International Bomber Command Centre opens to the public today

The newly completed International Bomber Command Centre and Memorial Spire in Lincoln is officially open to the public from today.

After six years of planning and construction, the £10 million centre has opened its doors on Canwick Hill.

It is the first centre nationally and internationally to recognise and provide a comprehensive history of the service of the Command, which has deeps roots to Lincolnshire.

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

When purchased online, day passes currently cost £4.50 for children, £7.50 for adults and £6.20 for concessions. Family passes cost £23.50. On the door prices are £1 extra and the family pass is £27.50.

Photo: Sean Strange for The Lincolnite

Photo: Sean Strange for The Lincolnite

Photo: Sean Strange for The Lincolnite

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.

The iconic Memorial Spire is the UK’s tallest war memorial. It is surrounded by the names of every individual who lost their life on Bomber Command during World War II.

Funding for the project was raised 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.

Archive teams, 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 IBCC team took time to mark the occasion in memory of the project’s founder Tony Worth, who sadly died in November, just weeks before the centre was completed.

An special opening ceremony for the IBCC will be held on April 12, 2018.

Take a look back at the journey:

Find out more about the International Bomber Command Centre on the website here.