International Bomber Command Centre recognised for its Heritage Education

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The International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) in Lincoln is a world-class facility to serve as a point for recognition, remembrance and reconciliation for Bomber Command. The Centre provides the most comprehensive record of the Command in the world, and the IBCC ensures that generations to come can learn of their vital role in protecting the freedom enjoyed today.

The IBCC was awarded the Sandford Award for Heritage Education in 2018 on the strength of their Learning Programmes. The 2018 Sandford Award citation reads:

“The International Bomber Command Centre has certainly “hit the ground running” with the education programmes that they offer. The focus that runs throughout the programmes of Remembrance, Recognition, Reconciliation ensure that the activities that they offer are engaging, thoughtful, informative and inspiring. This is a visit that every student, regardless of age, gender or preferred learning style, will enjoy and at the end of the visit will understand the impact of Bomber Command on everyone involved on all sides.”

The IBCC has become a popular destination for visitors with excellent feedback about experiencing the innovative visitor centre and Memorial. Many visitors are travelling from outside the county, and the Centre is also sought after as a venue for receptions and conferences.

The Centre offers displays and interpretive material which encourage visitors to find out more about Bomber Command, for example – what it was like to serve as a member of an Aircrew and to be involved in a bombing sortie; the impacts of operations on targeted populations, and the stories of civilians who built the planes

The IBCC has developed a sophisticated Digital Archive with an extensive repository of personal stories of those who served and suffered during WWII. This archive includes personal memorabilia and one of the biggest collections of eyewitness testimonies.  It has been created as part of the overall project to ensure that the story of the Command and the bombing campaign is preserved in perpetuity. The Digital Archive is preserving documents, from all over the world, including log books, photographs, letters and service citations. The archive also contains oral histories of those involved, from all sides, ensuring that their first-hand experiences are preserved.

Thank you to IBCC for use of the accompanying image

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