The Weald Foundation is a charitable trust that was established in 2003 with the primary objective of preserving and restoring historically significant armoured and military vehicles and equipment, especially those from the First and Second World Wars. Our mission is to educate the public about the history of these vehicles and their role in military conflicts.
Our collection is a rare and unique assembly of working vehicles, both armoured and soft-skinned, and is regarded as one of the finest collections of its kind in the world. As a charitable trust, we are committed to the ongoing maintenance and preservation of these important vehicles for future generations to appreciate and learn from.
We take pride in our restoration process, which involves extensive research and investigation to ensure that each vehicle is restored to its original condition. We believe that our collection is an invaluable resource for the public to learn about the technological advancements, strategic developments, and human stories that shaped military conflicts in the past.
As an organization, we are dedicated to our mission of preserving history and educating the public.
Activities
The Weald Foundation has a six-part programme that is focused on preserving and restoring military vehicles from the First and Second World Wars. Our mission is to educate the public on the significance of these vehicles in military history, and we achieve this through the following objectives:
- Acquiring, restoring and preserving military vehicles for public education.
- Researching and interpreting original documents, recording the restoration process through film and photographs, and producing literature on the history of the vehicles and related equipment for display to the general public.
- Promoting and encouraging the study of restoration methods.
- Researching the human history of each vehicle and related equipment for display to the public.
- Restoring each vehicle to fully authentic wartime working conditions both inside and out.
- Using the collection for the benefit of the wider community through education and training programs at our facilities in Kent, as well as schools and other sites in England.
Our commitment to historical accuracy is reflected in our research and restoration process. We publish two research and general interest articles every week, which are derived from our exhaustive investigations into current and past projects. This research is an invaluable resource for historians, collectors, and modellers.
We believe that restoring military vehicles is a vital means of preserving history, and our goal is to pay absolute attention to original detail in all areas of the restoration process. This sometimes involves recovering the smallest and most obscure parts of the vehicles. No task is too daunting in our pursuit of authentic, original, and correct restorations.
To learn more about our history of research papers and the benefits of supporting our work, please visit the Membership section and explore the Weald Foundation archive.
The Board
✝ Michael Gibb, Trustee
24 Jan 2003 – 20 Oct 2024 ✝
Howard Dellar, Company Secretary
5 Sep 2008 – Present
Hilary Doyle, Trustee
18 Jul 2005 – Present
Charlotte Wetton, Trustee
22 Dec 2022 – Present
Richard Udovenya, Trustee
15 Aug 2017 – Present
Guy Portelli, Trustee
10 Jul 2020 – Present
Support our Work
To help us continue our efforts, please consider becoming a member or making a charitable donation.