Preparations are well underway for the opening of the new Royal Logistic Corps Museum as the site was handed over to the museum team last week.
Worthy Down Quartermaster, Lieutenant Colonel Paul Davis MBE RLC handed over the keys to Museum Director, Major (Retd) Simon Walmsley on Tuesday 1 September – the first step towards the museum opening, which is expected to take place in Spring 2021. Brigadier Simon Banton OBE also visited the site where he received a guided tour of the expansive building.
The impressive museum at Worthy Down Camp, which will be the largest museum in the Winchester area, is housed in a state-of-the-art building, erected as part of the redevelopment of the site under Project Wellesley. With many new displays on offer, the museum hopes to attract visitors of all ages; from school and youth groups, to veterans and those with an interest in military history – there will be something for everyone.
The museum reaches back over 600 years, telling the story of military logistics from the medieval period to today, and holds collections from the Royal Corps of Transport, Royal Army Ordnance Corps, Royal Pioneer Corps and Army Catering Corps museums, as well as many objects collected since the Royal Logistic Corps formed over 25 years ago. More modern stories form the ‘RLC Today’, with details of military operations to support COVID-19, as well as recent campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Having previously been located in smaller premises in Deepcut, the new museum boasts a vast central gallery that will host several displays, as well as eight military vehicles. Visits will commence in the central cinema, where a short audio-visual presentation will introduce what is on offer and highlight certain exhibits. A large number of new interactive stands will also help visitors to explore exhibits and undertake tasks, learning more of the RLC’s story as they proceed.
An archive department and research room will be available for those wishing to use the museum’s library to conduct research; the museum holds records reaching back over 200 years, including many rare and valuable texts and scripts. A large photograph collection and high-tech digital scanner are also available.
Many wonderful and colourful Victorian uniforms, which have previously been locked away, will now be on display and visible to the public. Similarly, the RCT Medal Collection, previously hidden away in an Officers’ Mess, will now be on public display. This remarkable, world-class medal collection is a must for those with an interest in medals and this collection, together with the Museums own comprehensive medal collection, covers virtually every campaign undertaken by the British Army and shows nearly every honour and award from the late 1700s to today.
For those wishing to learn more about the RLC’s history, the museum will be hosting lectures and talks on a range of historical subjects. It will also house a temporary exhibition, which will change every six months, the first of which will focus on poetry and art produced by soldiers from the Crimean War to WW2. Other highlights include: WW1 horse drawn Waggons, WW2 Vehicles, an EOD Humber Pig from Northern Ireland and part of a Dakota aircraft.
Follow the RLC Museum Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/RoyalLogisticCorpsMuseum/ for more information and images of the new museum.
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The Royal Logistic Corps
The Royal Logistic Corps
The Royal Logistic Corps