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King’s Own Royal Regiment Museum
2015-2016 Report
Vice President
Colonel John de Cordova OBE
Trustees
Lieutenant Colonel Christopher Warren (Chairman)
Lieutenant Colonel Peter Dew
Major Stephen Firth MBE
Mr John Hardy
Major Daniel Parsonage
Major James Welsh
Mr Paul Thompson
Mrs Sue Ashworth
(ex-officio County Museum Service)
Councillor Elizabeth Scott
(ex-officio Armed Forces Champion,
Lancaster City Council) from January 2016.
Staff
Peter Donnelly BA AMA – Curator
The museum is supported by Lancaster City Council and Lancashire County
Council.
Chairman’s Introduction
The past 12 months have been a period of uncertainty for the Museum. The
financial issues facing Local Government are well known. Hence the City
of Lancaster has put in place a review of the Museum Service with the
aim of reducing overall costs. The outcome is awaited and expected in
December 2016. The outcome is compounded by similar financial issues
facing Lancashire County Council who have a Museums Service Partnership
agreement with the City.
The Regimental Collection has been located in the City Museum since the
1920’s at the invitation of the City of Lancaster. Although there are
certain to be changes the Trustees are confident that the Regimental
Museum will remain within Lancaster. We are fortunate to have the
overall support of the City and the goodwill of Lancaster as a whole.
Everyone recognises that the Museum is an important part of the heritage
of North Lancashire and Cumbria. We await developments.
Not with standing these issues it has been business as usual. Indeed
much has happened. To mark the 100th Anniversary of the Somme a major
exhibition entitled ‘141 Days: The Battle of Somme’ was mounted. The
exhibition covered the whole of the ground floor of the City Museum and
was well received. As at 28th October it has been attended by 19 112
visitors. Funding to meet costs was provided by the Sir John Fisher
Foundation and the Army Museums Ogilby Trust. We are grateful to both
charities for their support particularly the Sir John Fisher Foundation
who also supported our 2014 Exhibition. The exhibition is ongoing and
has been complimented by in house talks and visits by the Curator to
schools and societies. Overall a triumph at a time of uncertainty with a
major contribution from those behind the scenes who made it happen.
January 2017 marks the 25th Anniversary of appointment of Peter Donnelly
as the Curator of the Regimental Collection. Peter has made an enormous
contribution to our affairs. He has seen changes, adapted to different
initiatives, many of which never saw the light of day. He has been the
‘face’ of the Museum within the community and a font of knowledge about
the Regiment. The latter is recognised well beyond the confines of
Lancaster. Through his endeavours many new acquisitions have been added
to the collection. He has loyally served the Museum and we hope there
are many more years to come. Well done Peter!
Overview
If we thought that 2015 may have been not so busy as it’s the second
year of the Centenary of the Great War, we’d have been totally wrong!
There remains great interest in the history of the Great War and all
other aspects of both regimental and military history. Regimental
history is of course not really about the regiment fighting in far off
battlefields, it’s about the people of the regiment. It’s about local
people who took part in national and international events, playing their
part and “doing their bit” and of course generations on their relatives
are fascinated to discover what part their own family had in the story
of Great Britain.
This report details just some of the activities undertaken by the museum
– there is much ‘run of the mill’ day to day activity which keeps the
museum running and the public happy. Answering enquiries remains an
important part of the work, and it’s pleasing to know when those who
have had an enquiry answered turn up to see the museum in person.
The Curator remains a key part of the Lancaster City Museum team and he
assists with activities both at the City Museum and in other parts of
the County Museum Service, and beyond.
Trustees
The museum trustees met at the annual meeting in November. The trustees
received a report on the present situation regarding the budget position
of Lancashire County Council and were advised that a new staffing
structure would be implemented based upon what the County announced in
December. The Trustees started to review the Trust Document on which the
museum is managed. A new document will be based upon the model deed of
the Army Museums Ogilby Trust. Work has been underway on this with the
Charity Commission.
The Trustees discussed the appointment of an ex-officio trustee who
would be the Armed Forces Champion of Lancaster City Council. This was
agreed by the trustees and agreed by Lancaster City Council and
Councillor Elizabeth Scott will be the representative.
