THEY have toured the battlefields of the world over the years.
And now grandparents Peter and Margaret Thompson have set up a marvellous military memorabilia museum – in their garage.
Pensioners Peter and Margaret have filled their Barkisland outbuilding with hundreds of curiosities brought back from their trips to battlefields around the world.
Among the treasures in the Thompson’s collection are a pilot’s flight suit, pieces of the Berlin Wall, Spitfire parts, bullets, uniforms, caps, helmets, medals, buttons, model planes and even a Spitfire ejector seat.
The collection spans 150 years of history from the Crimea to the Falklands and the Cold War.
And the couple – who have been married for 53 years – have lots of interesting tales to tell about the history behind each piece.
Grandmother-of-two Mrs Thompson, originally from Dewsbury, said: “We’ve had lots of adventures. One of our daughters said she’s surprised that on a few occasions we’ve even made it back home in one piece.
“Lots of our friends go their different ways with their interests but we both find military history very interesting.
“We do it because we enjoy it – although it’s not our only interest.
“We’ve had so much pleasure out of it that we started the museum and we hope other people can enjoy it too.”
Mr Thompson, 81, from Paddock, did National Service in the RAF from 1949 to 1951 – his old uniform hangs in the museum.
Later he worked as a managing director at family company Thompson Brothers of Longwood – the woollen yarn spinning division of the Kangol Headwear Group.
His interest in military history began at school, and he and Mrs Thompson have a whole library and office devoted to researching the subject.
The grandfather-of-two said: “It started with battlefields mainly and we used to do all the trips on our own – not tours – so we could explore ourselves.
“When we first started battlefield touring there were a lot of things lying about that we could find.
“But these days a lot of the battle fields have been commercialised and it has become harder.”
The couple’s passion has taken them on adventures across the globe, and they’ve spent decades collecting curiosities.
They flew with the RAF to the Falkland Islands near South America – on the 10th anniversary of the conflict between the British and Argentina.
In Ukraine they say they were kept under surveillance as they explored the battlefields of the Crimean War.
The couple – who used to live in Fixby – also visited Cape Town in South Africa to see World War II English Electric Lightning jet fighters.
And they jetted around the rest of the country in a Dakota aircraft to explore the battle fields of the Zulu and Boer Wars.
Mr Thompson – whose grandson Thomas Barber plays for Clayton West Cricket Club – used to be treasurer of the WWI Yorkshire Branch of the Western Front Association.
And he was one of the original founding members of the Yorkshire Air Museum at Elvington Airfield near York.
The couple are supporters of the Huddersfield Military History Society and have given members tours of the museum.
All are welcome to the Barkisland museum. Call Mr Thompson to arrange a visit on 01422 822284.
