Bovington Tank Museum director receives OBE in Queen’s birthday honours list

Richard Smith joined the Tank Museum at Bovington as its director 12 years ago and after being recognised with an OBE for his services to military heritage he said, “As the director of the museum, I am the conductor of the orchestra and completely depend on my team to bring our plans to fruition. It is wonderful that our achievements have been recognised in this way.”

He first visited the museum when he was two years old and later completed his undergraduate dissertation on the Battle of Cambrai using its extensive archive.

After graduating from Durham University with a degree in History he spent 11 years working in logistics all around the world for global shipping giant P&O.

However, he gave up his high-flying career when the opportunity arose for him to bring his commercial expertise to the museum as its director.

Richard said, “Over the last 12 years, the Tank Museum has transformed and developed tremendously.

“This is the product of a huge amount of hard work from all of our staff and volunteers and the generosity of our supporters.

“I am also indebted to the work of my predecessors, who laid the groundwork in building our collections and establishing our strategies.”