Phil Collins in line to be declared an ‘Honorary Texan’ following donation of Alamo artefacts

200-item collection arrived in San Antonio, Texas, yesterday

Phil Collins yesterday (October 28) travelled to San Antonio, Texas, to donate his collection of Alamo memorabilia to the museum at the historic site.

A planned $100 million centre to display the Phil Collins Alamo Collection is being built. Until its completion, Collins’ collection will be housed in a temporary home across the road from the Alamo.

Collins said the donation “completes the journey for me”, reports Reuters.

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Accepting the donation, Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said: “God bless you Phil Collins.” He added that a measure is set to be introduced in the Texas legislature when it meets in January to declare Collins to be an “Honorary Texan”.

As previously reported, Collins has a collection of over 200 items relating to the 1836 battle. He told a press conference: “Why I didn’t become as fascinated by something in English history, I’ll never know.”

The former Genesis singer and drummer became fascinated with the battle as a child thanks to its depiction in films. He became a serious collector in the 1980s after seeing a letter by Davy Crockett on display in Washington, DC where Genesis were on tour. “I was stunned that this was actually his handwriting,” said Collins. “Before long, I was spending money that I made from music. Some people buy Ferraris or houses, I bought bits of old metal and paper.”

Collins said that he had been thinking of donating his collection for “a few years”, wanting the public to see it rather than hoard it at his home in Switzerland.

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