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Join us this school holiday for a full range of fun activities to suit the entire family. See each museum’s individual website for further information, opening hours and contact details. Throughout the Summer Holiday - Royal Green Jackets Museum - Entrance fees apply The children's animal themed trail will be available throughout the summer holiday at the Royal Green Jackets Museum. There will also be colouring and self-guided crafts available - pop in to make your own aeroplane or saluting soldier! Throughout the Summer Holiday - HorsePower! The Museum of the King's Royal Hussars - Entrance fees apply Take part in the Find Joey Trail - fantastic for anyone who loves horses! 26th and 27th July – The Rifles Museum – Museum entrance FREE; suggested £2 donation for activities Design and decorate your doll. Copy the uniforms of The Rifles or invent your own! 26th and 27th July – AGC Museum – Museum entrance FREE; donations appreciated Dig for Victory! Learn about food rationing and make your own cress head to take home. 28th July - Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum - Museum entrance FREE; donations appreciated Make a tiger mask - rawr! 1st August - The Gurkha Museum - LEGO activity FREE; entrance fees apply to visit the Museum Take on the LEGO Challenge - can you design, build and code a LEGO vehicle to provide aid after a natural disaster? Pre-booking advised - full details here. 2nd August - Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum - Museum entrance FREE; donations appreciated Make a tin can drum. 2nd and 3rd August – The Rifles Museum – Museum entrance FREE; suggested £2 donation for activities Quadbike Building. Make your own quadbike from an eggbox, based on the real Army quadbike in The Rifles Museum. 2nd and 3rd August – AGC Museum – Museum entrance FREE; donations appreciated Dig for Victory! Learn about food rationing and make your own cress head to take home. 8th August - The Gurkha Museum - LEGO activity FREE; entrance fees apply to visit the Museum Take on the LEGO Challenge - can you design, build and code a LEGO vehicle to provide aid after a natural disaster? Pre-booking advised - full details here. 9th and 10th August – The Rifles Museum – Museum entrance FREE; suggested £2 donation for activities Create your own military medal – what will yours be awarded for? Copy the design of a real medal or come up with your own! 9th and 10th August – AGC Museum – Museum entrance FREE; donations appreciated Dig for Victory! Learn about food rationing and make your own cress head to take home. 10th August - Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum - Museum entrance FREE; donations appreciated Make a tiger mask - rawr! 15th August - The Gurkha Museum - LEGO activity FREE; entrance fees apply to visit the Museum Take on the LEGO Challenge - can you design, build and code a LEGO vehicle to provide aid after a natural disaster? Pre-booking advised - full details here. 16th and 17th August – The Rifles Museum – Museum entrance FREE; suggested £5 donation for activities (this workshop uses real, wearable caps to take away!) Caps and Cap Badges. Decorate a cap with the cap badge of The Rifles, one of the antecedent regiments or a badge of your own creation. 16th and 17th August – AGC Museum – Museum entrance FREE; donations appreciated Dig for Victory! Learn about food rationing and make your own cress head to take home. 17th and 18th August - Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum - Museum entrance FREE; donations appreciated Make a tin can drum. 22nd August - The Gurkha Museum - LEGO activity FREE; entrance fees apply to visit the Museum Take on the LEGO Challenge - can you design, build and code a LEGO vehicle to provide aid after a natural disaster? Pre-booking advised - full details here. 23rd and 24th August – The Rifles Museum - Museum entrance FREE; suggested £5 donation for activities (this workshop uses real, wearable caps to take away!) Caps and Cap Badges. Decorate a cap with the cap badge of The Rifles, one of the antecedent regiments or a badge of your own creation. 23rd and 24th August – AGC Museum – Museum entrance FREE; donations appreciated Dig for Victory! Learn about food rationing and make your own cress head to take home. 24th and 25th August - Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum - Museum entrance FREE; donations appreciated Make a tiger mask - rawr! 30th and 31st August – AGC Museum – Museum entrance FREE; donations appreciated Dig for Victory! Learn about food rationing and make your own cress head to take home. 30th August – 3rd September – The Rifles Museum – Museum entrance FREE; donations for activities appreciated Camouflage Colouring. Enjoy camouflage-themed colouring and discover the story of camouflage in The Rifles.
