Ad Astra

In 2025, Bentley Priory Museum were delighted to launch their IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund Commission.

 

 

Ad Astra is an exhibition of photographs by Anastasia Taylor-Lind, exploring the diverse roles of women within the Royal Air Force (RAF) today. Meaning ‘to the stars’, Ad Astra takes its name from the RAF’s motto Per Ardua Ad Astra: ‘Through adversity to the stars’.

More information on the project can be found on the IWM site here.

The Ad Astra project took inspiration from the groundbreaking women who served in the Women’s Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF) during the Second World War.

The underground Operations Room at Headquarters Fighter Command, Bentley Priory, Middlesex.
The underground Operations Room at Headquarters Fighter Command, Bentley Priory, Middlesex. © IWM (C 1870)
Initial hesitation about female efficiency and competency was diminished, with women excelling in diverse jobs, including plotting enemy aircraft in the Filter Room and Operations Room at RAF Bentley Priory.

We are incredibly grateful to Anastasia for her warmth and creativity, and to the RAF personnel who generously gave their time to the project and agreed to be photographed. It has been a privilege to be one of over twenty IWM 14-18 NOW Legacy Fund commissions and are delighted that Anastasia’s photographs can be displayed in perpetuity at the Museum.