In Brenzett, Kent, an old barn houses the Romney Marsh Wartime Collection, an incredible amount of saved memorabilia of WW1 and WW2. From aeroplanes, real size and models, propellers, machinery, guns and cartridges, German bombs, uniforms of soldiers and nurses, to a relic of a beautiful old car, can all be viewed in the 4-5 rooms. A real treasure trove of war time salvaged memory, including maps and plans.
There is also a cockpit to climb into as well as models of ships used at the time. While walking around one can hear the stories of that time and the devastation which should make anybody think, never again.
Brenzett Aeronautical Museum also has several pieces of fighter planes which were found in the Marsh 20 years ago. It has had many donations over its time from ex-aircrew collectors and farmers in this area. The building in which this memorabilia is being shown was originally built as a hostel in Kent for the Land-girls who worked in the area.
Brenzett had been an airfield (now just a field) and was one of the six key bases defending the area from Hythe to Dungeness and was a Polish squadron’s base. The museum also sells many souvenirs of interest for all ages.
As there is so much to see it might be advisable to plan for a couple of hours with a short break in the cafe which was the land-girls old lounge. The collection is run entirely by very helpful and knowledgeable volunteers who will try and answer any questions. Many were part of the dig teams recovering artefacts around the Marsh. The museum is open from Good Friday to the last week-end of October, Saturday to Monday from 10:30am to last entries at 3pm. The website can be viewed here.