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 Winchester’s Military Museums’ popular school trips are available to book now for Autumn term 2022. Situated in the heart of the City of Winchester, Hampshire, the six museums that form Winchester’s Military Museums deliver learning experiences that are interesting, engaging, educational and fun. Using real artefacts, expert knowledge, and our unique collections, a school trip to Winchester’s Military Museums brings the curriculum to life.
Our First World War workshops include artefact handling, remembrance, the symbolism of the poppy and trying on uniforms from the period. It can also include a visit to our local cemetery to understand the significance of War Graves. During a Second World War visit we also use real objects and uniforms to bring 1939-1945 to life, and we explore the symbolism behind British medals awarded for service. All of our educational sessions are taught by expert museum staff and cost just £5 per pupil (2022 pricing). Book now for the autumn term – availability is limited. May Half-Term at Winchester’s Military Museums
Join us this half-term for a full range of fun activities to suit the entire family. See each museum’s individual website for further information, opening hours and contact details. Throughout the Half-Term Holiday – HorsePower! The Museum of the King’s Royal Hussars – Entrance fees apply Take a trail through the museum and explore the sites (and smells!) of the Victorian stables. Trail included in entrance fee. Throughout the Half-Term Holiday – The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum – FREE Help us celebrate the Jubilee by designing a flag to add to our museum bunting. Available during museum opening hours. Throughout the Half-term Holiday – The Royal Green Jackets Museum – Entrance fees apply We’re celebrating the jubilee AND the museum’s brand-new temporary exhibition – Women and the Regiment – at the Royal Green Jackets Museum this half-term. Make a crown, do some jubilee themed colouring in AND take on our new Glitz, Glam, Royalty trail to explore the museum. Activities included in entrance fee. Throughout the Half-term Holiday – The AGC Museum – FREE The AGC have been everywhere the British Army has been. Take a trail through the museum and explore their story this half-term. Free entrance and trail. May 31st 2022 - The Gurkha Museum – Entrance fees apply for the museum; curry, craft and LEGO are free with donations welcomed Join us for Nepalese and Gurkha themed craft activities. Make your own medal, make your own (cardboard!) kukri and try out our fun kids trail around the Museum. Our popular curry tastings will also be available. Activities are free of charge but we welcome donations to support the work of the Gurkha Museum Trust. Also included for May half term only - we need intrepid testers for our brand-new interactive LEGO experience. Using the LEGO Spike Essential kit, we need you to solve an environmental problem in the same way that the British Army would. Drop in between 11am and 3pm. May 31st and June 1st – The Rifles Museum - £2 donation, museum entrance FREE Enjoy fun crafts in The Rifles Museum. Make badges featuring real Army ranks or come up with your own design! Also, discover why in The Rifles its ‘Rifleman’, not ‘Private’ and ‘Serjeant’ is spelt with a ‘J’! Suggested donation for craft £2, drop in between 10.30am and 3.30pm.
The temporary exhibition “Women and the Regiment, Military Lives of Victorian Wives” opened on 21st May 2022 at The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum. The exhibition focuses on the experiences of the wives of soldiers serving in the 1800’s. The Museum has within the archive collection journals from the period, some of which are on display. Also on display is the beetle wing dress that belonged to Barbara FitzHenry, the wife of William FitzHenry who served with the 60th Rifles in India. The dress is on loan from the West Highland Museum, Fort William and we are most grateful to Vanessa Martin the Curator for assisting with the loan. The exhibition continues until 29th August in The Kincaid Gallery in The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum, which is one of the six museums that form Winchester’s Military Museums located in Peninsula Barracks, Winchester.  Throughout the holidays, the six museums of Winchester's Military Quarter have a range of hands-on activities to suit everyone!
