The British Balloon
Museum & Library JOIN NOW MAKE A DONATION Help save the past for the future

Welcome to the British Balloon Museum and Library

The British Balloon Museum and Library (BBM&L) is the official museum of the British Balloon and Airship Club. A small group of balloonists formed the BBM&L in 1979; we are a registered charity with the objective of preserving the many different items associated with, and used in, hot air and gas ballooning, and other forms of lighter-than-air flight. We have no physical museum to house our collection but, thanks to the National Lottery Heritage Fund, you can now explore many items in our collection for the first time online. The process of adding collection items to the website will be a gradual one, as more items are catalogued and photographed.

Explore the Collection

The BBM&L holds a large collection of artefacts from the sport of ballooning, both hot air and gas, plus a good number of items from the world of airships. Click on the links below to navigate to the category you want, where you can view images of these items along with their descriptions.

Hardware Balloons, baskets, burners etc. Non-fiction, fiction, non-english. Books Oral history Audio interviews with key people. Advertising Posters and handbills. Clothing T-shirts, sweatshirts, flying suits etc. Photographs Single photos, bundles and albums. Post/Postal items Flown mail, stamps, envelopes. Art Paintings, prints. Moving films Documentaries, fiction, events. Memorablia China, glass, wood, metal etc. Trophies & plaques Awards, trophies and plaques. Records Logbooks, certificates, stationery etc. Publications Articles, magazines, newspapers etc. 3D models Models of balloons etc. Balloon G-AVTL taking off Book jacket for My Polar Flights Don Cameron in the Cameron Balloons factory Poster for French balloon meet 2001 Yellow flying suit Image from c.1908 of people in balloon basket Signed envelope of balloon launched from HMS Ark Royal Coloured engraving of 18th century balloon VHS video cover for Breitling Orbiter 3 video SAGA 1997 Official participant dish Trophy with two handles Montage of logbook items and image of Renee Thornton Daily Telegraph magazine cover featuring balloons 3D model of balloon

Search the Collection

Use the search box below to find a particular item, person or event.

Featured Object from the Collection

Wartime folding wicker gas balloon basket. Designed to take spies behind enemy lines during World War II, the balloons would be launched off trawlers in the North Sea and the baskets were foldable to save space on the boat.

Latest News and Events

We will post news items of interest here concerning people, balloons and airships. There will also be details of events as they become available.

View a selection of articles from our member magazine
As a thank you, we are offering you the chance to peak inside our quarterly membership magazine, Trailrope, to get a taste of the fascinating history of ballooning.

Trailrope Summer 2025

The latest issue of Trailrope is published and on the front cover you see a balloon made in 1937 by...

Midlands Air Festival 2025

The BBM&L had a successful Midlands Air Festival event. Sadly, the weather was windy, which restricted the flying slots to...

New Atlantic attempt

A new attempt to fly a balloon across the Atlantic Ocean is being prepared in Presque Isle, Maine. The same...

Will you help preserve the history of ballooning?

Become a friend of the BBM&L now.

UK Friends of the British Balloon Museum & Library pay an annual subscription of £15, and it is £18 for Friends overseas. You will receive regular issues of our journal, Trailrope, and one of the much-prized BBM&L lapel badges. There are Inflation Days when historic balloons are given an airing and a great Annual Luncheon. Most important is the knowledge that you are helping to save what could so easily be lost.

This Day in History

30 May 1928

Harry Honeywell, an American ?aeronaut extraordinaire' took off from Pittsburg, PA (NBR) with W.Hoskins. The balloon was drawn into a thunderstorm soon after launch and quickly climbed to 19,000 feet (5791metres). Flight ended soon after, in a terminal velocity descent, during which, the aeronauts jettisoned 1500 pounds (680kgs)of ballast and clothes. The flight ended on the side of a hill, but both survived with no injuries. Harry went on to make over 600 balloon flights and 50 airship flights before his death in 1940. Source: Who is Who in Ballooning

30 May 1908

The first British-held international balloon race began at Hurlingham Private Members Club in Fulham, England.

"Thirty one balloons entered and the two joint winners ( Mr. Pollock in ‘Valkyrie’  and Mr. Brewer in ‘Lotus’) both claim to have landed within a mile of the winning post at Burchett's Green Inn near Maidenhead.

Some difficulty arose in regard to awarding third prize, as third, fourth, fifth and sixth balloons all descended in Waltham St. Lawrence about equal distance from the winning post."

Educational resources for everyone

How does a balloon work?
How do you land?

Hot air balloons are colourful and inspiring, great to fire the imagination and create an enthusiasm for learning. Visit our Education section to learn more about them and to access teacher resources.

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