Legacies are an exceptional and personal gift and might be your chosen way to ensure the causes and places you value are protected when you are no longer here.
How others helped by leaving a gift in their will
Lieutenant Jack Cooper RN
Jack Cooper had a distinguished career with the Royal Navy spanning nearly three decades.
He was a Navigator (First Class) and Surveyor and worked sometime in Admiralty. As Lieutenant Commander, he was awarded the Military MBE in 1967 for his surveying work.
Jack served on many ships including HMS Ocean, HMS King George V, HMS Devonshire, HMS Gambia, HMS Glory, HMS Chieftain and HMS Charity. Much of his surveying work was undertaken on the Survey Ships HMS Cook, Owen, Shackleton, Vidal and Hecla.
Jack supported RMG in the past and we are proud and very grateful that he chose to leave this gift to us in his will.
In 2009 Jack remembered the National Maritime Museum in his will, leaving a very generous £5,000.
Professor Gordon Boyce
Gordon is a regular reader at the National Maritime Museum’s Caird Library and has pledged a generous legacy of AUD 250,000.
“I first visited the Caird Library in 1979, when I was working on my PHD. Over the years my wife and I have returned to the Library many times to collect material.
Since my career as a researcher began at the Caird Library and its records have provided a cornerstone for my research, I wanted to remember it in our Will. Over several decades the staff have been consistently and wonderfully helpful. Since we have no children Evelyn and I decided that the best way to assist future generations would be to leave funds to support education at the National Maritime Museum.
On a personal note, we have always thought that Greenwich Park is a place of tranquilty.”
Professor Gordon Boyce is Dean of the Newcastle Business School and Director of the Institutional and Organisational Studios at the University of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia.
Object bequeathed to the Museum
Captain Richard Grindall entered the Navy in 1772, aged 21. He joined the ‘Resolution’ on James Cook’s second voyage and saw action during the War of American Independence, the French Revolutionary War and the Battle of Trafalgar. A beautiful family portrait of the Grindall family was gifted to the museum.
A letter written by Kathleen Scott to Lady Sandhurst talking about the recent death of her husband, Captain Scott. In it, she describes her husband’s journal as “the most beautiful thing I have ever read”. This important letter was gifted to the museum. What would you pass on?
A top-10 UK visitor attraction, Royal Museums Greenwich is home to the Royal Observatory Greenwich, the iconic historic sailing ship Cutty Sark, the National Maritime Museum and the Queen’s House art gallery. All our attractions are located within walking distance of each other within a UNESCO World Heritage Site. A bequest from you in favour of Royal Museums Greenwich, no matter how large or small, will be warmly welcome and gratefully received.
Such a gift is among the most far-reaching and valuable contribution you can make, directly benefiting future generations of museum visitors. A gift can reflect your particular interests and will be used to support our continuing vital collections care, acquisitions, research activities and learning and community programmes.