Make an eggbox tank, take on a trail and taste Nepalese Curry. Dates are below and please visit each museum's website for further details of opening times and pricing where applicable. Throughout the Easter Holidays – HorsePower! The Museum of the Kings’ Royal Hussars – Entrance fees apply Take a trail through the museum and explore the sites (and smells!) of the Victorian stables. Check website for opening times and prices. Throughout the Easter Holidays – The AGC Museum – FREE The AGC have been everywhere the British Army has been. Take a trail through the museum and explore their story this Easter. Free entrance and trail. 11th April to 24th April – The Royal Green Jackets Museum – Entrance fees apply Easter trail, make a bunny rabbit and arts and crafts - create your own Easter egg. Included in admission price. Crafts available during museum opening hours, please check online for details. Children 16 and under are FREE and the activities are also FREE. April 12th 2022 - The Gurkha Museum - FREE Easter themed craft activities, Nepalese Curry tasters and Handling collection. The Gurkha Museum is free to enter throughout the month of April. April 12th and 13th – The Rifles Museum - £2 donation, entrance free Over Easter, come into The Rifles Museum on the 12-13th April to make your own Eggbox Tank or other armoured vehicle – either based on a real vehicle used by the British Army or your own design! Also, discover the story of how The Rifles and the current Regiment’s antecedents have fought with and alongside tanks. April 12th, 14th, 19th and 21st – The Royal Hampshire Museum - £2 donation, entrance free Easter Egg Print making with paint, rollers and someone else doing the cleaning up! Children must be supervised by an adult, suitable for children over 5. April 20th to 22nd – The Rifles Museum - £2 donation, entrance free On the 20-22nd April, cut out Rifleman Egbert, who never cracks under pressure, colour him in and attach his arms and legs! While in the Museum, learn how camouflage developed in the British Army and in the antecedents of The Rifles. 2 soldiers from the 15th Battalion (Pompey Pals) who were killed in October 1918 and buried as Unknown Soldiers, have been identified with some careful detective work and now have new named headstones. Staff and Volunteers from the Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum were present at the service on Tuesday this week, along with members of the PWRR, our successor regiment.
https://www.cwgc.org/our-work/news/rededications-across-belgium-for-three-ww1-soldiers/?fbclid=IwAR0oTrSvtdkY0NEbvXVN7h9OSzlIxt7sdWuXsC2qIauhI0J4n3bQzYAXNXM The lives of 30 Hampshire Regiment soldiers killed in the First World War are the subject of a new book.
We Will Remember Them: The Great War Dead of Fulflood & Weeke, Winchester, is co-authored by Derek Whitfield, a volunteer at the Regimental Museum. Derek was responsible for researching and writing much of the Timeline on the Regimental Museum website. The book, the subject of more than five years' exhaustive research by local historians, examines the lives of the 91 men whose names appear on the Great War memorials at St Paul's Church, Fulflood, and St Matthew's Church, Weeke. A third of the men served with the Hampshire Regiment. Of these, 17 were soldiers of the 4th Battalion who perished while fighting in the Mesopotamia campaign, most after being taken prisoner following the surrender of the Kut garrison on 29 April 1916. Much of Derek's research was carried out in the Regimental Museum where the diaries of Regimental Sergeant Major William Leach and the Comforts Fund records of Mrs Esme Bowker, widow of the 1/4th Battalion's CO, Lieutenant Colonel Francis Bowker, proved invaluable sources of information. The book also features several previously unpublished photographs of Hampshire Regiment soldiers in Mesopotamia, India and elsewhere. There are biographies, too, of Hampshire soldiers killed on the Western