Colin Bulleid, Author at The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum

Second Lieutenant Francis John Whaley

On this day in 1917, the 15th Battalion took part in the capture of Messines Ridge. Messines Ridge to the South of Ypres offered the Germans a clear view of the Allied lines in the Ypres salient and as the main British offensive of 1917 was planned to be launched from the salient in July, the capture of the ridge was vital.

The 9 attacking Divisions were supported by 2,230 guns firing a barrage of 3.5 million shells, also in support were the Royal Flying Corps and new and reliable MkIV tanks. 19 mines dug under the German trenches were detonated simultaneously in the largest and deadliest man-made explosion until the use of the Atomic bomb.

The 15th Battalion was in the reserve Brigade of the 41st Division and advanced as planned after the capture of the German front line. The strong points of Oblong Trench, Englebrier Farm, Ravine, and Denys Wood were rapidly captured, and by 9 am the 15th Battalion had consolidated on its final objective. 2nd Lieutenant Whaley and Regimental Sergeant Major Greenwood were both awarded Military Crosses for capturing large numbers of prisoners (Greenwood with just one man in support, captured 20, whilst Whaley braved artillery fire to pursue fleeing Germans).

The Germans began to counterattack; but their plans had relied on the ridge being held until the two Engrief divisions arrived and these efforts were blunted by British troops who were ready and waiting to meet them. The 15th Battalion repulsed a first attack by 500 Germans at 10 am and had just defeated a second effort at 3 pm when the 24th Division swept through to capture the final Oosttaverne line.

Success had been complete and all objectives across the line had been taken. Estimates vary, but both sides suffered more than 20,000 casualties, with only a little difference between the losses of the attackers and defenders – a rare achievement during the First World War.

The 15th Battalion suffered 43 killed or missing and 141 wounded during the capture of Messines Ridge.

A notebook belonging to Whaley’s commander in the museum’s collection contains the original recommendation for 2nd Lieutenant Whaley’s Military Cross.

Join the Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum and Fritz the Dog for a FREE hands-on family trail around the museum this half-term.

Follow the story of the Royal Hampshire Regiment’s much‑loved four-legged mascot on a self‑led discovery trail around the museum.

With six imaginative stops and playful challenges inspired by Fritz’s real-life adventures, this trail is perfect for curious kids and grown‑ups who love a story.

Fritz’s Big Adventure is available for free during May half-term – Saturday 23^rd May – Saturday 30th May 2026, 10am -4pm.

Entrance to the museum and participation in the trail are FREE but donations towards the upkeep of our historic collection are welcome.

The museum is located on Southgate Street, Winchester, a short walk from the High Street.

Something very silly has happened at the museum…
Our newest museum helpers, the Duck Recruits, have wandered off on an adventure! Now they’re hiding throughout the galleries and in the Memorial Garden, and they need your help to complete their Easter training.

Join us this Easter for a fun, family-friendly trail perfect for all ages.
Search for six Duck Recruits, each exploring a different part of the museum; from colourful uniforms and shining medals to the quarter-scale Jeep and the peaceful Memorial Garden.

Collect a letter from each duck, crack the final password, and return to the Welcome Desk to receive your reward.
Are you ready, Recruit?

Whether you’re helping the ducks with their training or crafting your own masterpiece, it’s a perfect day out this Easter.

We are looking for Front of House Volunteers to greet all our visitors, provide them with an introduction to our history and some information on the building, and then to assist with any further inquiries they may have.

Training is provided, and there is the chance to work on other museum projects if interested.

You do not need to have any previous experience, just a confident manner, interest in history and telling the stories of our fabulous collection.

If you are able to help out for a few hours a week, and are interested to know more, please get in touch with the curator at

Children aged 4+ and their families are invited to experience the joy of discovery at The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum this October half term. The Hidden Wonders Hunt is a free spotter trail from Kids in Museums and Walker Books, celebrating the release of The Search for our Cosmic Neighbours, a new book from bestselling author-illustrator Chloe Savage.

Discover hidden wonders around the museum and take on a special drawing challenge. Complete the activity sheet to receive your Hidden Wonders Hunt sticker!

Share your drawing on Instagram or BlueSky with the hashtag #HiddenWondersHunt and tag @kidsinmuseums for a chance to win out of this world prizes, including a Double National Art Pass Plus Kids and a signed Hidden Wonders book bundle.

