de Havilland Aircraft Museum

08/09/2026

Volunteering role now available: Comet Café

Are you people-orientated and like interacting with visitors to enhance their museum visit with a nice hot or cold drink and a bite to eat? Join the Comet Café Crew and help us make the most of our wonderful new restaurant!

What will you be doing?
You will carry out the day-to-day operation of the Comet Café by serving customers and keeping front of house clean and tidy, preparing light snacks, and serving hot and cold drinks. Cash handling and till operating is also a part of this role.

What’s required for this role?
An interest in catering and a commitment to good customer service. Independent working and confidently interacting with our visitors, especially during busy times, are important elements of this role.

When do we need you?
Whole or part days (AM 10.30 – 13.30 or PM 13.30 – 17.00)
• Thursday
• Saturday
• Sunday

Training and support
Full training will be given alongside ongoing support from staff and other volunteers.
To apply, please use the Volunteer Application Form on our website in the “Volunteering” section.

29/08/2026

⭐ NEW AEROSHOP STOCK ⭐

We are very privileged to be one of the few stores in the UK to stock this amazing book.

We are now stocking The de Havilland Mosquito - An Australian Tribute in our Aeroshop!

This book has been released by the Mosquito Aircraft Association of Australia and is a fantastic resource for the Mosquito serving in the R.A.A.F during and after WW2

The book also tells the story of Mosquito A52-600 which belongs to the M.A.A.A and gives a detailed history of the airframe and current restoration.

You can pick up a copy of this fantastic book for £35.99 in our Aeroshop only and we have very limited numbers of this book.

unfortunately we do not have this available online.

Why not come down and purchase a copy today before they’re all gone!

29/08/2026

⭐ NEW AEROSHOP STOCK ⭐

Now available in our Aeroshop is the brand new Wingleader 47 - DH Mosquito FB.VI Part 4 book by Ian Thirsk.

All our copies come personally signed by Ian himself and are available in our Aeroshop for £25.00 each

We also have Parts 1, 2 & 3 available to purchase too, all signed by Ian.

Why not pop in and purchase a copy today!

25/08/2026

Ready to go back to school next week?

Before you do, the summer fun isn’t over yet at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum! ☀️🦋

We have our Quiz and Lucky Dip prize along with outdoor games and indoor Hangar Games!

We are also hosting Arts and Crafts with make your own Peg Planes and Butterflies!

Alongside this we have our 20 Aircraft to explore, outdoor play area and our Aeroshop and Comet Cafe which is stocked with tasty treats (and ice cream!)

So why not come and visit us this summer!

We are open Tuesday - Sunday from 10:30-17:00 (last entry at 16:00) and open on Bank Holiday Monday!

19/08/2026

Some 20 members of Walter Goldsmith’s family were recently reunited at the aircraft museum he founded in 1959 at Salisbury Hall, near London Colney.

The event was organised by his daughter Mariana Magnussen and drew relatives from the UK, Italy, Denmark and California. The guests had an informal tour of what is now the de Havilland Aircraft Museum. Several archived items associated with Walter Goldsmith were displayed, including his Royal Marines dress uniform and a poster advertising the museum’s public opening in May 1959. Contemporary photographs confirm that wartime fighter ace Douglas Barder attended.

Walter Goldsmith acquired Salisbury Hall as a home for his growing family, despite its dilapidated condition. Fortunately, the Ministry of Works was willing to financially support its renovation, provided that it was open to the public. These works revealed aircraft graffiti confirming that the Hall was the secret development base of the Mosquito aircraft in 1940-41.

Senior staff at de Havillands factory in Hatfield were keen to loan Walter Goldsmith memorabilia associated with the Mosquito for public display. These included the actual Mosquito prototype W4050 built there in the early 1940s.

Mariana remembers that, as a small girl, she and her friends would clamber over what is now a priceless exhibit and slide down its wings.

