In the years Donnington has been functioning, many items returned for disposal were deemed worthy of retaining because of their rarity or historic significance.

In all, a collection of over 700 items was amassed varying from civilian and sporting arms to captured foreign weapons.

Under the guidance of Kevan Jones MP, then Under Secretary for Defence it was decided that the Combined Military Services Museum in Maldon, Essex would be the recipient of the collection.

[2] The existence and details of the Donnington collection and its transfer to a public museum appears in the DSDA Annual report and accounts for 2008–2009.

[3] The opening ceremony of the collection to the public at the Combined Military Services Museum in Maldon, was performed by Kevan Jones, the Under Secretary for Defence, in April 2010.