Major Daniel Parsonage represented the Chairman at the meetings of the
Lancashire County Council and Lancaster City Council Museum Advisory
Panel.
Accreditation
The Museum holds 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 and recyclable materials. Great effort is made to reuse
envelopes, for example, for both correspondence and sales, this also
saves money. The donation to the museum of used padded envelopes may
appear to be a very minor thing, but this has reduced the packing costs
of museum sales items to almost nil. We re-use paper, use recycled paper
and card and recycle also sorts of waste material from paper and
cardboard to tin cans and glass. Public transport is used where
possible.
The Energy Performance Operation Rating of the City Museum building is
66, 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 also rated ‘C’ in the previous year.)
(Certificate Reference Number: 0780-0815-6149-5426-3006)
Acknowledgements
The work of the museum would not be possible but for the help and
support of many people. Some people are very generous in their time and
support. It would be impossible to acknowledge and thank everyone but
some assistance is above and beyond and needs specific mention. Great
appreciation goes (in no specific order) to Gaynor Greenwood, Fergus
Read, Howard Martin, Pat Shackleton, David Shackleton, Anne Donnelly,
Martin Evans, Jackie Britton, Paul Thompson, Graham Davis, Neil Barnett
and Danny Parsonage for their continued support and assistance to the
Curator. To those named and to many more – a big thank you for all your
help, advice, assistance and encouragement.
Exhibitions
Three small exhibitions have been presented in this reporting period.
The first covered the 1st/5th Battalion, King’s Own, in France and
Belgium in 1915. The battalion arrived on the Western Front on 14th
February 1915 and were quickly sent to Belgium where they were involved
in notable actions in March through to May. The battalion was part of
bitter fighting in the Ypres area around the 23rd and 24th April and
then again in May at Frezenberg. These were the worst days of the entire
war of the 1st/5th Battalion, and also for Lancaster and district, with
the battalion almost totally made up of local people. We have a really
good photographic collection relating to the 1st/5th Battalion in 1915
and many of these photos were used in the exhibition.
Much of the focus of the Centenary of the First World War is of course
aimed at the Western Front where the majority of fighting took place,
however we did not forget the campaign in Salonika. Two battalions of
the King’s Own, the 2nd and the 9th, served in Salonika from October
1915 to the end of the war. An exhibition using photographs, drawings
and objects covered the two battalions in this less well known theatre
of war. The photographs and sketches of Colonel John Bois and
photographs of the padre, the Reverend Harley, have both been
extensively featured.
Moving away from the First World War the next exhibition tied in with
the release of the brand new ‘Dad’s Army’ film. “Our Home Guard” used
photographs, documents and objects to tell the story of the four
battalions of the County of Lancaster Home Guard which were cap badged
to the King’s Own.
The curator gave illustrated talks connected to all three exhibitions in
the museum itself and further talks as part of Lancaster University’s
Campus in the City on the “Worst day of the war” on 23rd April. A second
Home Guard talk was given prior to the screening at the Duke’s Cinema of
the ‘Dad’s Army’ movie, which proved to be very popular.
In November 2015 it became clear that the City Museum’s plans for the
2016 Summer exhibition had changed and there was a gap in the programme.
It was decided that the two exhibition rooms would be handed over to the
King’s Own Museum for a brand new exhibition ‘141 Days: The Battle of
the Somme’. An application for grant funding to the Sir John Fisher
Foundation was made, who had generously supported ‘War! 1914’. Work
started on researching the exhibition and at the end of the reporting
year fingers were crossed that the grant application would be successful
as this would be the difference between a major exhibition or a low key
one!
Meet the Soldier
The museum’s popular “Meet the First World War Soldier Character”
sessions were held at various times through out the year, including
Heritage Open Days. Sessions were also held outside the museum,
including Lancaster University’s Campus in the City display. These
sessions are popular and easy to run with limited cost.
Collections Management
We have to report some challenges this year in keeping the collections
safe and well. In mid-November 2015 there was water damage to the King’s
Own costume store when rain overtopped a failed gutter in the roof. We
were very lucky that despite a large amount of water passing through the
room it missed all the uniforms. However four wardrobes have had to be
re-located whilst work, which was added to the planned capital works,
was completed.
