Dunsfold, 4 December 2014. The world-renowned Dunsfold Collection of historic Land Rovers has recently achieved Charitable Trust status and is launching a fundraising campaign to secure a suitable museum building that will allow regular public access to its collection of Land Rover vehicles.
The Collection was started in 1968 by Brian Bashall who realised that his love of strange prototype and pre-production Land Rovers was of interest to others. These irreplaceable prototypes which are part of Britain’s transport heritage, over the years, required a home to preserve the history of the iconic marque and without Brian’s foresight and enthusiasm many of these vehicles could have been lost forever. The Transport Trust, which is the UK’s only national charity established to promote and encourage the preservation and restoration of Britain's unique transport heritage in all its forms, recognised the importance of Brian’s work in 2003 when it awarded him a Lifetime Achievement Award.
Over the years, the Dunsfold Collection has expanded to include not only prototype and pre-production vehicles but examples of almost every model made by Land Rover from 1948 to the present day, including military vehicles, record-breakers, Royal cars, Limited Editions and display vehicles.
The Collection now has over 130 unique Land Rover and Range Rover vehicles which are housed in a number of barns and can only be seen at the biennial Open Weekend when they are all put out on display on a local estate. During the weekend, visitors come from all over the world to view this unique Collection.
The trustees of the Dunsfold Collection want to ensure the vehicles, the wonderful collection of over 2,000 model Land Rovers and the Dunsfold archive of Land Rover engineering drawings, marketing and promotional material, manuals and handbooks are safeguarded for the enjoyment of future generations.
Jaguar Land Rover CEO Dr Ralf Speth said: “I am delighted that the Dunsfold Collection has achieved Charitable Trust status and this important development is a major milestone in preserving this unique collection for the future. We at Jaguar Land Rover are delighted to continue to support the Dunsfold Collection going forward.”
The trustees are inviting Land Rover enthusiasts everywhere to help raise funds to secure a museum building. More details may be found on the Collection website http://www.dunsfoldcollection.co.uk including an application form to become a Friend of the Collection for just £35 per year and further information on a range of sponsorship opportunities that will ensure your support of this important collection is recognised among Land Rover enthusiasts everywhere.
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For further information, please contact:
Philip Bashall +44 (0) 1483 200822
Email: collectionadmin@btconnect.com
