Bodmin museum director urging MoD to do repairs

Bodmin Keep's director Helen Bishop-Stephens said the building needs repairs

A group of 80 veterans have raised money for Cornwall's army museum at Bodmin Keep with a 30-mile walk along the Cornish coastline.

The three-day hike from Tintagel to Bodmin helps veterans manage PTSD, by working on a shared goal, coupled with "the magic of exercise and that feel good factor you get from that", the museum's director, Helen Bishop-Stephens, said.

The veterans were collecting money along the route for the museum, which is housed in the 165-year-old keep, forced to close last year for structural repairs.

Ms Bishop-Stephens urged people to write to their MP and tell the Ministry of Defence (MOD) the wait to get the repairs done "just isn't good enough".

'Every Cornish family'

She said: "Someone from every Cornish family will have walked through those gates in the past 160 years. It was the place where people came for conscription to the First and Second World Wars and to sign up for the regular army."

"The keep and the museum are about the regimental spirit of Cornwall."

The museum holds the collection of the Light Infantry, which existed between 1968 and 2007, and has items from Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland in its collection.

Veterans from the Light Infantry Divisions and the Royal Green Jackets take on a challenge walk every other year and raise money for different charities.

'Worthy of Cornwall'

Ms Bishop-Stephens said many of the walkers will have served in the campaigns at the tail end of the last century.

The museum hopes to raise more money once the urgent repairs are completed by the MOD.

"Our plan is to take ownership of the museum and raise funds for the modernisation, and have a really good army museum worthy of its name and worthy of Cornwall."

The MOD said: "[The] Army is currently awaiting the results of intrusive structural investigations at Bodmin Keep Museum to establish the full cost of remediation of the structural issues."

A spokesperson added: "The museum is supported by the Army until 2030 and a number of long-term options are being explored through regular discussions with the museum."

They said military museums make a "significant contribution" and the decision to close the museum was not made lightly. The safety of the public and museum staff is paramount.