These capital works involve work on gutters and drain pipes. Sadly as
part of this works water came into both the King’s Own gallery and the
main store room. Fearing such a thing may happen during the works, all
the collections had been temporarily relocated.
The continued poor state of the roof of the King’s Own gallery is a
concern and emergency repairs were carried out, and we are pleased to
note that the replacement of the King’s Own roof is on the programme for
capital works.
We have to remain alert to the physical threats to the collections, both
on display and in store. We welcome the City Council’s major Capital
works programme for the entire City Museum building and hope that works
are continued.
Finance
We live in hard financial times and that is very clear when it comes to
raising money for the museum. Donations have increased via the new
donation box in the King’s Own gallery, but donations by post have
declined. Donations are harder to extract from those which the museum
correspondence with by email.
The museum has failed in its regular donor scheme. The take up of the
scheme has been very disappointing, and a re-launch with a new leaflet,
saw the leaflets taken by visitors, but none completed and returned. The
Curator was booked on a legacy giving course organised by the Army
Museums Ogilby Trust, but sadly this course was cancelled at short
notice due to a poor take up by others. It was hoped that attendance at
this course would give guidance on a suitable leaflet and promotion of a
scheme.
The museum has received no bequests in the reporting year.
A full financial report has been prepared and will be presented to the
Trustees at their meeting in November 2016.
Website:
www.kingsownmuseum.com
The museum had its first email connection early in 1998, as this was the
best way to communicate with the 1st Battalion of the King’s Own Royal
Border Regiment who were serving in Bosnia. A few years later a simple
website of a few pages appeared. In 2004 a new website was started and
that has gone on from strength to strength. The initial 50mb allowance
of memory had long been filled and extra space to 500mb had been
purchased, but this was the maximum allowed by the internet service
provider. So the decision was taken in November 2015 to transfer the
entire website to a new host and there was a slight change in the name
to www.kingsownmuseum.com
For a period of time two website ran side by side, but all additions and
revisions were being made only to the new website. After a couple of
months it was decided to simply delete the old website and focus only on
the new one. Within a short period of time it would appear that ‘Google’
and the other search engines had found the new site.
The website continues to be a key method of delivery of information on
the museum’s collections and the history of the regiment.
Monthly Website Visits were as follows:
| 2015/2016 |
Old Website |
New Website |
| April |
16242 |
|
| May |
18929 |
|
| June |
18379 |
|
| July |
17541 |
|
| August |
18483 |
|
| September |
17057 |
|
| October |
15834 |
|
| November |
17312 |
37 |
| December |
20391 |
128 |
| January |
15563 |
1017 |
| February |
11035 |
2570 |
| March |
11890 |
4884 |
| Total |
198656 |
8636 |
It is suspected that there may have been some “over-reporting” of
visitors to the old website and the figures for the new website are
presented in a much more detailed daily basis, which appear to be more
accurate.
Additions to the website:
Photographs relating to Signaller Thomas Venterman 1930s-Second World
War.
Postcards sent home to Miss Christy Addison from soldiers in the First
World War.
Postcards and information on Private Tom Walton, 5th King’s Own.
Material relating to Lieutenant Thomas Charles Victor Todd
Photographs and information on Private Edward Wildman, 2nd King’s Own,
Second World War.
Material relating to Private Henry John Pidgeon, First World War.
Material relating to Sergeant Danny Cross, King’s Own, Special Air
Service and King’s Own Royal Border Regiment.
Material relating to Lance Corporal Sidney Cartmell, 1st/5th King’s
Own, First World War.
Material relating to Colour Sergeant Albert Hawkins, King’s Own,
1920s-1940s.
Photographs of Lance Corporal Charles Smith, 1957-1959.
Material relating to Private Henry George Cook, 2nd King’s Own,
1934-1940.
Photographs of Private Jack Ellel in Germany and Korea, 1953-55.
Completed the transcripts of the letters of Lieutenant Colonel Charles
Bevan, Peninsular War period.
New acquisitions added throughout the website.
