The Staffordshire Regiment Museum is a military museum in Staffordshire, England, preserving the history of the Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's), its antecedent regiments and its successor regiment, the

Mercian Regiment The Mercian Regiment (Cheshire, Worcesters and Foresters, and Staffords) is an infantry regiment of the British Army, which is recruited from five of the counties that formed the ancient kingdom of Mercia. Known as 'The Heart of England's Infant ...

, from 1705 to the present. The Staffordshire Regiment was an

Infantry Infantry is a military specialization which engages in ground combat on foot. Infantry generally consists of light infantry, mountain infantry, motorized infantry & mechanized infantry, airborne infantry, air assault infantry, and mar ...

regiment 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 ...

, formed in 1959 by the amalgamation of the

South Staffordshire Regiment The South Staffordshire Regiment was a line infantry regiment of the British Army in existence for only 68 years. The regiment was created in 1881 under the Childers Reforms by the amalgamation of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot an ...

and the

North Staffordshire Regiment The North Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales's) was a line infantry regiment of the British Army, which was in existence between 1881 and 1959. The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was created on 21 April 1758 from the 2nd Battalio ...

. The museum is adjacent to Whittington Barracks, the former home of The Staffordshire Regiment's antecedent regiments since 1881, and the current base for the Regimental Headquarters of The Mercian Regiment and the

Defence Medical Services The Defence Medical Services (DMS) is an umbrella organisation within the Ministry of Defence in the United Kingdom. It consists of the Defence Medical Services Group, part of Strategic Command, the Royal Navy Medical Service, Army Medical Servic ...

. It is located in

Whittington, Staffordshire Whittington is a village and civil parish which lies approximately 3 miles south east of Lichfield, in the Lichfield district of Staffordshire, England. According to the 2001 census it had a population of 2,591, increasing to 2,603 at the 2011 C ...

on the A51 Lichfield-Tamworth Road, 3 miles from

Lichfield Lichfield () is a cathedral city and civil parish in Staffordshire, England. Lichfield is situated roughly south-east of the county town of Stafford, south-east of Rugeley, north-east of Walsall, north-west of Tamworth and south-west o ...

and 4 miles from Tamworth. The museum is 6 miles from the

National Memorial Arboretum The National Memorial Arboretum is a British site of national remembrance at Alrewas, near Lichfield, Staffordshire. Its objective is to honour the fallen, recognise service and sacrifice, and foster pride in the British Armed Forces and civilian ...

Alrewas Alrewas ( ) is a village and civil parish in the Lichfield District of Staffordshire, England. Geography The village is beside the River Trent and about northeast of Lichfield. It is located southwest of Burton-on-Trent. The parish is bounded ...

, Staffordshire.

History

The museum was established on its present buildings in 1969, incorporating the formerly separate museums of The North Staffordshire Regiment and The South Staffordshire Regiment, both of which were founded in the 1930s.''The Staffordshire Regiment (The Prince of Wales's) Information Handbook'', 1989.

Exhibits

There are exhibits from the 38th Regiment of Foot,

64th Regiment of Foot The 64th (2nd Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army. The regiment was created as the 2nd Battalion, 11th Regiment of Foot in 1756, redesignated as the 64th Regiment of Foot in 1758, and took a county title ...

80th Regiment of Foot The 80th Regiment of Foot (Staffordshire Volunteers) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1793. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot to form the South Staffordshire Regim ...

and the 98th Regiment of Foot, their successors – the North Staffordshire Regiment and the South Staffordshire Regiment – The Staffordshire Regiment and the regiment of today (The Mercian Regiment); and also from the

militia A militia () is generally an army or some other fighting organization of non-professional soldiers, citizens of a country, or subjects of a state, who may perform military service during a time of need, as opposed to a professional force of r ...

, volunteers and Territorial Army. The main indoor exhibition is in chronological sequence with a wide selection of uniforms, weapons and associated items from campaigns in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...

, the

Crimea Crimea, crh, Къырым, Qırım, grc, Κιμμερία / Ταυρική, translit=Kimmería / Taurikḗ ( ) is a peninsula in Ukraine, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, that has been occupied by Russia since 2014. It has a pop ...

Persia Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...

, South Africa,

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

and the Sudan, as well as from the

First First or 1st is the ordinal form of the number one (#1). First or 1st may also refer to: *World record, specifically the first instance of a particular achievement Arts and media Music * 1$T, American rapper, singer-songwriter, DJ, and rec ...

and

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 opposi ...

s. More recent material covers the Regiment's involvement 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 ...

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 ge ...

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 ...

, the Gulf Wars (

Operation GRANBY Operation Granby, commonly abbreviated Op Granby, was the code name given to the British military operations during the 1991 Gulf War. 53,462 members of the British Armed Forces were deployed during the conflict. The total cost of operations w ...

and Op TELIC) 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 ...

( Op HERRICK). The oldest item is a Grenadier Company Officer's cap of the 38th (1st Staffordshire) Regiment of Foot dating from around 1760. The medals display includes those of eight of the fourteen members of the Regiment awarded 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 ...

and medals from all campaigns in which the Regiment has taken part. The collection includes around 11,000 items. A major exhibit is an outdoor replica of a First World War British Army defensive trench system. It is named after

Lance Corporal Lance corporal is a military rank, used by many armed forces worldwide, and also by some police forces and other uniformed organisations. It is below the rank of corporal, and is typically the lowest non-commissioned officer (NCO), usually equi ...

