History

The Trust is named after Alexander Duckham, who founded Duckham's Motor Oils in 1899. As well as being a successful businessman, Alexander Duckham was an early aviation pioneer and close friend of cross-channel aviator Louis Bleriot.
 

Duckham generously donated his home, Vanbrugh Castle, to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund for use as a school for boys whose fathers had been killed in the First World War. Vanbrugh Castle was later sold after the number of pupils declined.  On 1 September 1997, The Alexander Duckham Memorial Schools Trust was established by a Charity Commission Scheme.
 

Following an extensive review in 2023 of The Alexander Duckham Memorial School’s Trust’s (ADMST) current ability to best serve the needs of its beneficiaries in an ever more complex environment the Trustees agreed that a specialist case management team should be employed to provide a holistic service to the beneficiaries of ADMST. 
 

Therefore, ADMST has transferred its grant administration, including the processing of all future applications, to the Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund (RAFBF), a sister military charity.