A BODMIN girl who ‘loves her history’ is doing her bit to help save her local military museum - by doing sponsored litter pickings in the community.

Mollie Gilburt, 11, has launched a crowdfunder with the aim of raising as much money as she can to benefit the Bodmin Keep, a military museum located in what was formerly the barracks of the Duke of Cornwall Light Infantry.

The charity had recently announced that it was raising money to purchase the building from landlords the Ministry of Defence (MOD), in order to be able to obtain the funding required to repair the historic building.

In August 2024, structural problems requiring urgent repair were discovered, leading to the 165-year old building being closed to the public, leaving the museum with no visitors and no ticket sales.

It has meant that the Bodmin Keep is fighting for its survival with repairs promised for completion by Spring 2025 currently on hold, so the museum can’t re-open.

Cornwall’s Regimental Museum CIO says it is using the funds it holds in reserve to survive, while undertaking outreach projects in the community to continue its mission of telling the stories of the military past for the present and future.

One recent outreach session undertaken by the charity saw it take over the Shire House Suite as part of Bodmin’s VE Day celebrations with a pop up event showcasing a large variety of war memorabilia and interactive displays.

Inspired by a love of history, and with a particular fascination for the history of World War II after visiting the museum prior to its closure, Mollie is determined to do her bit to help the museum in its endeavour to survive its current challenges and rebuild for a brighter future.

Mollie’s proud mother, Louise said of her daughter’s fundraising: “She’s always been very interested in the world and facts. She spent primary school obsessed with space and wanting to be a nasa scientist and has grown into loving history.

“Mollie thinks it’s incredibly important to learn about history, as otherwise we don’t understand why the world is how it is and how we can stop repeating the bad parts.

“While she loves all history, she has focused in on the two World Wars and the Tudors, watching ‘Six the Musical’ in Plymouth Theatre and she is soon to watch ‘Horrible Histories’ in Truro.

“She loves her museums and has a great love for Geevor tin mine and Bodmin Keep so when I told her they were closed and needed some help to raise funds, she immediately thought of litter picking as she is very aware of the world and her environment and is passionate about keeping our environment clean and not littering.

“She said that by this way (litter picking to help the Bodmin Keep) she is helping the environment as well as helping the museum at the same time which was a huge win for her.”

The fundraiser can be found on the Crowdfunder website at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/fundraising-litter-picks-for-bodmin-keep.