Heritage lottery cash 'to tell Bomber Command stories'

The education centre will be located in the Chadwick Centre museum next to the Memorial Spire and name walls

A £3m heritage lottery grant has been awarded to help tell the stories of thousands of men who flew bombing raids from England during the Second World War.

The money will be used for education services at the International Bomber Command Centre near Lincoln.

A campaign is still under way to raise £3.8m to build the Chadwick Centre where the exhibits will be displayed.

The Spire and Memorial Wall of Names at the site were unveiled last year.

'World leader'

Air Commodore Charles Clark, of the Bomber Command Association, said: "We have to do everything we can to ensure the project is delivered whilst we still have some veterans alive."

The grant will help create an archive of thousands of personal stories and documents including recollections of some of the remaining survivors for the first time.

Historian Dan Snow said: "Lincolnshire needs a proper memorial to the service personnel who faced appalling conditions as they did their bit to liberate Europe from fascism.

The spire is 102ft (31.09m) high - the length of the wingspan of a Lancaster Bomber

"There is no other centre in Britain or any other country where the history of the bomber offensive can be preserved, gathered, curated, studied and debated. This centre will be a world leader."

The education service will include specialist schools' packs and an educational online portal.

Jonathan Platt, of Heritage Lottery Fund, said: "There are a wealth of stories connected to Bomber Command that, until now, have never been fully told."

He said the lottery money will help preserve "a wealth of stories connected to Bomber Command".

The Chadwick Centre will be built close to the Memorial Spire and walls which carry the names of those who died in the campaign.