Vancouver Island war museum closing as visitors drop — but staff not giving up hope

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'Until about two years ago, we had no idea that we would be in this situation,' Lewis Bartholomew, founder and executive director of the HMCS Alberni museum, told Global News.

A museum on Vancouver Island to honour ship crew members who lost their lives during the Second World War is marking its final operating day on Nov. 11.

The HMCS Alberni Museum and Memorial in Courtenay pays tribute to the 59 men who died when their warship, the Corvette HMCS Alberni, was sunk off the coast of England during the Second World War.

But now, the museum says it has to close after years of declining visits and revenue.

“Until about two years ago, we had no idea that we would be in this situation,” Lewis Bartholomew, founder and executive director of the museum, told Global News.

“We’ve been in similar situations in the past when, for instance, a landlord would want our space and then we’d have to scramble for a new space — but we always knew that we would open if we moved to somewhere else.”

Bartholomew said the museum has faced a lot of challenges over the years, but has managed to survive them all.

“We’ve had three flash floods in this building that have closed us down for short terms,” he said.

“We’ve had two arson attacks against us here. We survived through the COVID pandemic. We’ve also survived moving probably 18 times since 2012 for various reasons.

The museum is located inside a small mall on Cliffe Avenue, next to the Connect Temporary Shelter and Service Hub.

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