King's Own Royal Regiment Museum

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 You must seek permission prior to publication of any of our images.

Chairman’s Introduction

As we approach 2014 the Museum reaches another milestone in its history. The Museum has been telling the story of The Great War since it was co-located with the Lancaster City Museum in 1929. The Centenary of the start of the war calls for something special. The Great War Exhibition will open on Saturday 28th June 2014, being the 100th Anniversary of the assassination at Sarajevo, on the ground floor of the City Museum. It will run until mid October covering the school holidays and term time thus allowing schools to see the exhibition as part of an educational visit. I suspect much public interest will be generated. Other supporting activities are planned including talks and tours including two smaller travelling exhibitions that can ‘go on tour’ in the Regimental area. Much planning is in hand with funding being sought to make this exhibition appropriate and meaningful. Please give the exhibition your support and encouragement.

Meanwhile the work of the Museum continues unabated. We are liaising with The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment to see how the Museum can help with the Regiment particularly at a time of tremendous change for the Army as a whole. Besides marking the past we must endeavour to adapt and secure the future.

Our website continues to flourish with webs visitors exceeding 100,000 during 2012. Moreover, with 2014 approaching the number of enquiries from the Regimental Family and the general public has increased. Undoubtedly interest has been sparked and I am sure will continue to do so. Acquisitions continue to be acquired. I remain amazed at the quality and the condition of the items that are donated many from local Regimental families. Long may this continue.

Overview

Once again this annual report looks back on a busy twelve month period in the museum. Whilst the number of visitors to the City Museum dropped to 48,886, visitors to our website and users of our enquiry service both increased substantially. Once again this reflects the increased use of the internet which has in turn resulted in the continued expansion of our website – adding more content covering both the history of the regiment and items in our collection.

Whilst we continue to assist the family historian in their research of King’s Own soldiers, it is a pleasing fact that many families see the museum as an appropriate place to donate their ancestor’s items. Some terrific items have been gifted, and it is these items which allow the museum to tell the story of the King’s Own Regiment.

The Story we will tell over the coming years will be focussed upon the First World War, but we must not forget that there is more to the Regiment’s fine history than conflict in the early 20th Century. Coming up are the 70th Anniversaries of events in the Second World War, not least the disastrous campaign on the Greek island of Leros in November 1943, the last German success of the war. 2014 will see the 70th Anniversaries of various actions which involved the 1st King’s Own in Italy, the 2nd King’s Own in Burma and the 107th Regiment in Normandy. 2014 and 2015 also mark the 200th Anniversary of the actions between the British and United States of America, and of course whilst 2015 marks the centenary of the bloody battles of the Ypres Salient it is also the 200th Anniversary of the battle of Waterloo.

We are entering a period which will be very busy, but hopefully if we can raise sufficient resources we can present exhibitions and other activities to bring these anniversaries to the public.

At the end of this report there are some comments from users of the museum – these are typical of many received. There is a clear demand for the services that the museum offers, hopefully this demand will continue and we will be able to respond to the public’s needs.

Trustees

The Museum Trustees met in November and discussed various matters and were briefed by Mr Bruce Jackson, Heritage Manager of Lancashire County Council on the management arrangement between Lancaster City Council and the County. The agreement was due to expire on 31st March 2013. A joint board/task group was to be established formed of elected members from both the City and County Councils and the first meeting was planned for December.

The trustees agreed a new Forward Plan and Collection Development Plan which would be submitted as part of the museum’s renewal application for Accreditation, the former Museums Registration Scheme, now managed by Arts Council England.

Accreditation

The Museum was awarded full accreditation under the scheme operated by Arts Council England.

Charity Statement of Purpose and Public Benefit.

The King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum provides a ‘living’ history of the character, activities, tradition and history of the British Army and in particular The King’s Own Royal Regiment, Lancaster. This is achieved through the preservation, interpretation and display of artefacts, archives etc for the purposes of historical research, information and education and the enjoyment of the general public.

Environmental Statement

The King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum is committed to do what it can to reduce our impact on the environment. Where possible the museum uses recycled materials, and certainly great effort is made to re-use envelopes for both correspondence and sales, this also saves money. The donation of used padded envelopes may appear to be a very minor thing, but reduces the packaging costs of museum sales items to almost nil. We re-use paper, use recycled paper, and recycle all sorts of waste material from paper and cardboard to tin cans and glass. Writing and printing on the back of paper is such a simple way to minimise on waste. Public transport is used where possible and of course the curator is a keen cyclist.

