International Bomber Command Centre gets National Lottery funding

The International Bomber Command Centre features memorial walls and a 102ft (31m) metal spire

The International Bomber Command Centre (IBCC) near Lincoln has been awarded £231,000 funding from the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

The IBCC dedicates its work to the 58,000 men and women who lost their lives serving or supporting Bomber Command during World War Two.

Chief executive Nicky van der Drift said the money would be used to "make a number of improvements" to the site.

They include a new post-war digital archive and a learning centre.

Ms van der Drift added the centre was "thankful to The National Lottery Heritage Fund" and said she hoped "visitors will come to the centre to see the changes they're funding at work."

The funding will be used in several areas including creating a new archive which the IBCC has said will "protect and preserve the heritage of the post-war era".

Additionally, the IBBC has said the funding will also be used to commission an architect to design a state-of-the-art learning facility to be built for school children to use.

New staff and training will be funded too.

The memorial wall lists the names of 58,000 Bomber Command crew who were killed in World War Two

Last month the IBBC announced 2023 was its busiest year yet.

The funding is a sign the National Lottery Heritage Fund has trust in the IBCC's work, according to Ms van der Drift.

"That trust would not be given if it were not for the amazing dedication, professionalism, and passion of our team of volunteers and staff, for which I am immensely proud and grateful," she said.

The National Lottery Heritage Fund is the largest funder of UK Heritage and awards grants to projects across the country.

So far it has awarded more than £8.8bn across three decades since its launch in 1994.

Robyn Llewellyn, director of the National Lottery Heritage Fund for the East Midlands, said the funding "will ensure this chapter of the UK's heritage will continue to be shared and explored by visitors far and wide."