Schools Engagement
Over 500 school children from a number of schools have learnt about the
First World War through visiting the museum or a ‘meet the soldier’
session held at their school. There is a growing interest from primary
schools in the First World War and many are more aware of local war
memorials than ever before. It is good to hear of schools holding their
own memorial services, but also visiting memorials.
Talks & Tours
As already reported the curator gave some illustrated talks in
connection with exhibitions held at the museum. Talks were also held off
premises for other groups and societies.
‘On the War Path’ tours of Lancaster have been held in conjunction with
a Lancaster Military Heritage Group Lottery Project run by Lancaster
University. Handheld devices are used which can display photographs,
archives and video media to support the talk given by the guide.
Work with outside bodies
Army Museums Ogilby Trust
Western Front Association – North Lancashire Branch
War Memorials Trust
Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment & Association
BBC Radio Lancashire
Imperial War Museum (Centenary Partnership)
First World War Group – Lancaster City Council
North West Evening Mail, Barrow
Heritage Open Days
Tourism & Marketing Department, Lancaster City Council
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
Casualty and Compassionate Cell, MOD (Army)
Friends of Lancaster City Museum
Who Do You Think You Are? Live
History Department, Lancaster University
Campus in the City, Lancaster University
Cumbria Archives & Local Studies Centre, Barrow
Dukes Cinema, Lancaster
The Curator is a personal member of the following organisations:
Associate of the Museums Association
Friends of Lancaster City Museum
The Museum is a member of:
Military History Society
Salonika Campaign Society
The Curator made a number of visits and attended a number of events:
Various Talks at the North Lancashire Branch of the Western Front
Association.
Imperial War Museum First World War Centenary Group Meetings
Army Museums Ogilby Trust Conference
Talk on Army Veterinary Services in the First World War at the Royal
College of Surgeons
First World War Centenary Meetings led by Lancaster City Council
Acquisitions
The museum continues to acquire some wonderful items, whether by gift or
purchase they are all valuable additions to the museum’s collections.
The Curator spends a lot of time checking internet auction sites,
including ‘Ebay’ and is amazed at the range of material which continues
to appear. Many photographs and postcards are purchased in this way,
however with only limited funds the museum is sometimes outbid and
misses out on interesting items. It is amazing to think that sometimes a
century old photograph can sell for more than £200! Clearly the museum
is not in this league to spend this much, but private collectors clearly
are.
By far the majority of the museum’s acquisitions through the year have
been kindly donated by the soldiers or their families, or indeed others
with no King’s Own connection, but just happen to have acquired
something relevant to the regiment over the years.
We continue to digitally copy and photograph items which are then added
to the museum’s website. Sometimes a new acquisition can go ‘on-line’
within a few days of it arriving in the museum. This keeps things
current and illustrates to the donors that their objects do serve a
purpose telling part of the history of the regiment.
Special mention must be made of a letter from Captain Jasper Hall,
written before the Crimean War, in 1853, when stationed with the King’s
Own in Edinburgh. This letter now joins a number of letters from Jasper
Hall written to his sister and father from the Crimean War and acquired
by the museum in 1976. An excellent find and addition to the museum’s
collection.
Material continues to be added to the collection, and positive efforts
made to acquire more items, especially things not previously known
about, which does still happen from time to time!
The full accession listing for the year 2015-16 appears below:
KO3013 Various photographs, unknown individuals, groups etc; postcard
and documents relating to Private Thomas Edward Stainton, 7th King’s
Own; envelope addressed to Milner Helme, later commissioned in to the
5th Battalion, November 1914; Pen and ink sketch of an unidentified
Captain of the King’s Own Royal Regiment, and his dog. Drawn by Private
Robert Lyon, of ‘A’ Company, No. 12 Battalion, Royal Army Ordnance
Corps, Old Dalby, Melton Mowbray; embroidered postcards, First World
War; Large serving dish, “Presented to the Officers 1st Battalion, The
King’s Own Royal Regiment by Captain Ralph Charles Matthews”; miniature
oil painting, officer, 1816; cigarette card and other items purchased.