Front as well as in the Palestine and Gallipoli campaigns. While the men's military service inevitably make up a large part of the book, it is by no means exclusively a work of military history. Each biography contains information about the subject's civilian life, some of which has been supplied by family descendants. There are also two chapters on the development of Fulflood and Weeke in the years leading up to 1914, a period when the parish was expanding rapidly. A copy of the 400-plus page book is being lodged at the Regimental Museum. Anyone wishing to order their own copy can do so by contacting Derek Whitfield at derek.whitfield1@btinternet.com Fancy a day out... We have a range of FREE activities going on at The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum from 19.02.2022 - 26.02.2022, Children as always are also FREE to enter the museum! Why not pop along! Peninsula Barracks, Romsey Road, Winchester, SO23 8TS   Sword Making – Spring Half-Term Holiday (22-24th February)
Come into The Rifles Museum this half term to make and decorate your own sword from cardboard and tin foil or pick up an activity pack and make one at home. Copy a sword used by The Rifles today, by an antecedent of the current Regiment or come up with your own design! Did you know that in The Rifles the weapons called ‘bayonets’ in the rest of the British Army are called ‘swords’? This means that the modern Rifleman still carries a sword! To find out why, come along to our activity session and pick up a copy of our handout ‘The Rifles – Swords, not Bayonets’. Recommended donation: £2 Activities will take place between 10:00 am and 3:30 pm. The activity is suitable for children aged 4 and up. Young sword makers may need help with glue and scissors. After an activity, enjoy exploring the rest of The Rifles Museum, which is free entry. Also, don’t forget to check out the five museums in Winchester’s Military Quarter, and grab something to eat or drink at Joe's Café Winchester's Military Quarter are delighted to share details of our updated Second World War School workshop. This interactive, engaging workshop delves deeper into understanding the conflict and the regiments that fought in it. During our curriculum-linked sessions, your students can try on uniforms, study documents from the Home Front and handle real objects from the Second World War. All of our education sessions are taught across our six museums by expert staff. This varied visit sheds new light on the conflict and its impact on Britain today. To find out more visit our education pages, or get in touch with our Education Co-ordinator via education@winchestersmilitaryquarter.org.  World War Two School Visits in Hampshire have never been more engaging  Major General Coote Manningham The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum at Winchester has in its collection two full length portraits of Major General Coote Manningham (1765-1809) and his brother Lieutenant Colonel Boyd Manningham (1766-1797). They were received from descendants of these two brothers by the Rifle Brigade Museum in 1956. Framed, they are apparently unsigned and undated. Coote Manningham served in several regiments during his career but in 1797 he was serving in the rank of lieutenant colonel, as Adjutant General to General Forbes in the Leeward Islands of the West Indies, based on Saint Domingo, now known as Haiti. Whilst serving on this island he contracted yellow fever and was also wounded in an ambuscade in December 1795.He returned to the UK in 1798 with dispatches. He was appointed an ADC to George III and subsequently became an Equerry. In 1800 he was appointed the first Colonel of the Rifle Corps, subsequently 95th Regiment (Rifles) and from 1816 The Rifle Brigade.  Lieutenant Colonel Boyd Manningham His brother was commanding the 81st (South Lincolnshire) Regiment on the same island, where he died and is ‘under the flagstaff’ at the fortress of Cape Nicholas Mole.
