TANNER, John (Benedict Ian) 1927-2004

OBITUARY NOTICE—

See index for CA sketch: Born January 2, 1927, in London, England; died May 18, 2004, in London, England. Museum director and author. The former director of the Royal Air Force Museum, Tanner also founded several important museums in England. After serving in the Royal Naval Air Reserve in the mid-1940s, he attended the University of Nottingham, earned qualification as a librarian, and received a master's degree from Pembroke College in 1949. After working for the Leighton House Art Gallery and Museum, in 1953 he was made curator, librarian, and tutor at the RAF College Cranwell, where he also earned the honorary title of group captain. In 1959 he entered teaching as a history lecturer at the University of Nottingham, where he earned a doctorate there in 1960. Discovering that the public was very interested in air force history after he opened a one-room exhibit on the subject at Cranwell, Tanner decided there should be a full museum dedicated to the RAF. His proposal for one to the Ministry of Defense was accepted, on condition that he raise all the money for the project himself. A ten-year effort to do so finally brought success in 1972, when the new Royal Air Force Museum was opened. Tanner would go on to found other museums, too, including the Battle of Britain Museum and the Cosford Aero-Space Museum, both of which he ran from 1978 to 1987, and the Bomber Command Museum, which he directed from 1982 to 1987. He spent his later years primarily in education, working as senior research fellow at Pembroke College from 1982 to 1996, where he was also honorary archivist and, from 1996 until his death, supernumerary fellow; and he was a professor at the Polish University from 1987 to 1994, after which he was a professor emeritus. Tanner, who was named a Commander of the British Empire in 1979 for his contributions to history, was the author of several books, including How to Trace Your Ancestors; or, Find Your Greatest Grandfather (1971), Who's Famous in Your Family? (1975; 2nd edition, 1979), and Sir William Rothenstein (1985); he also served as general editor of Museums and Librarians and Studies in Air History.

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Independent (London, England), May 22, 2004, p. 45.

Times (London, England), June 11, 2004, p. 38.