KO3014 Album of photographs put together by Signaller T Venterman, 2nd
Battalion, King’s Own Royal Regiment, ‘Views of Cairo, Sudan and types
of Different Races” Dated 5 Sep 1930. Gift of Mr William F Dear,
Newcastle upon Tyne.
KO3015 Postcards sent to Miss Christy Addison, First World War,
including some from soldiers of the King’s Own. Miss Christy Addison was
the sister of nurse Miss Clemintine Addison, who served in France in the
First World War, and died and is buried in Caton. Gift of Mrs Jaggard,
Bury St. Edmunds.
KO3016 1939-45 Star, Africa Star, Defence and War Medals to Private
Edward Wildman, number 3714356, 2nd Battalion, King’s Own. Sweet heart
badge, blazer badge and embroidered items sent home from Egypt, 1942.
Photograph album. Gift of Mrs Susan Wildman, Penistone, Yorkshire.
KO3017 Photo of the grave of Grave of Colonel Henry Moore, King’s Own
Royal Regiment, Minehead Cemetery, Somerset. From digital image donated
by Mr Biddle.
KO3018 Digital copies of Postcards, photographs relating to Corporal Tom
Watson, 5th King’s Own, First World War. From originals lent by Mrs
Roper, Longridge, Preston.
KO3019 Digital copies of photographs, documents, POW documents, etc
relating Major E V Todd and Lieutenant T C V Todd, King’s Own.
KO3020 Christmas cards, photographs, postcards, documents relating to
Private Henry John Pidgeon, King’s Own, First World War. Gift of Mr
Basil Pidgeon (son), Bideford, Devon.
KO3021 Photograph Group of 5th Battalion, King’s Own Royal Regiment,
soldiers at Lowestoft Nov 1940 to Feb 1941 working on defences. One of
the soldiers is Sergeant Alfred Myers of the 5th Battalion, King’s Own.
Digital copy by email from Mrs Jacquee Storozynski-Toll
KO3022 Patriotic French Postcard, featuring French Soldier and Flag.
Sent by Private W Hemsley, A Company, 1st/4th Battalion, King’s Own
Royal Lancaster Regiment to Miss R Hemsley, 22 North Lonsdale Road,
Ulverston, Lancashire. Postmarked 6 Aug 1915. Gift of Mr Andrew Brooks,
Overtown, Cowan Bridge.
KO3023 Photographs from digital copies relating to the service of
Corporal Eric Bostock, 1st Battalion, King’s Own, 1958-59. Gift of Mr E
Bostock, Morecambe.
KO3024 Photographs from digital copies relating to Private Thomas Harold
Edward Whitehead, 4th Battalion, First World War. Gift of Mr Michael
Pearson, Huddersfield.
KO3025 Suitcase, formerly the property of Private Henry Crook, 2nd
Battalion, King’s Own, circa 1938-39. Photographs relating to the 2nd
King’s Own, Palestine. Gift of Mr William Crook, Kelsale, Suffolk.
KO3026 Allied Victory Medals to Private Thomas Willetts, 2nd/5th King’s
Own, and Private John Albert Redhead, 8th King’s Own. Gift of Mr John
Carruthers, Barrow-in-Furness.
KO3027 Queen’s South Africa Medal, King’s South Africa Medal, 1914/15
Star, British War and Allied Victory Medals, Meritorious Service Medal
to Sergeant Major Albert Crossley, King’s Own and Royal Army Medical
Corps. Gift of Mrs Gilian Sephton, Aylesford, Kent.
KO3028 Trench maps, small folder and note books, French and German POW
Currency, relating to Captain A Holland, 8th King’s Own. Part of a
larger collection sold. Purchased.
KO3029 Photographs, documents relating to Private Fred Howarth, 1st/4th
King’s own, First World War. Gift of Mr S R Gamble, Edinburgh.
KO3030 Military Cross, British War and Allied Victory Medal, Defence
Medal and 1953 Coronation Medal to Lieutenant John Stott MC, Loyals
attached to the 2nd/5th King’s Own. 1939-45 War Medal to Mrs Margery
Elizabeth Stott of the ATS. Photographs, cap badges etc. Gift of Mr
Colin West, (grandson) Tennessee, USA
KO3031 Album of photographs relating to the service of an unidentified
soldier who appears to have served with both the King’s Regiment and the
King’s Own Royal Regiment in Hong Kong in 1954/56. Gift of Mr John
Baker, Marton, Blackpool.
