We are partnered with the Pathfinder Collection at RAF Wyton, near Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, who have on display at their Heritage Centre some of our best material, including the Deverill Collection.
LATEST INFORMATION ON HERITAGE CENTRE, RAF WYTON
- 4 April 2023 – The revised timetable for the re-opening of the Heritage Centre is the end of July 2023.
- 2 March 2023 – The Heritage Centre at RAF Wyton has had to close due to an ongoing structural issue with the building. The building is unlikely to re-open until November 2023.
The Pathfinder Building in 2007. The Pathfinder Collection is in a different building. It is thought that the Pathfinder Building has now been renamed The National Centre for Geospatial Intelligence.
Shared Data
The online catalogue which is being developed for the RAF Pathfinders Archive will include a substantial amount of material from the Pathfinder Collection; all items will be clearly marked with their archive of origin.
Physical Collections
While we share digital material, the physical collections are completely separate entities. To visit the museum at RAF Wyton, or to ask about a display, or to arrange a talk given by a representative of the Pathfinder Collection, you will need to contact the Pathfinder Collection. Please use the following link: RAF Wyton Heritage Centre Booking
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THE PATHFINDER COLLECTION, RAF WYTON
The Collection is dedicated to No. 8 Pathfinder Group of Bomber Command, the RAF’s only officially recognized elite force.
During the Second World War, RAF Station Wyton was the main Pathfinder airfield. It was very close to Huntingdon where Pathfinder Headquarters was situated, and Air Commodore Donald Bennett, the commander of the Pathfinders, had his marital home on the station.
The idea for a Pathfinder museum at RAF Wyton took root in the summer of 1995. A temporary display for Pathfinder Sunday (an annual event each August for the benefit of the Pathfinders and their families) generated overwhelming interest, which led to the creation of the museum.
Subsequently named The Pathfinder Collection, the museum has evolved and grown considerably since those early days when it was set up by Chief Technician Pete Stanley. It has also changed premises several times, perhaps its most memorable early site being the former Roman Catholic Church (later sadly demolished due to structural failure).
The collection is now housed in the RAF Wyton Heritage and Conference Centre, which contains all the various heritage collections as well as a station history timeline.
The Pathfinder Collection has always been staffed by highly dedicated volunteers, who have a real passion for the heritage which they are preserving.
RAF Wyton is still very much a working station, and the Pathfinder Collection has grown with the support of successive Station Commanders. Because the Collection is on a military base, admission to visit it is by appointment only. Whilst this process may seem somewhat daunting to the uninitiated, all visitors are assured of the friendliest of welcomes by curators who know their subject inside out.
The Pathfinder Collection: Wyton Heritage and Conference Centre, Royal Air Force Wyton, Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire PE28 2EA
