As another beautiful weekend is upon us, Deputy Curator Susannah, ably supported by volunteers Marc and Nick, headed out to Netley Abbey in Royal Victoria Country Park to join the throngs in celebration of Southampton’s Armed Forces Day.
A great opportunity to meet lots of new faces, share the history of the Royal Hampshire Regiment, and of course, try on some uniform.
On Parade!
On Parade!
What a great day the On Parade event was yesterday, that took place at Upper Barracks. The sun shone, the visitors came, the pipes and drums played, the cadets marched, and the Pimms flowed!
Colin, Susannah and Kayte manned our station, taking along a handling collection of hats and assorted items representing the Boer War to 1970s. Our hats proved to be very popular, as you can see from our photographs of willing wearers.
Thank you to everyone who came to say hello. We look forward to meeting you again soon in the museum.
It’s that Friday feeling!
Our volunteers have a range of skills that they offer us, including clambering into small spaces to retrieve hidden treasures. We are always looking to recruit new volunteers for a variety of projects (not all including cupboards!), so if you have a few hours to spare on a regular basis, we would love to hear from you. Drop us an email or give us a call.
Forthcoming Exhibition- Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the case of the steel-plated soldier
The museum is delighted to announce that we shall have a new temporary exhibition on loan from the Royal Armouries from 4th July to the 3rd September 2018.
‘Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and the case of the steel-plated soldier’ is a fascinating look at a little-known aspect of Conan Doyle’s life. Although famous for writing the Sherlock Holmes novels, most people are unaware of his campaigns to develop body armour for the soldiers in World War 1. The Royal Hampshire Regiment is delighted to be hosting this exhibition as Sir Arthur’s son, A.A.K Conan Doyle (known as Kingsley) served with the Hampshire Regiment and was injured during the Somme.
Free entry.
It’s surprising what you find when searching the Regimental Journals. With an upcoming new exhibition, Deputy Curator Susannah, has been researching Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, when she stumbled across this letter and poem in the 1916 Regimental Journal. A fitting tribute to all ‘our boys’ and high praise from Conan Doyle.
Windlesham, Crowborough, Sussex.
Sir,
May I congratulate you and the author, on the verses “The Regiments of the Line”. It seems to me to be one of the best poems produced by the war.
Yours faithfully,
ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE. October 7th.
THE REGIMENTS OF THE LINE
Oh, Anzacs, Canadians, oh, Highlanders and Guards,
Your names are gilded gloriously, and sung by many bards.
But we know, and you know, of other men as fine,
The good old County Regiments—the Regiments of the Line.
For them no vivid writer lets loose his fluent pen.
For them no correspondent tells where, and how, and when.
Of their glory, in story, they write the tale anew,
The old County Regiments—that fight along with you
.
The Hampshires, the Lancs, the Warwicks, and the Buffs,
The Devons, the Gloucesters, oh, the gold stripe on their cuffs.
They show it, you know it, they’ve marked and fought like hell,
Those old County Regiments—and dozens more as well.
The West Kents, the Yorkshires, the Somersets are fine;
But of their fights through days and nights we seldom read a line.
The Surreys, the Essex, the Norfolks, too, can fight.
Oh, let them have a little of the glory that’s their right.
They may not care about it, those fine old fighting corps.
“Foot-slogging” and fighting—that’s what they ‘listed for.
It’s the “luck of the Service,” and you won’t hear them repine,
The solid, stolid Regiments—the Regiments of the Line.
They’ve no one to boom them; they do not advertise;
Just in Battalion Orders their hidden glory lies.
They have no Agent-General to “star” them in the Press.
But ask the foe, the Germans know, and we—well, we can guess.
The men who fought at Blenheim, who won at Waterloo,
At Inkerman and Minden, and Torres Vedras, too.
At Paardeburg and Delhi, Crecy, Khartoum, Assaye—
Though no one knows, I don’t suppose they’re different to-day.
In lofty, dim cathedrals their battle-standards blaze,
Enscrolled in gold with fights of old—and after many days
They shall return and claim them; and newer names shall shine
As proudly on the Colours of the Regiments of the Line.
Drink to the gallant Anzacs, drink to the “Kilties” too.
