The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum is situated at

Peninsula Barracks The Peninsula Barracks are a group of military buildings in Winchester, Hampshire. History The barracks, which were originally known as the Upper Barracks, Winchester, were built in the early 20th century on the site of King's House, Winchester ...

Winchester Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...

, England. The museum is one of several

regimental museum In countries whose armies are organised on a regimental basis, such as the British Army, army of the United Kingdom, a regimental museum is a :Military and war museums, military museum dedicated to the history of a specific army regiment. List of ...

s that form part of

Winchester's Military Museums Winchester's Military Museums are a group of six independent and related regimental museums in Peninsula Barracks and Lower Barracks in Winchester, Hampshire. The museums are: * HorsePower: The Museum of the King's Royal Hussars * Lower Barracks ...

History

The museum brings together the collections of the

Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II. The regiment was formed as a consequence of th ...

(which had been at

Cowley Barracks Cowley Barracks (originally Bullingdon Barracks) was a military installation in Cowley, Oxfordshire, England. History The barracks were built in a Fortress Gothic Revival style at Bullingdon Green using Charlbury stone and completed in spring 1 ...

); renamed

1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) The 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) was an infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1958 to 1966. The regiment served in the Cyprus Emergency, Brunei Revolt, Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation and West Berlin. The regiment formed ...

from 7 November 1958, the

King's Royal Rifle Corps The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United St ...

(which had been at Peninsula Barracks) and the

Rifle Brigade The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle ...

(which had also been at Peninsula Barracks). These regiments went on to form the

Green Jackets Brigade The Green Jackets Brigade (known as O Group until 1948) was an administrative brigade of the British Army from 1946 to 1968, that administered the English rifle regiments. History After the Second World War the British Army had fourteen infantry ...

in 1958 and the Royal Green Jackets Regiment in 1966. It was opened by

the Queen In the English-speaking world, The Queen most commonly refers to: * Elizabeth II (1926–2022), Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 1952 until her death The Queen may also refer to: * Camilla, Queen Consort (born 1947), ...

, the regiment's former Colonel in Chief, in December 1989.

Collections

Diorama and display of Waterloo medals v1

The exhibition, entitled “With the Rifles to Waterloo”, opened in 2015 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the

Battle of Waterloo The Battle of Waterloo was fought on Sunday 18 June 1815, near Waterloo, Belgium, Waterloo (at that time in the United Kingdom of the Netherlands, now in Belgium). A French army under the command of Napoleon was defeated by two of the armie ...

, is focused on the

Napoleonic Wars The Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815) were a series of major global conflicts pitting the French Empire and its allies, led by Napoleon I, against a fluctuating array of European states formed into various coalitions. It produced a period of Fren ...

. Interactive displays and weapon handling exhibits cover the creation in 1800 of the Experimental Corps of Riflemen (later the 95th or Rifle Brigade), and the story of the

Light Division The Light Division was a light infantry division of the British Army. Its origins lay in "Light Companies" formed during the late 18th century, to move at speed over inhospitable terrain and protect a main force with skirmishing tactics. These ...

commanded by Sir John Moore in the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1807–1814) was the military conflict fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Spain, Portugal, and the United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French Empire during the Napoleonic Wars. In Spain ...

. Set against a display of original campaign medals from the period, spelling out ‘WATERLOO’ the centrepiece of the exhibition is a 25 square metre

diorama A diorama is a replica of a scene, typically a three-dimensional full-size or miniature model, sometimes enclosed in a glass showcase for a museum. Dioramas are often built by hobbyists as part of related hobbies such as military vehicle mode ...

of the Waterloo battlefield on which 30,000 model soldiers and horses, with an accompanying sound and light commentary, depict the fighting on 18 June 1815. Other visitor attractions include the Early Years Section covering the raising in 1755 of The Royal American Regiment in North America, the Siege of Quebec and the

Indian Mutiny The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against the rule of the British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the British Crown. The rebellion began on 10 May 1857 in the fo ...

. The

Victoria Cross The Victoria Cross (VC) is the highest and most prestigious award of the British honours system. It is awarded for valour "in the presence of the enemy" to members of the British Armed Forces and may be awarded posthumously. It was previously ...

display “For Valour” describes the personal histories of each of the regiments’ 59 soldiers who were awarded the Victoria Cross. The museum also has a display which covers the two world wars (including the Siege of Calais in May 1940, the defence of

Outpost Snipe The Defence of Outpost Snipe in Egypt, took place in the Second Battle of El Alamein, part of the Western Desert campaign during the Second World War. On the night of 26/27 October 1942, the 2nd Battalion of the Rifle Brigade (part of the 7th M ...

in October 1942 and the action at

Pegasus Bridge Pegasus Bridge, originally called the Bénouville Bridge after the neighbouring village, is a road crossing over the Caen Canal, between Caen and Ouistreham in Normandy. The original bridge, built in 1934, is now a war memorial and is the cent ...

in June 1944. The recent history display covers the

Cold War The Cold War is a term commonly used to refer to a period of geopolitical tension between the United States and the Soviet Union and their respective allies, the Western Bloc and the Eastern Bloc. The term '' cold war'' is used because the ...

, operations in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

, United Nations operations in

Bosnia and Herzegovina Bosnia and Herzegovina ( sh, / , ), abbreviated BiH () or B&H, sometimes called Bosnia–Herzegovina and often known informally as Bosnia, is a country at the crossroads of south and southeast Europe, located in the Balkans. Bosnia and H ...

and the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

Victoria Crosses held by the museum

The museum holds 31 of the

es awarded to the members of the antecedent regiments, including: *Private

Henry Addison Henry Addison, VC (February 1821 – 18 June 1887) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. A sold ...

, 43rd Regiment (

Indian Rebellion The Indian Rebellion of 1857 was a major uprising in India in 1857–58 against Company rule in India, the rule of the East India Company, British East India Company, which functioned as a sovereign power on behalf of the The Crown, British ...

) *Company Sergeant Major Edward Brooks, 2/4th Battalion, Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

) *Bugler

Robert Hawthorne Robert Hawthorne VC (1822 – 2 February 1879) born in Maghera, County Londonderry was an Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to Britis ...

, 52nd Regiment (Indian Rebellion) *Lieutenant Colonel

John Henry Stephen Dimmer Lieutenant Colonel John Henry Stephen Dimmer (9 October 1883 – 21 March 1918) was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and ...

, 2nd Battalion, KRRC (

) *Sergeant Henry Smith, 52nd Regiment (Indian Rebellion)

Exhibits

File:PlainsOfAbraham2007.jpg, Siege of Quebec 1759 File:British Riflemen.jpg, Peninsular War
1807–14 File:Attack1857.jpg, Indian Mutiny 1857 File:Bundesarchiv Bild 101I-383-0337-10, Frankreich, Calais, Denkmal vor Häuserruinen.jpg, Siege of Calais 1940 File:The British Army in North Africa 1942 E18802.jpg, Outpost Snipe 1942 File:Operation Deadstick canal bridge gliders.jpg, Pegasus Bridge 1944 File:DesertStormMap v2.svg, First Gulf War 1990–1991

Notes

References

{{reflist

External links

The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum website

* ttp://advisor.museumsandheritage.com/features/conservation-of-battle-of-waterloo-diorama-stars-in-new-exhibition-at-royal-green-jackets-museum/ Conservation of the Waterloo Diorama Museums established in 1989 Regimental museums in England Museums in Winchester Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort's Own) King's Royal Rifle Corps