Tour of the Reserve Vehicle Collection

SOLD OUT

Discover our exciting Reserve Vehicle Collection on an expert-led tour of The Roger Jones MBE Vehicle Hanger (also known as A-Site).

These tours are designed to offer a behind-the-scenes view of the work we do to preserve our unique collection of repair and recovery vehicles, as well as a more in-depth discussion of the vehicles' histories.

If you would like to attend the tour, please read the following carefully and thoroughly:

The purpose of this page is to explain in detail the tours offered by the Museum. It is intended to give you all the information you require so that you can make an informed choice about whether you should attend. We believe all of the questions you may have will be answered here - please do get in touch if we have missed anything.

Arrangements

Depending on your preferences, the day could comprise three parts (presented in sequential order):

1. A morning visit to the Museum
2. An afternoon visit to The Roger Jones MBE Vehicle Hanger
3. A visit to the Recovery Section Memorial following the tour

Given that you are reading this, we are going to assume you are interested in the tour of the reserve collection (number two). You may also like to take advantage of a visit to the Museum, particularly if you have not done so before or it has been some time since you were last with us.

Visiting the memorial is aimed at those veterans or their family members who wish to see this. It is 'behind the wire' on Lyneham Camp, is not normally publicly accessible and so can only be viewed by special arrangement. Please note: The availability of the memorial visit is to be confirmed at present. In the case, it will be available for anyone who wishes to join, taking place at the end of your tour of the Hangar. It is optional and, if you are not interested, you can simply leave after the tour.

Dates and timings

This tour is taking place on Saturday 25 May 2024. Another tour is taking place earlier on Tuesday 23 April 2024.

The Museum opens at 10.00, so you can join us any time after this if you are interested in making a visit. Find more information to Plan your Visit.

You should arrive no later than 13:00 at Reception, where you will be directed to the meeting point. All visitors will follow in a convoy to the Hangar via your own vehicles. A health and safety briefing will be delivered outside the Hangar once everyone has arrived.

In total, the tour will take up to 2 hours.

Charges

Tour of Reserve Vehicle Collection with Museum visit:

Adult: £20

Child (13-18): £13

Gold Card Holders: Free

Annual Pass Holders: £12 (Museum entry free with Annual Pass)

Tour of Reserve Vehicle Collection only:

Adult: £12

Child (13-18): £9

Gold Card Holders: Free

Annual Pass Holders: £12

Anyone aged 13-18 must be accompanied by a responsible adult when participating in a tour. Children under 13 are not allowed to participate in the tours for health and safety reasons. Note there is no additional charge to visit the Recovery Section Memorial.

The Museum reserves the right to cancel the tour for any reason. We will endeavour to provide all attendees with as much notice as possible if we decide not to proceed, and you will be offered the next available date or a full refund will be supplied under these circumstances. Please use the [email protected] email address for any communication.

Travel

The Roger Jones MBE Vehicle Hanger is located about a mile-and-a-half from the Museum. You will be provided with a map on arrival should you need it, but you will also be following the convoy. You will also be expected to make your own way there; there is no public transport to the location and it is not within walking distance.

Facilities

Catering and refreshments

Refreshments are not included in this offer. Crown's Café will be open from 09.30 should you want to get something to eat. Please note that food and drink are not allowed at the Hanger nor in the Museum's display areas.

Washrooms

A-Site's washroom facilities are very basic. The toilets are unisex and there is no disabled access. You may use our Museum facilities before or after your tour if this will be an issue for you.

What to expect

The collection comprises about 80 examples of armoured, tracked and wheeled repair and recovery vehicles from a variety of the world's Armed Forces. Find out more about the Museum's Reserve Vehicle Collection and what you could see.

Please let us know when booking your ticket if there is a specific vehicle in the collection you wish to see. The Museum occasionally takes vehicles from the collection to various shows and displays around the UK. This means that something in which you are interested may not be available to view; we would not want you to be disappointed.

The environment

The Hanger is a working environment where engineering and repair work constantly takes place. The space is not, and has not been designed as, a museum. Given that it is a workshop, the vehicles will not be presented in the same way they are in The REME Museum, but you will still be able to see all that are there. The tour guide will provide verbal explanations about the vehicles, and a written summary will be provided to those who request one.

Accessibility:

This is accessibility information for the Roger Jones MBE Vehicle Hangar only. Please see our Accessibility page for information on the facilities in the regular Museum building.

Level access

There is ample parking at the Hanger, and you can park adjacent to the entrance if that would be helpful. While the external space outside the Hanger is not level, it is traversable with care. Internally, the Hanger's floor is level, but there is one point where the access is slightly narrower than normal.

Seating and wheelchair use

There is no seating in the Hanger, but you are welcome to bring a wheelchair or a walking stick seat with you. The Museum has a wheelchair that can be borrowed, but these arrangements are on a first-come, first-served basis. Please contact us in advance should you wish to use the wheelchair. You will be expected to transport it to the Hanger and back to the Museum yourself, and you will be liable for any damage it sustains.

Audio-visual

There are no audio-visual interactive presentations in the Hanger, but you may hear sounds of work being conducted on the vehicles. This will be kept to a minimum for the duration of the tour, but some noise may be unavoidable. The tour will be presented verbally, so please do let the tour guide know if you have hearing difficulties and appropriate adjustments can be made.

The ceiling lighting in the Hanger is very bright, and provides excellent illumination.

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Booking Details

As part of your booking confirmation, you will receive a T&Cs document, please read this carefully.

As stated above, the Museum reserves the right to cancel the tour for any reason. We will endeavour to provide all attendees with as much notice as possible if we decide not to proceed, and you will be offered the next available date or a full refund will be supplied under these circumstances.

Should the tour become fully booked, we will hold a waiting list in case of cancellations. Please get in touch if this becomes the case. You may also wish to consider attending on a different date, if one is available. See our Events page for other dates.

We hope to see you soon for this exciting tour!

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SOLD OUT

If you would still like to attend on this date, you can ask to be added to a first-come-first-served waiting list by emailing [email protected]. We make no guarantees that a space will open up, but in the case of an attendee cancellation you will be offered their space before we open it up to the public again.