The Energy Performance Operational Rating of the City Museum building is 51, which rates the museum as ‘C’. ‘A’ being the most efficient, ‘G’ being the worst, and a rating of 100 would be typical for our type of building. (The building was rated 52 in the previous year, a drop to 5 would move the museum to a ‘B’. (Certificate Reference Number: 0030-0813-0142-6240-8050).

Acknowledgements

As ever the museum is grateful for the generous support of many people who help in so many ways. It would be impossible to acknowledge and thank everyone but some assistance is above and beyond and needs specific mention. Appreciation goes (in no specific order) to Pat and David Shackleton; Gaynor Greenwood; Fergus Read; Howard Martin; Christopher and Gail Knight; Major Max Davison; Major Simon Walton; Major Phil McNeil; Captain Darren Szymanski; and Martin Evans and Jackie Britton for their continued support and assistance to the curator. To those named and to many more – a big thank you for all of you help, assistance and encouragement.

Collections Management

The curator continues to monitor and take care of the collections, whether they are held in store or on display. A regular programme of inspection takes place to ensure everything is well cared for.

As digitisation of the collection continues, and items are added to the museum’s website, some original documents and photographs are being safely packed away as there will be no need to view them. This process makes better use of storage space and also prevents damage to original items through minimal handling.

As work continues on digitising more photographs, documentation work is taking place on the contents of albums. An album was previously recorded with one accession number with a summary of the contents. Now, tied in with digitisation, each image in the album is given its own unique number, and the image is described and indexed. Time consuming work, but vital if the museum’s collections are to be made accessible as possible.

Documentation of new acquisitions continues as items arrive in the museum and the process usually includes photography of the items and then their addition to the website.

Finance

2012/13 has been yet another poor year for income. Museum shop sales are the worst for a decade. Much has changed in the way people buy things, not least books, and we do not sell as many books as we did a decade ago. At times it is clear that the museum shop is nothing other than a ‘shop window’ for on-line retailers such as ‘Amazon’. A person thumbs through one of the titles we stock, replaces it on the shelf and comments that they will ‘buy it on Amazon’.

One of the major military publishers now sells directly, at discounted prices, to a large mailing list, something which we cannot compete with. Increasing postage costs are another factor which must be considered. We do not have the large postage volumes which attract discounts.

Work continues to solicit donations and money trickles in, whilst those making enquiries are asked for donations only a small number respond. The museum received no legacies in this financial year. Information on legacy giving can be requested from the curator. Any legacy, no matter how small, can help the future development and continued work of the museum. There are still only three regular donors to the museum’s regular giving scheme launched two years ago. This is disappointing.

Enquiry Donations & other fundraising: £3621
Donation Box in gallery £286
AMOT Grant Photography Project £470
No Gift Aid claim was made in this financial year, however claims were later submitted for 2011/12: £431.88 and 2012/13: £572.50.

The museum encourages all donors, who meet the rules, to make a Gift Aid donation, allowing the museum to reclaim the tax that has been paid on the amount, presently 25p for every £1 donated.

A full statement of accounts for the year will be presented at the Trustees Meeting, November 2013 and once approved will be submitted to the Charity Commission.

Exhibitions

So popular was the National Service Years exhibition in January 2012 it was decided to produce a smaller exhibition for display on the Mezzanine Floor in the King’s Own gallery. The second National Service exhibition was able to draw upon some of the photographs and exhibits donated to the museum as a result of the January exhibition. This exhibition has run through the year and has been very popular.

The museum has been pleased to be able to assist with exhibitions run by other museums. A number items were lent and photographic images were supplied to an exhibition on the British in Palestine held at the Brunei Gallery of the School of Oriental and Asian Studies in London. Both the 1st and 2nd Battalions of the King’s Own were in Palestine in the 1930s.

December 2012 also saw the start of the planning for the museum’s Great War Centenary exhibition – or to be more correct the planning of a whole series of exhibitions which will run from 2014 to 2019 covering all aspects of the Regiment in the war. The planning work continues and more details will be released, tied in with a fund-raising campaign in order to raise the necessary funds to make everything happen.

