PRESS RELEASE
Campbell family back museums call to raise money
The Ruskin Museum today called on the British public to help them fund a court case to bring Donald Campbell’s record-breaking boat, Bluebird K7 back to Coniston in Cumbria.
Jeff Carroll, deputy chairman of the trustee board at the museum said: “It is with huge frustration and disappointment that the Trustees of The Ruskin Museum find themselves in the position of having to go to the public to help Bring Bluebird Home. In 2006 it was with great pride and also humility that the Ruskin Museum accepted the kind donation of Bluebird K7 from the Campbell Family Heritage Trust via a Deed of Gift.”
He added: “An agreement was made between Bill Smith and The Campbell family that the restoration of Bluebird K7 would be a charitable project, using The Ruskin Museum’s status as a registered Charity to raise money from the public via donations, and a volunteer workforce would be used to carry out the work. I don’t think anyone would dispute the level of skill and dedication the volunteers have shown in bringing K7 back to life.
“The Museum was tasked by the Campbell Family and on behalf of the British public, to look after and display K7 in a specially built display hall. Public grants, and donations totalling £750,000 paid for the Bluebird Wing to be built and it was officially opened in 2010. To date, we have been unable to finalise that task, due to an abuse of trust by somebody who purported to be working for the common good reneging on a long-held understanding.”
Jeff said: “It seemed then and still feels today that it is only right and proper that K7 should be housed in the Bluebird wing, which is only a stone’s throw away from where her skipper rests in Coniston graveyard.
“First things first. We need to fulfil the Deed of Gift and get Bluebird into the Museum. The discussion on running and maintenance can take place once that is done. We make a commitment here and now that if K7 is offered up and allowed to be put on display, those discussions will take place. We are welcoming and open to all further discussions.”
He added: “The Museum, is a relatively small operation, but we believe it punches well above its weight, being consistently voted in the top 10% of visitor attractions worldwide.
“It is regrettable that the Museum Trustees have been put in the invidious position of having to expend valuable resources that could have been well-used elsewhere to good effect, on a legal case that nobody really relishes but given the lack of progress trying to do things without resorting to legal process this was the final option available.”
Jeff said: “The Trustees never really anticipated that we might become involved in what is being viewed as a potentially landmark legal case, why would we, when so much was being done on trust?
“Now, we need to reach out to those with an interest in Donald Campbell, speed records, the Lake District, and all things British to help us bring this engineering icon which put the UK at the forefront of World Speed Records and at the same time cemented Coniston’s place in the history books, to where she unquestionably belongs.”
Gina Campbell QSO, the daughter of speed King Donald Campbell, who lost his life in Bluebird K7 while attempting the world speed water record on Coniston Water on January 4th, 1967, said: “The Campbell Family Heritage Trust gifted my father’s record-breaking boat to the Ruskin Museum on the understanding that Bill Smith would restore Bluebird K7, ‘at no cost to the museum’ and then return her to Coniston, so she would be put on display in the purpose-built wing.”
She added: “17 years have passed since we gifted K7, and the museum is still waiting for her return. The Ruskin Museum raised funds, at a cost of over £750,000 to build a permanent wing at the museum in which to display her.”
“Our wish was that Bluebird K7 would reside in the museum for all time and be run on special occasions, so that the British public could see this iconic piece of history, K7 is an important part of UK’s heritage and her future needs to be secured for future generations.”
Gina said: “Mr Smith has chosen not to return the restored K7 to the Ruskin Museum as was initially agreed. This has broken our trust and is not in the spirit in which the family gave him permission to raise K7 in the first place.”
She added: “My father who loved Coniston and spent much of his time there would be appalled, not only by the fact that Bluebird K7 is not in her spiritual home, but that a small museum is having to fight to have their own property returned.”
Donations can be made via the Museums GoFundMe account.
