museum, “The Panel were impressed by the plans for the care of this significant collection to be more efficient and environmentally sustainable.”
The project is due to be completed by Summer 2023.