Publications

No new titles have been published this year, but work has started on some ideas for The Great War Centenary. The museum has a manuscript written by Colonel John Bois recording the history of the 2nd Battalion, King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment on the Western Front and in Salonika. This has now been typed and consideration is underway to publication. There are a number of options, including a lavishly illustrated book as the original document includes many photographs and watercolours by the author.

Thought is also been given to small pictorial histories to record other battalions during The Great War. There are many excellent photographs of the 5th Battalion which would merit reproduction in print.

The museum also continues to assist with the research and provision of images for other publications, requests for assistance come in from all over the world. The museum charges reproduction fees for the use of photographs and this is a small, but important, source of income.
Digitisation Project – War Diaries and Histories

The First World War diaries on cd-rom continue to be good sellers, and hopefully sales will increase as the Centenary of the Great War approaches. They are a valuable resource for any family historian or anyone undertaking research of names on their local war memorial.

Digitisation of the Second Volume (1814-1914) of the Regimental History, edited by Colonel L I Cowper and published in 1939 was completed and this has also been made available on cd-rom, price at £12 – the same price as the Third Volume, and all the War Diaries. This leaves the First Volume (cover 1680-1814) to be digitised and produced which will hopefully be done in 2013.

Website: www.kingsownmuseum.plus.com

One of the main efforts has been the continued expansion of the website. Information is always being added, as are photographs and collection listings. The website was visited by 132,448 visitors in 2012/13.

Nearly all of the museum’s National Service photographs have now been digitised and added to the website – all grouped together under a ‘National Service Years’ brand which linked to the new exhibition. Feedback has been very encouraging, and there remains some work in order to expand the captions.

Over the summer of 2012 all the museum’s collection information from 1929 to the 1990s was typed up and added to the website. This was typically the sort of information which appeared in The Lion and The Rose and later The Lion and The Dragon. Details include the material donated and the details of the donor. The details from the 1990s already appeared on the website in the digital copies of the Annual Reports – but this has now been grouped together. The listing of all acquisition groups is merely the end of the beginning and work will continue to list all items in the collection. A major task, but one in which progress is being made.

By the end of March 2013 19520 items were listed or appeared on the website, approximately 59% of the museum’s collection.

Additions during the year include the following:

The museum also maintains a page on the social networking site, ‘Facebook’ and this is used to communicate with nearly 900 people who have ‘liked’ the page. It provides a good way of promoting events and contacting people without the management of a mailing list. With the price of a stamp so expensive it is a “free” way of maintaining contact with people.

Despite encouragement by other museum professionals the museum does not have a ‘twitter’ account, although should demand for this been seen it would be considered. So much changes (advances?) so quickly these days it is not always easy to say which things the museum should be part of!

Enquiries

1359 enquiries were answered during 2012/13, a rise of 55 on the previous year. The trend has been upwards for the past two decades! By far the majority of enquiries arrive by email, and this does make life easier, and allows the museum to provide better responses than to those received by personal callers (without appointments!) and by telephone. Email enquiries allow time to be managed to best effect and answers are supplied with links to relevant pages on the museum’s website.

An increasing number of enquiries are received of a general nature, or at least not related to the King’s Own. Internet search engines, such as ‘Google’ pick up lots of content on our website, which are not 100% relevant to the King’s Own, may be a reference to ‘Hayling Island School of Musketry’, where we have some photographs taken by one officer in the First World War. Sadly we have little more than the photographs and their brief captions, but as with all enquiries if we cannot help we will always do our best to point people in the right direction.

As well as the information on the website the museum still publishes a number of information sheets which can be picked up, free of charge, within the gallery itself. They remain popular and will hopefully act as an incentive to visit the museum’s website once the visitor arrives home.

Talks and Activities

The King’s Own Museum and Curator continues to take part in the national Heritage Open Days each September, as well as providing a range of talks and lectures both within the museum and to other organisations. The museum asks for a small donation of only £50 for an external talk, whilst talks and events held within the museum are free. Sadly some groups have requested a talk but then decline on the basis of the cost. It was, however, a pleasure to do a talk to 381 Supply Squadron, 159 Supply Regiment at their Barracks in Lancaster. Hopefully the first of many to Lancaster’s newly establish unit

A number of sessions have been run including:

Work with outside bodies

The Curator is a personal member of the following organisations:

The Museum is a member of:

The Curator made a number of visits and attended a number of events:

Acquisitions

Once again the museum can look back upon a year of some excellent additions to the collection. By far the majority of items are generously gifted to the museum, however this year a generous bequest to the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment allowed the museum to make some special acquisitions.