The two pictures appear to represent these officers in a landscape of a Caribbean island, but unusually for the probable dates of painting, the main subject of the picture is ‘supported’ by two soldiers of the West Indies. Coote Manningham’s portrait depicts a mounted soldier, possibly of mixed race, in a green uniform with red facings; perhaps a Ranger of Chasseur of an island militia or a French emigré soldier of an as yet unidentified unit. The second soldier is a black African in a similarly unidentified green uniform but wearing tan trousers and short riding boots with spurs. He is holding the reins of Coote Manningham’s horse and is perhaps his groom. The portrait of Boyd Manningham also has two West Indian soldiers. One is clearly modelled by the same person who is the ‘groom’ in the Coote Manningham picture. The second figure illustrates a sergeant in the West India Regiment wearing a scarlet jacket and holding a halberd. We are seeking to identify the artist of these two pictures and would be particularly interested to hear from any other museum that may have portraits representing service in the West Indies during the period 1793-1815 or with West Indian soldiers as part of the composition. For more information please contact Blair Southerden, Volunteer researcher at research@rgjmuseum.co.uk or David Lambert, Professor of History, Warwick University at D.Lambert@warwick.ac.uk  9th December 2021 at 10.30am
Tickets: £35.00 Venue: The Gurkha Museum Armchair Battlefield Tour – The British Army in the Napoleonic Wars The British Army, once described by a (French) critic as being ‘a mob of flogged criminals led by coffee house fops’ in fact developed during the Napoleonic Wars into a finely honed killing machine. It was the only professional, all volunteer army in Europe and this talk describes how it was recruited and trained, where its officers came from and how the purchase system worked. The lecture is delivered by Major Gordon Corrigan MBE. Major Corrigan served in the 6th Gurkha Rifles and the Royal Gurkha Rifles. He is an acclaimed military historian who has published a number of books, and presented a number of TV series. He lectures widely, and conducts battlefield tours worldwide. The Armchair Battlefield Tour is followed by a two-course curry lunch. To book please visit: https://thegurkhamuseum.co.uk/event/lecture-and-curry-lunch-the-british-army-in-the-napoleonic-wars/ Peninsula Pumpkins: This Halloween, come into The Rifles Museum for fun, Halloween activities! Come in for pumpkin carving, mysterious military ghost stories, creepy colouring and more! Pumping carving will be hosted in The Rifles Museum from the 26-28th October. You design your jack-o'-lantern and the Museum staff will carve it for you! Or take a pumpkin home with you and carve it there! Also, pick up some Halloween pumpkin recipes - with ideas for some scarily tasty treats. This event was made possible by the generous support of Lyburn Farm (www.lyburnfarm.co.uk). All week, 25-31st October, enjoy Halloween-themed colouring and pick up a collection of military ghost stories. After enjoying Peninsula Pumpkins, have fun exploring The Rifles Museum and the other five museums in Winchester’s Military Quarter! Suggested donation: £4 per child Recommended age: 5-11 10:30 am - 3:30 pm The Rifles Museum, Peninsula Barracks, Romsey Road, Winchester, SO23 8 TS www.riflesmuseum.co.uk  Join The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum from the 25th-30th October 2021 for a range of arts and crafts activities! Including designing and colouring your own monsters, pumpkin masks, halloween picture and finding the pumpkins in the museum display cases!  The Gurkha Museum are hosting a range of different half term activities! Check out the poster below to see what is on offer!   Peak Performers-Mountaineering Exploration within the Brigade and Beyond
30th September 2021 at 6pm Tickets-£50.00 Venue-The Gurkha Museum The Brigade of Gurkhas has a long tradition of mountaineering excellence, join us for an evening of lectures and hear the stories and first hand accounts from experts who have summited some of the world’s most formidable peaks. Speakers include record breaking adventurer and former Gurkha Officer Adrian Hayes, Brigade Mountaineering expert Col Mike Kefford OBE and 2017 Everest Expedition Leader Lt Col Andrew Todd MBE. Tickets are priced at £50.00 and include welcome drinks, an evening of lectures and a two-course curry dinner. To book please visit: https://thegurkhamuseum.co.uk/event/peak-performers-an-evening-of-lectures-and-curry-supper/ AN ONLINE PRESENTATION BY COMMODORE RUPERT HOLLINS OBE- tHE royal green jackets (rifles) museumFriday 16th September Online Zoom 6:30pm Tickets: Free, but donations are welcome To book your place, please email the curator at curator@rgjmuseum.co.uk China's growth incomprehensive national strength is a defining feature of the 21st Century. China has called this century one of "strategic opportunity". In many fields China has high ambitions for natural greatness and regional, if not global, pre-eminence. China's expanding influence has led to it being viewed as a competitor, rival and even a threat. The trade war with the US is only one dimension. The talk explores the defence and security dimensions of China's rise. Is the UK affected? Should the UK be concerned? Is there anything the UK can do about it?
