Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum
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The Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum is located within the historic docks in the city of
Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...
. The museum tells the story of two regiments of the
British Army The British Army is the principal land warfare force of the United Kingdom, a part of the British Armed Forces along with the Royal Navy and the Royal Air Force. , the British Army comprises 79,380 regular full-time personnel, 4,090 Gurk ...
, the Gloucestershire Regiment, including its antecedents the
28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot The 28th (North Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1694. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot to form the Gloucestershire Re ...
and the 61st (South Gloucestershire) Regiment of Foot, and the
Royal Gloucestershire Hussars The Royal Gloucestershire Hussars was a volunteer yeomanry regiment which, in the 20th century, became part of the British Army Reserve. It traced its origins to the First or Cheltenham Troop of Gloucestershire Gentleman and Yeomanry raised in ...
, both of which recruited heavily from
Gloucestershire Gloucestershire ( abbreviated Glos) is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn and the entire Forest of Dean. The county town is the city of Gl ...
and
Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...
.


History

The museum collection was begun in 1926, when it was housed at Victoria Dock in Bristol. In 1980, having spent the previous 30 years located in Westgate Street, Gloucester, it was moved again to the former Custom House in Gloucester Docks, and the new museum was formally opened by The Duke of Gloucester. It was significantly remodelled in the late 1980s, reopening on 24 June 1990, and was further refurbished with a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund in the new millennium, reopening again in April 2014. The items on display have been accumulated over the last 300 years and exhibits include life size dioramas, sound effects, archive film and many fixed displays reflecting campaigns in 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 ...
, the
First Anglo-Sikh War The First Anglo-Sikh War was fought between the Sikh Empire and the British East India Company in 1845 and 1846 in and around the Ferozepur district of Punjab. It resulted in defeat and partial subjugation of the Sikh empire and cession of ...
, the Second Anglo-Sikh War, 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
Second Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sout ...
, the
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 ...
, the
Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
, and peace keeping duties in
Cyprus Cyprus ; tr, Kıbrıs (), officially the Republic of Cyprus,, , lit: Republic of Cyprus is an island country located south of the Anatolian Peninsula in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. Its continental position is disputed; while it is geo ...
,
Bosnia 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 He ...
,
Kosovo Kosovo ( sq, Kosova or ; sr-Cyrl, Косово ), officially the Republic of Kosovo ( sq, Republika e Kosovës, links=no; sr, Република Косово, Republika Kosovo, links=no), is a partially recognised state in Southeast Euro ...
and
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 ...
. The museum has maintained the currency of its exhibits and recent campaigns in
Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
are also represented. The Victoria Crosses of Herbert Taylor Reade of the 61st Regiment, and
Daniel Burges Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Burges, VC, DSO (1 July 1873 – 24 October 1946) 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 Commonw ...
,
James Carne Colonel James Power Carne (11 April 1906 – 19 April 1986) was a British Army officer who served in both the Second World War and the Korean War. He was also a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face o ...
and
Hardy Falconer Parsons Hardy Falconer Parsons VC (13 June 1897 – 21 August 1917) 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. ...
, all of the Gloucestershire Regiment, are held by the museum. The museum continues to receive new exhibits and the most recent significant acquisition is a service revolver collected from
Gloster Hill The Gloucester Hill Battle Monument ( ko, 파주 영국군 설마리전투비, literally "British Army's Seolmari Battle Monument in Paju") or Gloucester Memorial is a memorial in South Korea that commemorates the actions of the Gloucestershire ...
, where the Glosters made their last stand on 25 April 1951 at the culmination of the Battle of the Imjin River.


Displays

The museum is laid out in a series of rooms in approximate chronological order: *The Early Years - Of particular note here are some fine miniature paintings of officers from the 18th and early 19th centuries. Also some interesting paintings of the Gloucestershire Militias in the 19th century. *The Napoleonic Room - On view here are some items of equipment and uniform, as well as some fine medals from the Peninsular War and Waterloo. *The 19th Century Room - Includes some unusual examples of early uniforms and memorabilia from the 28th's time in Australia and the Crimean War. *World War I Room (1) - Features weapons, drawings and artefacts from the period. *World War II Room (2) - Of especial note here is the audio-visual display about the bitter actions fought by the Gloucesters' rearguard at Dunkirk in 1940. *Royal Gloucestershire Hussars Rooms - Includes some very fine silverware, uniforms and paintings from their inception in the 1790s until after the Second World War. *Korean War Room - Artefacts plus an audio-visual display of the dramatic story told by the soldiers themselves who fought at the Imjin River in 1951. *National Service Room - Many items on display covering the period of British Army National Service from the late 1940s to the early 1960s. *World War I and World War II Rooms (2) - Lifelike tableaux of a trench and dugout from 1916 and fighting in Burma in 1944. *Medal Cabinets - 24 drawers containing interesting medal groups of soldiers from the Gloucestershire Regiment and Royal Gloucestershire Hussars.


The Custom House

The Custom House housing the museum is early Victorian building completed in 1845 to a design by architect Sydney Smirke, who by coincidence also designed the building now occupied by the
Imperial War Museum Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, the museum was intended to record the civil and military ...
in
Lambeth Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...
. Construction By the early 1840s it had become clear that the Old Custom House was inadequate for the amount of trade then going through the Port of Gloucester. So, in February 1843 a suitable site for a completely new building adjacent to the docks was identified. However it took over a year to complete the legal formalities. Eventually, work started in April 1844, and in spite of a late decision to face the walls with Painswick stone instead of brick, the building was roofed out by October of that year. Work then continued inside, including the late addition of a door between the Comptroller's office and the Long Room where the clerks were to work. When the final payment was made to the contractor in September 1845, the total cost, including land and fittings, came to £5,780. Role as a Customs House Thus from late 1845 the building was occupied by the Collector of Customs and his staff, who were mainly responsible for recording cargoes brought to Gloucester from foreign ports and for collecting the customs duty payable on those goods. In addition some clerks undertook the registration of locally owned vessels on behalf of the Board of Trade and maintained service records of the masters and crews who served in these vessels. Also during the 19th century, part of the building was lived in by one of the customs officers. Eventually the handling of foreign cargoes mainly moved to
Sharpness Sharpness ( ) is an English port in Gloucestershire, one of the most inland in Britain, and eighth largest in the South West. It is on the River Severn at , at a point where the tidal range, though less than at Avonmouth downstream ( typical sp ...
and activity in the Port of Gloucester declined. However the Custom House continued to function as an administrative office until the late 1970s. A New Role After the customs staff moved out, the building took on a new life as the headquarters of the
Gloucestershire Regiment The Gloucestershire Regiment, commonly referred to as the Glosters, was a line infantry regiment of the British Army from 1881 until 1994. It traced its origins to Colonel Gibson's Regiment of Foot, which was raised in 1694 and later became the ...
, including a museum, opened initially in 1980. At that time the entrance to the museum was from Commercial Road, but in view of the redevelopment of the docks for leisure and following a public appeal, the museum was reorganised and reopened in 1990 with an entrance at what had been the back of the original building, but facing the docks.


References


Bibliography

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External links

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Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum on the Ogilby Trust
{{DEFAULTSORT:Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum Army museums in England Musical instrument museums Regimental museums in England Museums in Gloucester Museums established in 1980 Gloucester Docks