The Museum is temporarily closed while we carry out some much needed Collections Work on the displays, and also some repairs and repainting.

We are aiming to reopen on 11th February, but will update our website and social media if this changes.

We need to check on the condition of all our artefacts on display, along with cleaning and repainting the inside of the cases. We will also be changing around some of the displays and this cannot be undertaken while the museum is open to the public as it it too disruptive to visitors and would limit the displays they could view. It also reduces the risk to our collections from having too many people in the area.

The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum is delighted to announce that we have recently purchased at auction the medals of Colonel William Bell Kingsley. These were purchased with support from Arts Council England/V&A Purchase Grant Fund, and we are extremely grateful for their support.

Bell Kingsley served from 1855 until 1886 in the 67th Regiment of Foot, later the Hampshire Regiment. He was wounded at the Battle of Taku Forts, and was mentioned in Dispatches twice for operations in Afghanistan in 1878-80. He commanded the 2nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment in the Burma Campaigns of 1885-86. We have multiple photographs of Bell Kingsley in the archives, along with other personal items, but did not have his medals. We are planning to put these all together on display in 2025.

The medals are (from left to right): The Most Honourable Order of the Bath, C.B. (Military) Companion’s breast badge; the China War Medal 1857-1860 with clasps for Taku Forts 1860 and Pekin 1860; the Afghanistan Medal 1878-80 with clasps for Charasia and Kabul; and the India General Service Medal 1854-94 with clasp for Burma 1885-87.

“In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
‘In Flanders Fields’…” – John McRae

Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place……
and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below……

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders Fields.

This most evocative of poems, “In Flanders Fields”, dates back, of course, to the Great War. John McCrae, a Canadian Medical officer, was inspired to write it after presiding over the funeral of a fellow soldier who died in the battle of Ypres in May 1915. The poem was first published in Punch magazine in December that year. Many were hugely inspired into action by the poem, especially the final verse.

These included, at the time, two great women campaigners: Moina Michael, an American, and Anna Guérin, who was French. After the Armistice both started to promote the poppy as the symbol of remembrance with some success, mainly as a means of raising money for the casualties of war in America and France: not just the disabled, but the thousands of widows and orphans too. In September 1921, Guérin came to England and persuaded the then fledgling Royal British Legion to take up her idea of a “Poppy Day”. Initially there was scepticism. But she showed samples of the silk poppies, made in France, and offered to provide an initial batch. The first ever British Remembrance and Poppy day was declared by Earl Haig for 11 November 1921. It was a massive success. The Royal British Legion made £106,000, largely via poppy sales; the equivalent of £5m today. And the poppies sold out.

A key figure in the scaling up of the early work of the Royal British Legion was a little known soldier, Major George Arthur Howson, MC. George, aged 28, found himself serving on the Western Front with the 11th (Service) Battalion Hampshire Regiment in late 1914. He went on to have an impressive war record: recognized for bravery after saving the life of a man who had fallen into the River Somme in 1916, he was also “mentioned in dispatches’ later that year. Then on the 31 July 1917, the first day of the Third Battle of Ypres, he was wounded in action when in command of a party building machine-gun emplacements. His group came under intense aerial bombardment and he suffered multiple shrapnel wounds. He carried on encouraging his troops, stopping only for treatment hours later once the task was complete. For this gallantry and selfless service he was awarded a Military Cross.

After the war Howson committed his life to helping provide employment for disabled veterans. With the assistance of Liverpool MP Jack Cohen, George became founding chairman of the Disabled Society in 1921. The following year, The Royal British Legion realized a need and spotted an opportunity to have the poppies made in England rather than France, and commissioned the Disabled Society to make them. A grant was provided for setting up the very first Poppy Factory in London on the Old Kent Road. Initially just 5 disabled veterans were employed however the factory rapidly expanded to take on 50 more veterans and produced over a million poppies within the first few months. By November 1924 the Poppy Factory had manufactured over 27 million poppies, with all funds going towards The Royal British Legion for the welfare of veterans, especially the disabled and their families.

Although the Royal Hampshire Regiment no longer exists, having amalgamated into the Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment in 1992, the story of Howson and so very many others from past conflicts live on at the Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum in Winchester and in the other fine Army Museums nearby in Peninsular Barracks.