Rupert Hollins is a retired Royal Navy Officer who served for six years in Beijing, from 2012-18, as the Defense, Naval and Air Attaché. He speaks Mandarin and has travelled 32 out of China's 33 administrative divisions. During a 32-year career he served at sea and ashore, in the UK and deployed on operations, and in a variety of logistics, staff, legal and defense engagement appointments. As a barrister he practiced criminal, employment and international law within the Armed Forces. This talk is free but donations to upkeep the museum would be greatly appreciated, you can donate here: https://uk.virginmoneygiving.com/donation-web/charity?charityId=1008453&stop_mobi=yes&fbclid=IwAR3FvNZjj2DPv6C1utQu5myeFXheU8Iohkp9GM-gNw94yA6WkTtL3ekXopI School visits are starting again at Winchester's Military Quarter this September. Bookings are now open for our engaging, interactive, educational and fun sessions exploring World War 1 and Remembrance, World War 2, Local History, Florence Nightingale, STEM subjects (Forces with the Forces; Victorious Victuals - Nutrition; Hide & Seek - Magnets and Mirrors) and Art Award Discover Award. Compliment your in-school curriculum with a trip to the museums. All of our sessions are taught by our experienced museum staff and involve handling real objects, trying on uniform and immersing yourself in history. To find out more visit our Education Pages or email our Education Co-ordinator now education@winchestersmilitaryquarter.org   On Online Presentation by Brigadier (Rtd) Ben Barry
Date: 22nd July 2021 at 6.30pm Tickets: Free, however donations are greatly appreciated to help support the museum Venue: Online via Zoom hosted by The Royal Green Jackets The wars in Iraq and Afghanistan dominated international politics in the first decade of the 21st century and their impact continues to be felt today. The Rifles and the regiments that came together to form it, not least the RGJ, played a leading role in both wars. Despite their unpopularity, both wars offer lessons for current and future armed conflict. Brigadier (retired) Ben Barry, IISS Senior Fellow for Land Warfare, discusses these lessons and the findings of his latest book, Blood, Metal and Dust, which draws on front-line memoirs, declassified reports and original IISS research. This in-depth study of the operations undertaken by US, UK and coalition forces explores how rapid military victories in both countries turned into prolonged complex and costly stabilisation campaigns. It concludes that Iran ‘won’ the Iraq war, while the Taliban is closer to success in Afghanistan than the US and its allies. At this event, Ben Barry will discuss the key campaigns, operations and battles that shaped the wars. He will also analyse the formulation and execution of US and British strategy alongside the conduct of military operations by international forces, as well as that of the insurgents, militias and proxies that opposed them. Brigadier (retd.) Ben Barry is the Senior Fellow for Land Warfare for the International Institute for Strategic Studies. Prior to joining the IISS, he served with the Light Infantry, taught recruits at the Rifle depot 1979-80 and commanded 2LI in the armoured infantry role where he was joined by a dozen Green Jackets for an exciting tour in Bosnia. He was Director of the Army Staff Duties, commanded a multinational brigade in Bosnia and led the team that wrote the British Army’s final analysis of its campaign in Iraq. He is also the author of The Road from Sarajevo: British Army Operations in Bosnia, 1995-1996 and Harsh Lessons: Iraq, Afghanistan and the Changing Character of War. This online presentation will take place on Thursday 22 July 2021 at 6.30pm. Please email the Museum Curator for joining instructions: curator@rgjmuseum.co.uk Donations can be made by visiting: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?charityId=1008453  Date: 25th June 2021 at 10.30am
