The Royal Canadian Regiment Museum is located at Wolseley Barracks (the former

CFB London Canadian Forces Base London (also CFB London) is a former Canadian Forces Base that was located in London, Ontario, Canada. It was downsized and closed during defence budget cutbacks in the 1990s. Local Primary Reserve units were supported by Area ...

) in

London, Ontario London (pronounced ) is a city in southwestern Ontario, Canada, along the Quebec City–Windsor Corridor. The city had a population of 422,324 according to the 2021 Canadian census. London is at the confluence of the Thames River, approximate ...

, Canada.

History

Although original architectural drawings of Wolseley Hall drafted in 1886 show space allocated to a museum, the museum in its current form was officially opened in 1983 during the royal visit of H.R.H.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

. It is dedicated to the exploits of The Royal Canadian Regiment. Artifacts displayed in the museum cover the regiment's activities from the Yukon Gold Rush to their recent work in

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 ...

The museum preserves regimental history and serves as a training medium to teach regimental history through the collection of documents, pictures, books, military artifacts, etc. It provides research facilities for the study of Canadian military history dating from 1833 in so far as it affects The Royal Canadian Regiment. The museum displays and illustrates in an appropriate manner the dress, weapons, and customs of the regiment’s military heritage including the history of The London and Oxford Fusiliers (The Canadian Fusiliers (City of London Regiment), and The Oxford Rifles – of Woodstock, Ontario). The museum serves as a place of military interest for the public and Canadian Forces personnel.A-AD-266-000/AG-001 Canadian Forces Museums –Operations and Administration 2002-04-03

Collection

Collecting regimental artifacts is an activity that goes back to the beginnings of The RCR. To fulfill its mandate, the museum continues to pro-actively collect historically significant objects and archives that are connected to The RCR history. A large variety of artifacts forms our collection today: regimental memorials, silverware, uniforms, medals, original art, weapons, military equipment, archives, musical instruments, etc. Among the significant items on display is a scarf which is an exact replica of one hand knit by

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 216 days was longer than that of any previo ...

during 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 South ...

(one of eight that she made). The original scarf presented to Private Richard Thompson of The RCR is on display in the

Canadian War Museum The Canadian War Museum (french: link=no, Musée canadien de la guerre; CWM) is a national museum on the country's military history in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The museum serves as both an educational facility on Canadian military history, in ad ...

. Four such scarves were presented to soldiers 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 ...

, and four to soldiers of colonial forces (Canada, Australia,

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

). Other items of interest are a wooden cross from Flanders Fields, a recreation of a

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 ...

trench and a street scene from the Italian Campaign. Outside the museum is a display of artillery and military vehicles, including a

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 ...

, a

25 pounder The Ordnance QF 25-pounder, or more simply 25-pounder or 25-pdr, was the major British field gun and howitzer during the Second World War. Its calibre is 3.45-inch (87.6 mm). It was introduced into service just before the war started, comb ...

and a

Lynx reconnaissance vehicle The Lynx reconnaissance vehicle (manufacturer's name: ''M113½ Command and Reconnaissance Vehicle'', abbr. ''M113 C&R'') is a United States-built tracked reconnaissance armoured fighting vehicle, which was employed by the armed forces of the N ...

The museum also holds the

medal A medal or medallion is a small portable artistic object, a thin disc, normally of metal, carrying a design, usually on both sides. They typically have a commemorative purpose of some kind, and many are presented as awards. They may be int ...

s of Brigadier Milton F. Gregg, VC and of General Charles Foulkes, the man who accepted

Nazi German Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

Generaloberst A ("colonel general") was the second-highest general officer rank in the German ''Reichswehr'' and ''Wehrmacht'', the Austro-Hungarian Common Army, the East German National People's Army and in their respective police services. The rank was ...

Johannes Blaskowitz Johannes Albrecht Blaskowitz (10 July 1883 – 5 February 1948) was a German ''Generaloberst'' during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves and Swords. After joining the Imperial German Army in ...

' capitulation agreement at the Hotel de Wereld in

Wageningen Wageningen () is a municipality and a historic city in the central Netherlands, in the province of Gelderland. It is famous for Wageningen University, which specialises in life sciences. The municipality had a population of in , of which many ...

(

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

) on 5 May 1945, effectively ending

World War II 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 opposing ...

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

. File:Ross rifle RCRMM 2.jpg, Canadian Ross Rifle, Mk.1, at RCR Museum in London, File:Vis wz35 RCRMM 1.jpg, 35 pistol at RCR Museum in London, File:75mm type 41 mountain gun 3.jpg, Japanese Type 41 75 mm Mountain Gun, at RCR Museum in London, File:PIAT RCRMM london ontario 2.jpg, British anti-tank weapon PIAT, at RCR Museum in London, File:Sherman M4A2E8 London Ontario.JPG, Sherman M4A2E8 (76 mm) HVSS tank at RCR Museum in London,

External links

* https://thercrmuseum.ca/
The RCR Museum on Facebook

The RCR Museum on Twitter
* ttp://thercr.ca/honours_awards/queens_scarf.htm The Queen's Scarf at the Regimental Website of The RCRbr>History of the Canadian Forces Museums 1919-2004
* http://www.londonsecrets.ca

Affiliations

The museum is affiliated with: CMA, OMA, CHIN, OMMC, HPMMN.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Royal Canadian Regiment Museum, The Royal Canadian Regiment Military and war museums in Canada World War I museums in Canada Museums in London, Ontario History museums in Ontario Regimental museums in Canada 1983 establishments in Ontario Museums established in 1983

History

Collection

See also

External links

Affiliations

References