The Millar Bequest

The Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment received a bequest from Mrs Emmeline Millar who died in January 2011. Her father was Private Ben Moore who served with the 1st/4th Battalion of the King’s Own during the Great War. Under the terms of her will she bequeathed a legacy of £100,000 to the Duke of Lancaster’s Regimental Charity. Mrs Millar at some point contacted the Curator to find details of the Regiment in order to make her bequest. In recognition of the assistance given by Peter Donnelly the Trustees of the Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment ring fenced £10,000 of the bequest to the Museum for acquisitions. This money has now been received.

Private Ben Moore, number 1107, of the 4th Battalion, (Territorial Force) King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment enlisted on 24th February 1909. He was mobilised on the outbreak of the First World War and arrived on the Western Front on 3rd May 1915. He was wounded at Festubert and whilst his shoulder was damaged his arm was saved, but he was unable to raise his arm. He was discharged due to the wounds on 30th November 1915. Moore was no longer able to play the violin but did play the clarinet after the war. He attended the Mount Vernon Hospital in London and lived a useful and nice life despite the wounds for which he received a pension. He sometimes rejoined the 4th Battalion at their camps and played his clarinet.

The funds from the Millar bequest were used to purchase a number of medal groups from a private collection and the photograph albums of Lieutenant Forbes-Taylor of the 6th Battalion, First World War. The medals include the important Second World War Distinguished Conduct Medal group to Sergeant Philip Fordham of the 1st King’s Own, one of eight DCMs awarded to the regiment in the war.

The full list of acquisitions appears below:

KO2917 Photos, albums, books, sweetheart badges etc purchased.
KO2918 Jewellery box, plastic rickshaw ornaments, tea service and album of photographs relating to the service of Private Ernest Hodgson, 1st King’s Own, in Hong Kong, 1955-56. Gift of Mrs Wendy Hodgson, Morecambe.
KO2919 British War and Allied Victory Medals to Private William Henry Smith, 1st/4th King’s Own; Princess Mary tin, bullet and card. Territorial Efficiency Medal to Private Albert Henry Pilcher, 4th King’s Own, 1932. Territorial Efficiency Medal to Private John William Pilcher, 4th King’s Own, circa 1935. Gift of Mr Neil Mckenzie, Lancaster.
KO2920 Photos: Physical and Bayonet Instructors, King’s Own, Oswestry, 1917; and Sergeant Charles Williams. From originals lent to be copied by Mrs Burridge, Heysham.
KO2921 Photos, documents etc relating to the service of Corporal James Walter Openshaw, 1st King’s Own, 1953-55, including Korea and Hong Kong. Gift of Mr Jim Openshaw, Salford.
KO2922 Photos, documents etc relating to Corporal Joseph Blanchard, 2nd King’s Own, 1930s. From originals lent to be copied by Mrs Ducie, Heysham.
KO2923 Shooting Medals won by Private W Page, 1st Volunteer Battalion, King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, 1883-1897. Gift of Mrs Alison Page, Lancaster.
KO2924 Embroidered cloths and photographs relating to the service Private Edward Wildman, King’s Own Royal Regiment, 1930s and 1940s. Gift of Mrs Sue Hargreaves, Birchwood, Warrington.
KO2925 1914/15 Star to Private John Kay, 2nd King’s Own, killed in action on 8th May 1915 at Frezenberg. Gift of Dr. Angela Owen-Smith MBE, Hartford, Huntingdon.
KO2926 Copy of documents relating to the service of Private John Cosgrove, King’s Own serving between 1900 and the First World War. Copied from originals lent by Mr David Wood, Essex.
KO2927 Photos: Depot Band, 1941, Regimental Badge in stone on the hillside at Gebeit, Sudan and menu for reunion dinner, 1950s. Gift of Mrs Gilvear, Dursley, Gloucestershire.
KO2928 1914/15 Star, War and Victory Medal and three photograph albums relating to the service of Lieutenant Edward Melville Forbes-Taylor with the 6th Battalion, King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment. Purchased.
KO2929 Photographs of King Theodore’s Drum. Photographed for the Museum in December 1997 and not previously registered.
KO2930 Decorated plate commemorating the life of Lance Corporal William Rossall, 1st/5th King’s Own. Killed in action 1st August 1917. Gift of Mr Michael Pickard, Otley, West Yorkshire.
KO2931 Silver War Badge to Private Alfred Hodgson, 6th Battalion, King’s Own. Purchased.
KO2932 Photographs of Private Wilfred Knott, 8th Battalion King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, First World War. Gift of Mrs Helen Eriksson, Sweden.
KO2933 17th Division Christmas Card, 1918. Gift of Mr Hammond, Norfolk.
KO2934 Photographs of graves of Chelsea In-Pensioners at Brookwood Military Cemetery.
KO2935 Queen’s South Africa Medal to Private Franics McCuirn, number 2301, 2nd Battalion, King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment.
KO2936 Distinguished Conduct Medal Group to Sergeant Philip Fordham, 1st Battalion, King’s Own Royal Regiment, Second World War. Purchased.
KO2937 1914 Star, War and Victory Medals to Lieutenant C G S Irvine, 1st Battalion, King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment. Purchased.
KO2938 Meritorious Service Medal and Long Service and Good Conduct Medal to Bandmaster Harry W Tyrrell, King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment. Purchased.
KO2939 Military Cross to Lieutenant T S Bateson, 1st/4th Battalion, King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment. Purchased.
KO2940 Album of photographs relating to the 1st Battalion, King’s Own Royal Regiment, 1930s. Purchased.
KO2941 Offprint of article in Vigilo, Min L-Art Helwa (Malta) Apr 2012: Lower Fort St. Elmo and the Mortar Shells Fountain by Denis A Darmanin. Including the details of it’s restoration in 1897 by the King’s Own. Gift of the Author.
KO2942 Oil painting: Surgeon of the 4th Foot, The King’s Own, amputating the leg of a wounded soldier at the Battle of Waterloo, Jun 1815. Painting by James Askew, 2011. Purchased.
KO2943 Shooting spoon and box of issue awarded to Sergeant Herbert Sinker, 1st King’s Own circa 1909. CQMS Sinker died as a prisoner of war in October 1916. Gift of Mr I W Greer, British Columbia, Canada.
KO2944 Photos of soldiers of the King’s Own, including 4th Battalion, 1913-1920s. Gift of Mr Cronin, Jersey.
KO2945 Packet of ‘Needlecraft for occupational therapy, produced by Penelope’, Second World War; Book of First World War Postcards, Arras after the Bombardment. Gift of Mrs Falconer, Morecambe.
KO2946 Documents, letters, etc relating to the King’s Own and service of Colonel Vernon Royle copied from originals lent by his daughter, Mrs June Marriott, Richmond.
KO2947 Armbands, reports, Dress Regulations for the Army 1934, and The King’s Own, 1927-32, photographs relating to the King’s Own and service of Colonel Vernon Royle. Gift of Mrs June Marriott, Richmond.
KO2948 Photographs, postcards and sheet music relating to the King’s Own 1908-1921. From the Collection of the late Joe Hodgson, Preston.

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Facts and Figures

Year          Visitors         Web Visitors       Enquiries
2012/13      48 886         132 448               1359
2011/12      50 659           80 078               1304
2010/11      49 884           50 559               1217
2009/10      46 109           51 259               1218
2008/09      44 388           50 800               1630
2007/08      44 630           42 562               1248
2006/07      43 127           18 051               1165
2005/06      46 652                                    1541
2004/05      54 423                                    1503
2003/04      42 996                                    1128
2002/03      40 531                                    952
2001/02      47 350                                    987
2000/01      51 030                                    1052

Peter Donnelly BA AMA
Regimental Curator
King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum
Market Square
Lancaster
LA1 1HT


Curator Telephone: 01524 555619
Museum Telephone: 01524 64637
Email: kingsownmuseum@iname.com
Website: Registered Charity Number 272109

© Images are copyright, Trustees of the King's Own Royal Regiment Museum.
 You must seek permission prior to publication of any of our images.