Tickets: £35 Venue: The Gurkha Museum Lieutenant General Sir Barney White-Spunner KCB CBE – Partition: The Story of Indian Independence and the Creation of Pakistan in 1947 Between January and August 1947 the conflicting political, religious and social tensions in India culminated in independence from Britain and the creation of Pakistan. Those months saw the end of ninety years of the British Raj, and the effective power of the Maharajahs, as the Congress Party established itself commanding a democratic government in Delhi. They also witnessed the rushed creation of Pakistan as a country in two halves whose capitals were two thousand kilometers apart. From September to December 1947 the euphoria surrounding the realization of the dream of independence dissipated into shame and incrimination; nearly 1 million people died and countless more lost their homes and their livelihoods as partition was realised. This lecture will be a judicious and unsparing look at events of 1947 from a British perspective. International bestseller Lieutenant General Sir Barney White-Spunner, who’s book Partition was published in 2017 will talk about how the events of 1947 tore apart Northern and Eastern India. Ticket price includes tea or coffee and biscuits on arrival, the lecture and a two-course curry lunch. To book please visit: https://thegurkhamuseum.co.uk/event/the-story-of-indian-independence-and-the-creation-of-pakistan-21/  An online presentation by Captain Charles Blackmore, hosted by The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum
Date: 20th May 2021 at 6.30pm Tickets: Free, however donations are greatly appreciated to help support the museum Venue: Online via Zoom In 1985, four Royal Green Jackets – Capt Charles Blackmore (3RGJ), Lieut James Bowden (3RGJ), Riflemen Chris Shelley (1RGJ) and Mark West (2RGJ) – set out on camels from Wadi Rumm, south Jordan, with members of the Howeitat tribe to retrace some 700 miles of the camel journeys made by Lawrence of Arabia during the Arab Revolt in World War 1. The significance was twofold: such a commemorative venture following the routes described by T E Lawrence and mapped out in Seven Pillars of Wisdom had not been undertaken before, and it was the 50th anniversary year of Lawrence’s untimely death following a motorbike accident near Bovington, Dorset. What these riflemen learned about Lawrence, and his role in the Arab Revolt, was second only to what they learned about the desert and living as bedu. Dressed as Arabs they rode and walked their camels south east to the Saudi border, across the flint desert or as asuwan as General Sir John Glubb (‘Glubb Pasha’, later the founder of the Arab Legion) described it, before turning north to Syria and returning south via the Dead Sea, Petra, and back to Wadi Rumm. Beset with difficulties from bedu intrigues, camels with dysentery, getting lost and living as nomads for over a month, these camel-riding Green Jackets developed a bond with their Howeitat camel handlers which matched only the historical importance of the arduous journey they embarked upon. Charles Blackmore’s talk, illustrated with slides, forms the basis of his book about the expedition In the Footsteps of Lawrence of Arabia. Charles was commissioned into the Royal Green Jackets in 1978 serving with 3RGJ in N Ireland and Cyprus, the Rifle Depot, 1RGJ in Belfast, seconded to 6th Gurkha Rifles, Staff College, followed by command of R Coy 3 RGJ in Gibraltar and South Armough before leaving the Army in 1993 after 2 years in the MoD. His other 4expeditions include retracing the route of the Retreat to Corunna on the 175th anniversary, and a first crossing of 1000 miles of the Taklamakan Desert, China by camel. Currently he is CEO of the commercial intelligence and investigations company, Audere International Ltd. This online presentation will take place on Thursday 20th May 2021 at 6.30pm. Please email the Museum Curator for joining instructions: curator@rgjmuseum.co.uk Donations can be made by visting: uk.virginmoneygiving.com/charity-web/charity/finalCharityHomepage.action?charityId=1008453 
Armchair Battlefield Tour – The American Revolution 15th April 2021 at The Gurkha Museum
