Monday 11th November 1918. ZINJAN.
Kaiser & Crown Prince have abdicated. It snowed.
Enlisted 9 Persian police as agents.
Poidebart probably going soon, so I shall be left by myself.
Perhaps now one will be able to get letters through via Baku & Batoum, saving several weeks.
Baku is in current-day Azerbajan, and Batoum is on the Black Sea in present-day Georgia. British and Indian troops were stationed there throughout 1918 and 1919 to aid with civil disturbances at the request of the Foreign Office.
Sunday 10th November 1918. ZINJAN.
Foch has given German delegates who came demanding peace, 3 days to decide whether to accept his terms, elapsing on Monday.
Revolutions rife in Germany.
Rode my pony to see the regt.
Small pox is v. bad in the town. Three of our men have got it.
Dinner with the flying corps.
From Lt Vawdry’s diary of the war.
The diary is on display in our temporary exhibition case.
9th November 1918 – From a diary9 November 1918. Saturday. ZINJAN.
German retreat reported to be becoming a route.
Am v. busy and when one thing is settled another seems to erupt up.
Thank goodness the blockade is over. Merchants here are much pleased at this.
From Lieutenant R. H Vaudry’s Diary. Vaudry was the liaison officer for the 1/4th Battalion, who were based in Persia for the end of the war, having fought in the Dardanelles in 1916.
The museum is extremely pleased with its latest conservation project, run in conjunction with a local voluntary group.
Members of The Arts Society Test Valley have been busy working on a heritage project with the museum over the summer. The Museum has in its collection many uniforms, some going back to the eighteenth century. Not all of these are on display, so protective covers were needed for those kept in storage. A team of eight volunteers made 85 covers for the uniforms, and have just handed them over. The material used was Tyvek, which will keep the uniforms dry and free from rot, mildew and moth. It also prevents them from fading in light. With this phase of the project complete, the next stage is to make covers for the larger great-coats.
Some of the team came to deliver the covers to the museum, and start fitting the uniforms into them. They enjoyed looking at, and trying on some of the different styles and types of our more robust jackets. We are very grateful to the society for all their hard work on this, and look forward to working with them again in the future on other conservation projects.
Heritage Volunteering is an important part of the work of The Arts Society. From the conservation of books and textiles to projects in historic parks and gardens, volunteers work all over the UK at many different sites. If you have a project that the volunteers might be able to help with, please contact them via our website: www.TheArtsSocietyTestValley.org.uk
If anyone would like to volunteer at the museum, we have a wide range of opportunities available, either weekly, fortnightly or monthly; please email the Deputy Curator for more details.
Meet our new School Community Partner…
We were pleased to welcome our new school community partner to the Museum today. South Wonston Primary School brought along 39 Year 6 pupils to learn about the Gallipoli Campaign, in conjunction with the Gallipoli Association. We managed to cover 7 curriculum subjects in the space of four and a half hours, a mighty feat!
Thank you South Wonston Primary, we look forward to working with you again soon.
Reconstructing the painting The River Clyde. A team work exercise in gathering information.
Working together to formulate the most important questions to ask the Curator.
Colin the Curator sharing some artefacts with Year 6.
Sketching each other’s emotions after re-enacting the HMT River Clyde V Beach landing on 25th April 1915.
We are always pleased to welcome schools and youth organisations to the Museum, so if you would like to know more about what we can offer, please contact our Education & Outreach Officer.
When the Guns Fell Silent Exhibition – Free Exhibition
This fantastic new exhibition is currently running in City Space in the Discovery Centre, Winchester, and has been curated by a Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum volunteer on behalf of all six of Winchester’s Military Museums.
The exhibition marks the 100th anniversary of Armistice through the stories of local people, and is an opportunity to see artefacts that have been hidden away in our archives for many years.
There is an opportunity to play your part in the exhibition with our community curated memory wall. If you would like to add a photo of a relative who served in the First World War, pop into City Space; the resources are all there to be used. Alternatively, we can do it for your if you email a photo and some details to us here at: museum@royalhampshireregiment.0rg. We will send you a return photo of the memory wall with confirmation of your request being completed.
We look forward to you attending the exhibition and supporting us.
Open 10am to 6pm Monday to Saturday, 10am to 3pm weekends.
Great Escapes & Prisoners of War
Why not pay us a visit and take a look at our new temporary exhibition?
Great Escapes & Prisoners of War looks at individuals whose lives were impacted by their capture and how they adapted to ‘camp’ life.
Also, learn about the fascinating story of Esme Bowker and her work to look after World War I Tigers.
Summer Fun for Everyone!
The school holidays are nearly upon us. We are pleased to tell you that we have an experienced STEM (science, technology, engineering & maths) Ambassador working with us to provide a series of fun workshops for children aged 6-11 years. Better still, if they attend four workshops, they will be awarded a CREST Science Award. Who said you can’t have fun whilst learning?
From an outdoor gym to sending messages like spies, the challenges abound.
Spread the word and enrol your young people into our great new programme for Summer.
Hidden Treasures – No. 3
Whilst searching out artefacts for an Armistice Exibition that will take place later in the year, volunteer Kayte stumbled across a copy of The Somewhere Bullet-In dated June 1917.
This was a regular ‘news sheet’ that entertained the troops whilst in transit on the HMT Carrissima. Even at the most difficult times, humour and camaraderie saved the day. We especially liked the “verses” the back page.
We are pleased to announce that the new Conan Doyle Exhibition
opened at the Museum today.
Make sure you take time to discover the fascinating story behind the development of body armour and tanks during the First World War.
The exhibition runs until the 3rd September.
Competition Time!
Can you design a piece of body armour? For a horse? Or a soldier?
Send us your designs, together with a letter written to Conan Doyle, explaining why your design is the best choice.
Prizes for the best entries. Closing date: August 31st 2018.
