July 1, 2015
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Cadets from 379 (County of Ross) Sqn Air Cadets, visited the Alness Heritage Centre on 30 June for a special tour of the David L Wilkinson Gun Exhibition.
The exhibition is a large collection of weapons from the late 19th Century onwards, and are all personally owned by Mr Wilkinson. Some are replicas, but are still valuable. Cadets were allowed to handle some of the weapons to feel the weight and get a realistic understanding of what it was like for members of the Armed Forces to carry such equipment.
Mr Wilkinson, a former member of the ATC and the RAF, gave an excellent talk and spoke about each weapon in the collection, which ranged from pistols and bayonets to large machine guns and grenades.
Pilot Officer David Anderson RAFVR(T), Commanding Officer of 379 (County of Ross) Squadron, said: “It is always great for the Cadets to hear a talk from someone who was a member of the ATC in their youth, but for someone to also show the Cadets some of the weapons they used in their RAF service brings an extra element to the talk. Mr Wilkinson’s collection grabbed the interest of the Cadets and his stories were entertaining and educational. This was truly a rare collection and we thank Mr Wilkinson for all the hard work he obviously puts in to maintain it.”
Our picture (above) show Mr Wilkinson with 379 (County of Ross) Sqn.