A revolution? A rebellion? A civil war? A fight for liberty against an oppressive colonial power? Opportunism? A French ploy to obtain control of the West Indies? This talk will strip away the patriotic froth surrounding the events of 1775 – 1783 and examine the facts of the war, the personalities involved and the underlying causes of discontent. The lecture is delivered by Major Gordon Corrigan MBE. Major Corrigan served in the 6th Gurkha Rifles and the Royal Gurkha Rifles. He is an acclaimed military historian who has published a number of books, and presented a number of TV series. He lectures widely, and conducts battlefield tours worldwide. The Armchair Battlefield Tour is followed by a two-course curry lunch Date: 15th April 2021 at 10.30am Cost: £35.00 To book, please visit:
https://thegurkhamuseum.co.uk/event/lecture-and-curry-lunch-the-american-revolution/
 "The Great War in Africa"
An Online Presentation by Christopher Mellor Hill 6.30pm Thursday 18 March 2021 Fighting in Africa during the First World War presented some very different challenges to those faced on the Western Front. Christopher Mellor-Hill will give some insight into the operations across the German African colonies of Togoland, the Kamerun, German South West Africa and German East Africa. He will highlight the exploits of Captain John Fitzhardinge Paul Butler VC, DSO, King's Royal Rifle Corps who was awarded a Victoria Cross following actions in West Africa in 1914. His medals are held at the Museum. Christopher Mellor-Hill was born and raised in Zambia before returning to live permanently in the UK after secondary school education in England. Following a 35 year career in the City he joined Dix Noonan Webb a leading firm specialising in coins, medals and militaria. He is a keen medal enthusiast with worldwide connections and when OMRS closed down their London meetings in 1999 he founded the London Medal Club a convivial monthly group now in its 20th year. For several years he also hosted annual battlefield tours around the Western Front. Christopher is a regular speaker at various Medal Societies and Conventions as well as other societies and retains a key interest in African related stories. He particularly enjoys the opportunity of meeting fellow collectors to chat medals whilst on his regular travels around Britain and overseas in his role as DNW's Head of Client Services. If you wish to join this online talk please email the curator for information and the link: curator@rgjmuseum.co.uk "War in the Green Mountains of Oman - Jebel Akhdar 1958-59"
An Online Presentation by Brigadier Hugh Willing CBE 6.30pm Thursday 21st January, 2021 Relations between the Sultan of Muscat and Imam Ghalib Bin Ali of Nizwa, leader of the interior Omani Arabs, was exacerbated in 1953 by Saudi Arabian claims on the oil field at Buraimi Oasis and their provision of military equipment to the Omani rebels. Matters came to a head in 1958 when the SAS were brought in to dislodge the Omani rebels from their mountain stronghold on the Jebel Akhdar - The Green Mountain. The SAS assault on the 9,000ft ridge remains the stuff of legends, and has since been described as one of the most spectacular raids by the British Army in the post-World War Two era. In fact the Jebel Akhdar campaign would prove to be a turning point in the history of the SAS, which saved them from disbandment so that they could carry on unconventional war-fighting...which they do to this day. Hugh Willing was a professional soldier for 36 years before retiring to his wife's family home in East Sussex in 2007. He served with The Royal Green jackets and 2nd KEO Gurkha Rifles in many part of the world and was an Instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst and at the Army Staff College Camberley. During his final posting in Oman as the Defence Attaché at the British Embassy for four years , he was closely involved in supporting British operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and in the Horn of Africa. He was born in Kenya and speaks Swahili, Arabic and Gurkhali, and has travelled widely in Europe, the Mediterranean, Africa, Arabia and the Far East both in a military and private capacity. He now travels the world on small cruise ships as a lecturer in British Military and Colonial History. If you wish to join this online presentation please email the curator for the link and instructions - curator@rgjmuseum.co.uk |
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