William Harold Coltman, who was awarded a Victoria Cross whilst serving with the North Staffordshire Regiment as a stretcher-bearer. The trench is 100m long and 2m wide, it includes dug-outs and other features which are named after the other Victoria Cross holders from the Regiment in

World War I 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 museum also has a number of outdoor exhibits relating to the Second World War. These include the Smart Street Shelter, which was opened in 2017. This is a recreation of a 1940s air raid shelter. The shelter is equipped with sound effects to provide an immersive experience of what it was like to experience "The Blitz". The museum's other outdoor exhibits include weapons (Combat Anti-Tank Gun) and Armoured Fighting Vehicles used or captured by the Regiment (

FV432 The FV432 is the armoured personnel carrier variant in the British Army's FV430 series of armoured fighting vehicles. Since its introduction in the 1960s, it has been the most common variant, being used for transporting infantry on the battlefie ...

Mk1, FV103 Spartan, Iraqi MTLB,

Universal Carrier The Universal Carrier, also known as the Bren Gun Carrier and sometimes simply the Bren Carrier from the light machine gun armament, is a common name describing a family of light armoured tracked vehicles built by Vickers-Armstrongs and othe ...

(Bren Gun) T16 and

Ferret armoured car The Ferret armoured car, also commonly called the Ferret scout car, is a British armoured fighting vehicle designed and built for reconnaissance purposes. The Ferret was produced between 1952 and 1971 by the UK company Daimler. It was widely ...

). The museum grounds also have a remembrance garden containing the original memorial to the Staffordshire Regiment from the

. After the memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum was replaced by a new memorial, built by Staffordshire Regiment veterans, the original memorial was relocated to the museum as part of the same project. The garden was officially opened by

Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester, (Richard Alexander Walter George; born 26 August 1944) is a member of the British royal family. He is the second son of Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester and Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester, as wel ...

, on 7 April 2016. In 2019, the museum opened a military-style adventure playground. Named Camp Fisher, the centrepiece of the playground is a life-size

Warrior tracked armoured vehicle The Warrior tracked vehicle family is a series of British armoured vehicles, originally developed to replace FV430 series armoured vehicles. The Warrior started life as the MCV-80, "Mechanised Combat Vehicle for the 1980s". One of the requirement ...

play feature, set within a mock-Forward Operating Base based on the recent Afghanistan war. It is dedicated to WO2 Ian Fisher who was killed on operations in Afghanistan whilst serving with the 3rd Battalion the Mercian Regiment in 2013. The museum is owned and managed by the Staffordshire Regiment Museum Trust which is a registered charity in England and Wales (Charity No: 1096944).

Gallery

The Staffordshire Regiment Capbadge.jpg, The Staffordshire Regiment's cap-badge A display of weapons by a World War Two reenactor during an open day at The Staffordshire Regiment Museum.jpg, Display of weapons by a Second World War reenactor during an open day The Smart Street Shelter, a replica World War Two air-raid shelter at The Staffordshire Regiment Museum.jpeg, The Smart Street Shelter, a replica Second World War air-raid shelter Public tour of the World War One replica Coltman Trench at The Staffordshire Regiment Museum.jpeg, Public tour of the Coltman Trench The Staffordshire Regiment Museum, World War One schools lesson.jpeg, A First World War schools lesson The Staffordshire Regiment Museum - Exterior.jpg, Staffordshire Regiment Museum - Exterior

Other activities

The museum has an active on-site events programme, which includes

historical re-enactment Historical reenactment (or re-enactment) is an educational entertainment, educational or entertainment activity in which mainly amateur hobbyists and history enthusiasts dress in historic uniforms or costumes and follow a plan to recreate aspect ...

displays. Regular events are World War I Night in the Trenches and Carols in the Trenches. It operates an active Educational Programme which provides for curriculum-based visits to serve multi-subject Key Stage 1, 2 and 3 of the

National Curriculum (England, Wales and Northern Ireland) A national curriculum is a common programme of study in schools that is designed to ensure nationwide uniformity of content and standards in education. It is usually legislated by the national government, possibly in consultation with state or other ...

using World War I, World War II, and

Victorian era In the history of the United Kingdom and the British Empire, the Victorian era was the period of Queen Victoria's reign, from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. The era followed the Georgian period and preceded the Edwardia ...

resources. An Outreach Programme exists which delivers lectures on the Regiment's history at off-site locations. The archives (which are available for reference and detailed research) include a wide range of books and documents relating to the Regiment and a variety of source material. There is an extensive photographic collection. The majority of the museum curatorial and educational programme staff are provided by volunteers. The museum is also supported by a dedicated branch of the Friends of The Staffordshire Regiment. In 2013, the museum was awarded the

Queen's Award for Voluntary Service The Queen's Award for Voluntary Service, also known as The Queen's Golden Jubilee Award for Voluntary Service by Groups in the Community and The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Volunteering Award is an annual award given to groups in the voluntary sect ...

for its educational work with school and youth groups.

External links

Official website

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Staffordshire Regiment Museum Museums established in 1969 1969 establishments in England Musical instrument museums Military and war museums in England Museums in Staffordshire Charities based in Staffordshire Regimental museums in England Mercian Regiment Military history of Staffordshire