Theft At The Aero Space Museum of Calgary

[Kirk R. Lowry]

Bonjour mes amis

It was reported today, June 23, in the Globe and Mail that a robbery occurred at the Aero Space Museum of Calgary sometime over the course of Sunday evening and Monday morning, the 21st or 22nd of the month. Hundreds of dollars were stolen from donation bins as were items displayed in cabinets. These items include medals and pilot memorabilia including "a pilot's log book dated Dec. 19, 1916, to Jan. 16, 1919, written by T.W.G. Thomson of the Royal Naval Air Service".

None of the aircraft in the museum were damaged.

Steven Ogle, C.E.O. of the museum, stated "We believe it was someone who had been here before ... They know what they were after" and went on to describe the thieves, who were thought to be intent on obtaining the historical items rather than the funds, as "Grave robbers".

Police forces and other museums plan to watch internet trading to see if the items are posted for sale.

Kirk

[Germanophile-1]

Originally Posted by Kirk R. Lowry

Bonjour mes amis

It was reported today, June 23, in the Globe and Mail that a robbery occurred at the Aero Space Museum of Calgary sometime over the course of Sunday evening and Monday morning, the 21st or 22nd of the month. Hundreds of dollars were stolen from donation bins as were items displayed in cabinets. These items include medals and pilot memorabilia including "a pilot's log book dated Dec. 19, 1916, to Jan. 16, 1919, written by T.W.G. Thomson of the Royal Naval Air Service".

Thanks for the news, Kirk. Can you post the article or a link to it? That way it can be circulated on the internet -- to various on-line groups -- to alert people to this kind of low-life thievery.

Peter

[Kirk R. Lowry]

Mais oui Peter.

The link to the news item in The Globe and Mail follows -

Thieves plunder Aero Space Museum of Calgary - The Globe and Mail

It certainly is a deed of low order to steal items donated in trust to institutions preserving history for benefit to the public ... "Grave robbers" indeed.

Salut!
Kirk

By the way: thank you so much for the research and the writing over the years!

[VtwinVince]

Miserable *******s. Hopefully the items will be recovered.

[Rod_Filan]

"Too hot to hang onto...

Conscience may have prompted medals return

"The stuff inside was wrapped really, really well to protect it," he said. The medals had been packed in a box with Styrofoam chips, while the artwork was covered with cardboard. Ross suspects the culprit packaged the items carefully to survive the toss over the two-metre high fence.

Cheers

[Kirk R. Lowry]

Bonjour Rod

Thank you for attaching the link about the return of the items stolen from The Aero Space Museum of Calgary.

A rather odd tale as one would believe that a thief who stole from a museum would either keep the items or have arranged a purchase to follow from a client.

Nonetheless, the return of the artifacts is the best that could be hoped for.

My father was once commissioned to build, from scratch, a model of the Avro Arrow by the engineering department of the University of Toronto. The wonderful work was delivered and placed within a case for display ... and stolen within a week! To date there has been no word as to the whereabouts of the replica ...

Salut!
Kirk

[Germanophile-1]

Originally Posted by Kirk R. Lowry

Nonetheless, the return of the artifacts is the best that could be hoped for.

Absolutely right, Kirk. And, by spreading the word among fellow WW I aviation historians (the most likely "clients" for such stolen goods), we help to hasten the retrieval of the artifacts -- and, hopefully, apprehension of the crooks.

At least ten (or more) years ago, there was a notorious case involving a staff member at the U.S. Air & Space Museum who said he thought the NASM was not "taking care of" artifacts. I guess he felt entitled to "liberate" them, find suitable homes for them -- and stick the cash in his own pocket. Fortunately, he was caught and sent to prison. I believe all or most of the stolen items were retrieved.

Likewise, a researcher at the U.K.'s (former) Public Record Office (now The National Archive) helped hismelf to original reports signed by Albert Ball, et al., and managed to palm them off on unsuspecting collectors. He, too, was caught and imprisoned.

Let's hope for the same success with the Calgary items.

Peter

[mboomer6319]

The Virginia Aviation Museum with three WW1 aircraft (and 35 other aircraft) will keep our eyes open for any of the missing items...hopefully they will turn up in good condition and can be returned to the rightful owner.

Cheers,

Mike

[Germanophile-1]

Thanks, Mike.

As Rod notes (above), the items have been recovered.

Peter