They’re bonny, bonny fighters—we know them—and it’s true.
Toast them, and all their valour, and then I’ll give you mine,
“The old County Regiments—the Regiments of the Line”.
Family Friday – Make & Take at the museum
Family Friday
The museum is holding a Family Friday Make & Take Session on 1st June 2018.
Drop in between 10am and 4pm and make your very own Soldier Sam.
Cost £2.50 per child, all children must be supervised by an adult on the premises.
A Day in the life of a Museum Volunteer – Kayte
We are extremely lucky here at the museum to have a great team of volunteers. Each one has their own interests and tends to work on separate projects behind the scenes. We decided it was time for them to step out into the limelight so everyone can see what they have been up to. Our first volunteer in the spotlight is Kayte; these are her words below:
“Have you ever wondered what life behind the scenes in a museum is like? Well, let me share my experiences of working alongside the team at The Royal Hampshire Regiment Museum over the last seven months.
As a mature student at the University of Winchester, I joined the volunteer team for a 40 hour placement in support of my Master’s degree course. During that time, I learned how to scan images and write narratives for our digital photography archiving project. Not having a military background, this was a steep learning curve, but with the right level of encouragement, I quickly progressed.
As a consequence of the warm welcome I received, and the growth of my own interest in military history, I have increased my volunteer hours to a make a regular commitment of one day a week. No two days are ever the same and there’s always something new to learn or apply my skills to.
Over the last three months I’ve helped to identify and locate artefacts for temporary exhibitions, written new children’s trails, and learned to research enquiries about our veterans using our extensive archives, in addition to welcoming our visitors and general administrative tasks.
In March I’ve worked with Susannah, the deputy curator, to create the layout for our forthcoming exhibition about our National Servicemen in Malaya in the 1950’s, that has just opened over the Easter weekend. I’ve also been editing an oral history interview to create a sound track to accompany the exhibition.
There’s always a wide variety of tasks that require the support of volunteers. So, if you have a few hours to spare on a regular basis, and are looking for a challenge, why not come and join us? Contact Deputy Curator, Susannah Jarvis on 01962 863658 or email her at susannah.jarvis@royalhampshireregiment.org.”
Thank you Kayte for all your hard work for the museum. Next month we will have another volunteer’s words.
National Servicemen in Malaya – new display 4th April – 15th July 2018The museum is pleased to announce that a small temporary display on National Servicemen in Malaya is now open, with many artefacts loaned for the period. We are very grateful to everyone who has contributed their photographs, objects and memories, and look forward to seeing as many National Servicemen as can visit us over the next few months.
Hidden Treasures – no. 2The museum is lucky enough to have a variety of textiles in its collection, varying from uniforms and caps to craft items. This lovely embroidery of the Regimental Colours and Battle Honours was probably made during World War 1 as part of a rehabilitation course. It is well documented that soldiers undergoing treatment at military hospitals were often required to complete embroidery, willow weaving and papercraft activities as part of their care. This served a variety of purposes; both encouraging manual dexterity and acting as a type of physiotherapy, while also occupying the soldiers in quiet activity for a period of time. Sometimes the items produced by the soldiers were sold to raise money for the hospital or military charities, sometimes the patients would given them to friends and family as presents.
This embroidery is mostly sewn in wool, but the tiger has been completed in cross-stitch in embroidery silk. It shows a high level of skill to complete such a piece, especially one so large – this measures about 60cm square.
Hidden Treasures – no. 1The museum is currently undertaking a 100% Collections Audit to check the preservation and conservation requirements of all our items both on display and in the store rooms. In common with most museums, we have far more objects than we have space to display them, and so a useful part of auditing collections is seeing which items we can use for future temporary exhibitions, education sessions, and when we change the contents of display cases. We also have a photographer who is taking high-resolution images of all the items to add into our catalogue and to make available for researchers.
In this week’s boxes we found these wonderful shoes, brought back from India in 1917/1918. They are embroidered all over, and the soles are completely rigid, made out of layers of wood and cardboard. It would be extremely difficult to walk in such shoes, and as they show no sign of wear internally or on the soles, were probably purchased as a souvenir. 
