Bring Bluebird K7 Home to Coniston

On 4th January 1967, Donald Campbell CBE was tragically killed on Coniston Water while attempting to set a new World Water Speed record for Britain in his hydroplane Bluebird K7. Despite searches at the time, neither he nor K7 were found and the Campbell family decided to leave the site as a memorial to one of the worlds bravest men.

In the late 90’s amateur diver Bill Smith went looking for Bluebird K7. In late 2000 K7 was located and Mr. Smith persuaded Donald Campbell’s daughter, Gina to allow him to bring K7 to the surface, as now it had been found it was open to looting. Gina reluctantly agreed, on one condition, that her dad was found too, so she could “put him somewhere warm” It’s fair to say that some of the Campbell family including Tonia Bern Campbell, Donald’s widow, were against Donald and K7 being recovered but the search for Donald went ahead.

In March 2001, Bluebird K7 was recovered from Coniston Water in remarkable condition considering she had lain at the bottom of the lake for 34 years. In 2001, Cumbria was in the middle of Foot and Mouth, and K7 had to be recovered quickly as travel restrictions were due to be put into place, and once K7 was out of the water, no one had any specific plans for her, so she was transported to Bill Smiths workshop in North Shields until a plan could be formulated.

In May 2001, Donald Campbells' remains were recovered and following an inquest, a formal funeral and burial took place in Coniston on 12th September 2001.

The Ruskin Museum applied to the Heritage Lottery Fund to have Bluebird K7 restored but two applications failed and eventually, The Ruskin Museum, The Campbell Family Heritage Trust and Bill Smith (who were by now working under the umbrella of The Bluebird Project) decided to go it alone.

In December 2006, The Campbell Family Heritage Trust donated Bluebird K7 to the Ruskin Museum so that she would always be in the Museum system, and that her future would be protected. The donation was on the condition that K7 be restored to how she was on the morning of 4th January 1967 before the crash and that she be put on permanent display for public and educational benefit.

For the display part of the agreement, The Ruskin Museum would need to build a brand new wing to house Bluebird K7, and for the restoration part, Mr Smith declared he would restore Bluebird K7 “at no cost to the museum”

He would use public donations to raise money for the materials and volunteer workforce to carry out the labour.

A deed of gift was signed in December 2006 and both The Ruskin Museum and Mr. Smith began raising money and sponsorship for “The Restoration of Bluebird K7”

In 2010, The Bluebird Wing was officially opened to the public, but K7 was still being restored, so the wing was opened without the main exhibit.

In 2012, Mr Smith took it upon himself to incorporate a new company that was limited by guarantee called "The Bluebird Project Ltd" This was done with no agreement from either The Campbell Family Heritage Trust or The Ruskin Museum.

Fast forward to 2023, Bluebird K7 is still not on display in the Bluebird Wing, and restorer Mr Smith and his Limited Company, The Bluebird Project, are now refusing to return K7 to Coniston without strict pre-conditions, as they now claim they own “the new parts” that have been added to Bluebird K7.

The Trustees of The Ruskin Museum strenuously deny these claims, as the restoration project was a charitable undertaking using the Museums charity status, and the public paid for any new materials by donations.

Irrespective of this, Bluebird K7 belongs to The Ruskin Museum and the aim of the charitable restoration has always been to return K7 to her former glory and display her in the specially built wing of the Ruskin Museum.

Now unfortunately The Ruskin Museum, after 4 years of trying to negotiate with Mr Smith, have had to resort to serving legal proceedings on Mr Smith and The Bluebird Project Ltd.

However, as The Ruskin Museum is a small charity organisation they are now asking the public for help.

The Ruskin Museum is asking that you help “Bring Bluebird Home” to the place she was always meant to be.

Bluebird K7 belongs to the nation and she is a very important part of Coniston and Britains' heritage.

Future generations should be able to learn about Donald Campbell and his unrivalled achievements in the specially built Museum wing which is dedicated to his life, and Bluebird K7 should be the centrepiece in the place that was built especially to house her, at the Museum which legally owns her.

So we ask you to please help “Bring Bluebird Home”