Under Fire Museum
Museum of the wartime fire service in a 1940s-style utility fire station at the former RAF Twinwood Farm airfield near Bedford; open on summer Sundays.
Have only individual sections read aloud
About the museum
Under Fire is one of several museums on the historic Twinwood Airfield site at Clapham, north of Bedford. During the Second World War the airfield was an RAF training base. The bandleader Glenn Miller used it regularly, and on 15 December 1944 he boarded a plane there and disappeared on his way to France. The restored control tower reopened in 2002 as the Glenn Miller Museum, and the other wartime buildings now house further museums.
Under Fire presents itself as Britain's only museum devoted to the wartime Fire Service. It is laid out as a utility fire station of the 1940s, with accurate dioramas and vehicles. The building contains an exhibition room, a watchroom, a dormitory, a messroom and an appliance room with vehicles and a workshop. The museum also has a library of particular interest to researchers.
The neighbouring museums include the Twinwood Aviation Museum, the Motor Transport Section with the Axis Museum, a recreated airman's billet run by the living history group Summer of '44, and a small display on the First World War. The museums are open to the public on Sundays in the summer and are otherwise open only to visitors of the annual Twinwood Festival.
Highlights
- Utility fire station of the 1940s with dioramas and vehicles
- Watchroom, dormitory, messroom and appliance room
- Wartime fire service library
- Part of the Twinwood Airfield museum site with the Glenn Miller connection
Permanent exhibition
- Under Fire wartime fire station – A 1940s-style utility fire station with an exhibition room, watchroom, dormitory, messroom, vehicles, workshop and library.
- Founded
- 1997
Admission & discounts
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Accessibility
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Kids & families
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Getting there & parking
By public transit
Bedford railway station is about 3 miles away and the organisers suggest a taxi. Stagecoach bus 51 runs from Bedford to Clapham, but the airfield is 1¾ miles outside the village and an uphill walk.
The site can only be reached via Twinwood Road, which leaves a roundabout on Milton Road in Clapham. Some satnav systems give wrong directions; the organisers suggest entering N52.1692492 W0.5049295 (the roundabout) and then driving up Twinwood Road for just over half a mile.
Get directionsAmenities & dining
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Events & venue rental
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Plan your visit
| Good to know | Under Fire shares its site and opening schedule with the other Twinwood museums; the telephone number and email address belong to the Twinwood Festival organisers. |
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