KO3032 Photographs digitally copied from originals relating to the 1st
King’s Own in Korea and service of Private Jack Ellel. Lent by Mr Jack
Ellel to be copied.
KO3033 Official illustrated wounded soldier discharge certificate to
Lieutenant Richard Leslie Brown 1st Battalion King’s Own Royal Lancaster
Regiment. With original card tube. Photograph and medal ribbons. Gift of
Mr David Brooke, Claughton-on-Brock, Lanchashire.
KO3034 Letter from Captain Jasper Hall to his sister Jane Hall, dated 19
Sep 1853, Edinburgh. Envelope addressed to Miss Jane Hall, Biebrich, sur
le Rhin, Germany via Ostende. Article from The Times newspaper, circa
Sep 1853 “Affray between the Military and Police in Edinburgh” with
reference to Lieutenant Roberts of the King’s Own Royal Regiment.
Purchased.
KO3035 1914-15 Star, War and Victory Medals awarded to Private George
Marshall, 8th King’s Own. Memorial Plaque, certificate, photographs.
Gift of Mr Harold Hardman, St. Annes on Sea.
KO3036 Photographs of graves of Private Thomas Lucas, 5th King’s Own and
Private Cecil George Hiscock, 8th King’s Own, Cracow Rakowicki Cemetery,
Poland. Gift of Mr Fergus Read, Cambridge.
KO3037 Unidentified soldier of the King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment
and his wife, circa First World War. Gift of Colonel Andrew Dennis,
Lancaster.
KO3038 Photographs of kit bags relating to two soldiers of the King’s
Own who were in France in 1940, found in 1990s. From digital image
supplied by Mr Vincent Tessier, France.
KO3039 Photo, officers and soldiers of the Depot, King’s Own, 1932. Gift
of Mrs Debbie Allan, Lancaster.
KO3040 Book: Drill Halls, A National Overview, by Katie Carmichael.
English Heritage (Historic England). Gift of Historic England.
KO3041 Model of Saxon Armoured Personnel Carrier, formerly used in Army
Recruiting Office displays. A vehicle used by the King’s Own Royal
Border Regiment in places such as Northern Ireland, Cyprus and Iraq.
Gift of Major Robert H Davison, Recruiting Officer, North West England,
Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment.
KO3042 Book: The Great Siege of Gibraltar 1779-1783. Keith Sheriff,
Gibraltar Heritage Trust, 2015. Gift of Gibraltar Heritage Trust.
KO3043 Scarlet tunic, trousers, sash, buff leather belt and hat of
Sergeant John T Preston, 4th King’s Own. Purchased.
KO3044 Suitcase, named to Private Edwin Crook, 1st King’s Own, 1950s,
documents, photographs etc relating to his service in Hong Kong. Gift of
Mrs Janet Coyle, Greenock, Scotland.
KO3045 Photograph: Quartermaster’s Staff of the 2nd/5th Battalion,
King’s Own Royal Lancaster Regiment, in France or Belgium, circa 1918.
Gift of Mr Tim Cross, Tarporley, Cheshire.
User Feedback
What some of our visitors said:
Enjoyed the museum as my uncle was in the First World War.
Well worth a visit, I am visiting the Somme, France. My uncle died in
July 1916, his name is on the Thiepval Memorial.
Very interesting and informative. The curator gave his time and
knowledge very kindly to further out family history research.
Great – took notes about the VCs especially.
The war times are important for us to remember. We must never forget
the sacrifice made for our freedom.
A great memorial, we will never forget them.
Excellent, the military exhibits were great, surprisingly filled with
very interesting artefacts, especially for a small museum.
An impressive and interesting museum, particularly the section on the
Lancaster Regiment.
What some our enquirer’s said:
Thank you very much for that information, I will now be able to fully
identify John Hedley in the group portrait.