15/08/2026

Statement from the de Havilland Aircraft Museum
15 August 2026

The de Havilland Aircraft Museum acknowledges the incident involving the Shuttleworth Collection’s de Havilland DH.88 Comet, Grosvenor House, during this evening’s Flying Proms Air Show.

We are deeply relieved to hear that the crew member has been extracted from the aircraft, is responding, and has been taken to hospital for further assessment. Our thoughts are with them, their family, and everyone affected at this difficult time.

We understand that detailed investigations will follow in due course. In the meantime, we extend our full support to the Shuttleworth Collection and the wider historic aviation community.

28/07/2026

Got any summer plans this week?

Don’t forget that we are running our Summer Holiday activities here at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum.

☀️🦋 SUMMER HOLIDAYS AT DE HAVILLAND MUSEUM ☀️🦋

Join us at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum for our Summer Holiday Fun starting from Saturday 18th July - Monday 31st August!

We have our Quiz and Lucky Dip prize along with outdoor games and indoor Hangar Games!

We are also hosting Arts and Crafts with make your own Peg Planes and Butterflies!

Alongside this we have our 20 Aircraft to explore, outdoor play area and our Aeroshop and Comet Cafe which is stocked with tasty treats (and ice cream!)

So why not come and visit us this summer!

We are open Tuesday - Sunday from 10:30-17:00 (last entry at 16:00) and open on Bank Holiday Monday!

23/07/2026

We’re often privileged to receive some quite remarkable visitors to the Museum, all with a unique and special link to the de Havilland story. None more so than 100-year-old Stanley Hills who - along with family members - recently visited from his home at Walton-on-the Naze.

Born in 1926, Stanley grew up in the Kings Cross area and joined the de Havilland Aircraft Company in June 1940, aged just fourteen. Living in London Colney, he was sent to Salisbury Hall where he worked as an assistant/tea boy to the Mosquito Design Team, remaining there for over a year until transferred onto Mosquito production at Hatfield. As such (and as far as we’re aware), Stanley is now the last surviving member of the Salisbury Hall Mosquito design/production team, it was therefore fascinating to hear his memories of life during this period!

Perhaps Stanley’s most remarkable recollection concerns the maiden flight of Mosquito Fighter prototype, W4052, from a field at Salisbury Hall during the evening of 15 May 1941.

Stanley later assembled bomb doors on the Mosquito production line at Hatfield, before enlisting in the army at the age of eighteen. He served during the Second World War and went on to enjoy a remarkable and varied career.

It was an absolute privilege to host Stanley and his family; we very much hope to see them again soon.

There is more of Stanley’s story on our Museum Blog which you can view on our website

de Havilland Veteran Visits the Mosquito Prototype by John Veall | Jul 22, 2026 | Blog, NewsWe’re often privileged to receive some quite remarkable visitors to the Museum, all with a unique and special link to the de Havilland story. Non more so than 100-year-old Stanley Hills who – along with f...

18/07/2026

⭐️ NEW AEROSHOP PRODUCT ⭐️

Chipmunk fans rejoice!!

Just launched today by Ben Griffiths and Ian Black, we have the brand new book, Chipmunk at 80 (vol 1) we have been very privileged to receive some copies to sell on the launch date!

This book is for sale in our Aeroshop for £37.99, so why not pop down and purchase a copy from our Aeroshop!

17/07/2026

☀️🦋 SUMMER HOLIDAYS AT DE HAVILLAND MUSEUM ☀️🦋

Join us at the de Havilland Aircraft Museum for our Summer Holiday Fun starting from Saturday 18th July - Monday 31st August!

We have our Quiz and Lucky Dip prize along with outdoor games and indoor Hangar Games!

We are also hosting Arts and Crafts with make your own Peg Planes and Butterflies!

Alongside this we have our 20 Aircraft to explore, outdoor play area and our Aeroshop and Comet Cafe which is stocked with tasty treats (and ice cream!)

So why not come and visit us this summer!

We are open Tuesday - Sunday from 10:30-17:00 (last entry at 16:00) and open on Bank Holiday Monday!