January 17, 2018 5.01 pm This story is over 81 months old

First tour: International Bomber Command Centre ready for take-off in Lincoln

An international story in the heart of Lincoln.

Proud partners and volunteers unveiled the finished International Bomber Command Centre in Lincoln today.

The much-anticipated IBCC at Canwick, Lincoln will open to the public on January 30 and a special opening ceremony is planned for April 12 after six years of planning and construction.

Taking its place in the heart of Bomber County, the £10 million centre and memorial is the first nationally and internationally to recognise and provide a comprehensive history of the service of the Command.

Photo: Sean Strange for The Lincolnite

Photo: Sean Strange for The Lincolnite

Photo: Sean Strange for The Lincolnite

Photo: Toria Maxwell for The Lincolnite

Photo: Toria Maxwell for The Lincolnite

Photo: Toria Maxwell for The Lincolnite

Photo: Toria Maxwell for The Lincolnite

Funding was provided by private donations with the support of a range of grant funding bodies including the National Lottery through the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), the Chancellor’s LIBOR Fund, Biffa Awards, Wren FCC Environment, Garfield Weston and the Foyle Foundation.

Included on the site is the Chadwick Centre, complete with digitised memories and documents, cinema-style reenactments, education space and a cafe, the Memorial Spire, the International Peace Garden and the Bomber Command Digital Archive.

Thus far, the Archive Team, supported by volunteers from nine countries, the University of Lincoln and the National Lottery, has preserved over 180,000 documents and photographs and has recorded 800 oral testimonies.

The centre will be open from Tuesday through to Sunday from 9.30am to 5pm.

People can find out more about the project in the website here.