Thank you for your remarkably prompt and full response to my enquiry. I
hadn’t realised before that there were so many transfers between the
battalions at that time. I will carry on my researches
You’ve been most helpful Peter, thank you. That gives me a place to
start!
Thank you so very much for the information that you sent and especially
for the photograph of my father. It was such a wonderful surprise to see
him and I am really grateful to you for all the time that you have spent
on this. My sister and I are already planning a visit to the museum next
year!
Many thanks for your informative and very prompt reply, I should have
realised how naive I was to think things would still be the same after
all these years but a lot of us older ones live in nostalgia and past
times. I look forward to visiting the museum in the very near future.
Many thanks for your speedy response. You have been most helpful.
I cant thank you enough for all your hard work, you have been very
thorough but you have only confirmed what I have known all along.
Thank you for this information. Very helpful and filled in some blanks.
How stupid not to have given his name!!!
We are most grateful for your time and attention and look forward to
learning more about our father’s and grandfather’s history with the
regiment.
Thank you for your help and i will now start my search again with the
right regiment.
Thank you very much indeed for the detailed and very quick reply. It
fills quite a lot of blank space in my searches, especially in relation
to William Matthews. I shall most certainly use the link to make a
donation, which I shall arrange tomorrow.
Hello and thank you very much for this information, it is indeed a
great help and very much appreciated.
Thank you so much for this. We did enjoy our visit to the Museum last
week. You have added to our knowledge about Alfred in that he ‘died of
wounds’, which so many sadly did in that chaos. We hope to visit again
and purchase the history that you mentioned. Our thanks again.
I really don’t know how to thank you enough for this information. I
will progress and digest everything. Really, really, kind of you, thanks
again.
Thank you very much for your comprehensive reply. I will look into
these and get my students doing some research too.
Many thanks for the information. It confirms service in India and
Sudan. The photos are excellent and we will see if there is anything
that is familiar.
Thank you very much for the links and information regarding your
collection of sweetheart brooches and advertisements. These will be very
helpful in my research and I hope I may contact you again about the
collection if necessary.
Of course we completely understand that you must be incredibly busy,
and I know that there are many pressures on museums nowadays. We’d like
to wish you good luck in your endeavours, and thank you again for the
fascinating information that you’ve shared with us about Thomas Leach.
Many thanks for your reply. You may be interested to know the reason
behind my enquiry. I have been interested in the history and development
of the limerick verse form for many years. The young lady of Riga is a
particular favourite. I am in the process of finishing a book which is
devoted entirely to the origins of this verse, its variants, its use as
an analogy, and so on and so forth.
Many thanks for this....very touching. I hope to take my father to
France to visit the gravesite soon
Thank you for replying so promptly to my enquiry.
Thanks for the info and I have donated and will do in the future from
time to time.
Historical Facts and Figures
| Year |
Visitors |
Web Visitors |
Enquiries |
| 2015/16 |
45 731 |
181 780 |
1 361 |
| 2014/15 |
51 647 |
202 779 |
1 985 |
| 2013/14 |
57 946 |
166 332 |
2 131 |
| 2012/13 |
48 886 |
132 448 |
1 359 |
| 2011/12 |
50 659 |
80 078 |
1 304 |
| 2010/11 |
49 884 |
50 559 |
1 217 |
| 2009/10 |
46 109 |
51 259 |
1 218 |
| 2008/09 |
44 388 |
50 800 |
1 630 |
| 2007/08 |
44 630 |
42 562 |
1 248 |
| 2006/07 |
43 127 |
18 051 |
1 165 |
| 2005/06 |
46 652 |
|
1 541 |
| 2004/05 |
54 423 |
|
1 503 |
| 2003/04 |
42 996 |
|
1 128 |
| 2002/03 |
40 531 |
|
952 |
| 2001/02 |
47 350 |
|
987 |
| 2000/01 |
51 030 |
|
1 052 |
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: www.kingsownmuseum.com
© Images are copyright, Trustees of the King's Own Royal Regiment Museum.
You must seek permission prior to
publication of any of our images.
Only a proportion of our collections
are on display at anyone time. Certain items are on loan for display
in other institutions. An appointment is required to consult any of
our collections which are held in store. |
