Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum
Encyclopedia
Gloucester
Gloucester is a city, district and county town of Gloucestershire in the South West region of England. Gloucester lies close to the Welsh border, and on the River Severn, approximately north-east of Bristol, and south-southwest of Birmingham....
. It was originally opened by HRH The Duke of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester
Prince Richard, Duke of Gloucester is a member of the British Royal Family. Prince Richard is the youngest grandchild of King George V and Queen Mary. He has been Duke of Gloucester since his father's death in 1974. He is currently 20th in the line of succession...
in 1980 although significantly remodeled in the late '80s and reopened in 1990. The museum now tells the story of two famous county regiments, The Gloucestershire Regiment (The Glorious Glosters), including their antecedents The 28th Regiment of Foot/61st Regiment of Foot and The Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
Royal Gloucestershire Hussars
The Royal Gloucestershire Hussars was a unit of the British Army.Raised in 1795 following William Pitt's 1794 order to raise volunteer bodies of men to defend Great Britain, through various re-organisations, the Royal Gloucestershire Hussars remain today on the establishment of the Territorial...
.
Traditionally both regiments recruited from Gloucestershire and the surrounding areas including Cheltenham
Cheltenham
Cheltenham , also known as Cheltenham Spa, is a large spa town and borough in Gloucestershire, on the edge of the Cotswolds in the South-West region of England. It is the home of the flagship race of British steeplechase horse racing, the Gold Cup, the main event of the Cheltenham Festival held...
, Cirencester
Cirencester
Cirencester is a market town in east Gloucestershire, England, 93 miles west northwest of London. Cirencester lies on the River Churn, a tributary of the River Thames, and is the largest town in the Cotswold District. It is the home of the Royal Agricultural College, the oldest agricultural...
, Stroud
Stroud
Stroud a town and civil parish in the county of Gloucestershire, England.Stroud may also refer to:*Stroud, New South Wales, Australia*Stroud, Ontario, Canada*Stroud , Gloucestershire, UK*Stroud...
, Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury
Tewkesbury is a town in Gloucestershire, England. It stands at the confluence of the River Severn and the River Avon, and also minor tributaries the Swilgate and Carrant Brook...
, The Forest of Dean
Forest of Dean
The Forest of Dean is a geographical, historical and cultural region in the western part of the county of Gloucestershire, England. The forest is a roughly triangular plateau bounded by the River Wye to the west and north, the River Severn to the south, and the City of Gloucester to the east.The...
and from the city of Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
.
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
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, The Anglo-Sikh War, The Indian Mutiny, The Boer War, The First World War, The Second World War, The Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
(including The Battle of the Imjin River
Battle of the Imjin River
The Battle of the Imjin River, also known as the Battle of Kumgul-san, P'ap'yong-san and Solma-ri or the Battle of Xuemali , took place 22–25 April 1951 during the Korean War. Forces from People’s Republic of China attacked UN positions on the lower Imjin River in an attempt to achieve a...
), and peace keeping duties in Cyprus
Cyprus
Cyprus , officially the Republic of Cyprus , is a Eurasian island country, member of the European Union, in the Eastern Mediterranean, east of Greece, south of Turkey, west of Syria and north of Egypt. It is the third largest island in the Mediterranean Sea.The earliest known human activity on the...
, Bosnia, Kosovo
Kosovo
Kosovo is a region in southeastern Europe. Part of the Ottoman Empire for more than five centuries, later the Autonomous Province of Kosovo and Metohija within Serbia...
and Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...
. Since amalgamation in 1994, first into the Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment
Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire Regiment
The Royal Gloucestershire, Berkshire and Wiltshire was an infantry regiment of the British Army.It was formed in 1994 by the amalgamation of two English regiments.*The Gloucestershire Regiment...
and then into The Rifles
The Rifles
The Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light...
, the museum has maintained the currency of its exhibits and current campaigns in Iraq and Afghanistan are also represented.
Three Victoria Crosses awarded to soldiers of the Regiment are held by the Museum. These are to Surgeon Herbert Taylor Reade
Herbert Taylor Reade
Herbert Taylor Reade VC CB , was a Canadian 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.-Details:He was 28 years old, and a Surgeon in the 61st Regiment , British Army...
(1857), Col. Daniel Burges
Daniel Burges
Lieutenant Colonel Daniel Burges VC, DSO 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...
(1918), and Col. James Carne
James Carne
Colonel James Power Carne VC DSO 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.-Early life:...
(1951).
The library and archives of the Gloucestershire Regiment are also housed in the same building and may be viewed by prior appointment.
The museum also has its own website. This contains on-line databases with details of approximately 10,000 soldiers from the 18th and 19th centuries and a World War I database containing details of over 43,000 individuals. There is also a Collections database of 12,000 artefacts with images and descriptions also viewable on-line.
The museum continues to receive new exhibits and the most recent significant acquisition is a service revolver collected from Gloster Hill
Gloster Hill
The Gloucester Valley Battle Monument is a memorial in South Korea that commemorates the actions of the Gloucestershire Regiment during the Battle of the Imjin River in 1951.-Hill 235:...
, where the Glosters made their last stand on 25 April 1951 at the culmination of the Battle of the Imjin River
Battle of the Imjin River
The Battle of the Imjin River, also known as the Battle of Kumgul-san, P'ap'yong-san and Solma-ri or the Battle of Xuemali , took place 22–25 April 1951 during the Korean War. Forces from People’s Republic of China attacked UN positions on the lower Imjin River in an attempt to achieve a...
.
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 fom the Gloucestershire Regiment and Royal Gloucestershire Hussars.
The Custom House
The Soldiers of Gloucestershire Museum is housed in The Custom House, Commercial Road, Gloucester. This early Victorian building was completed in 1845 to a design by architect Sydney SmirkeSydney Smirke
Sydney Smirke, architect, was born in London, England, the younger brother of Sir Robert Smirke, also an architect. Their father, also Robert Smirke, had been a well-known 18th Century painter.Sydney Smirke's works include:...
, who by coincidence also designed the building now occupied by the Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum
Imperial War Museum is a British national museum organisation with branches at five locations in England, three of which are in London. The museum was founded during the First World War in 1917 and intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire...
in Lambeth
Lambeth
Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...
.
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
Painswick
Painswick is a small town in Gloucestershire, England. Originally the town grew on the wool trade, but it is now best known for its parish church's yew trees and the local Rococo Garden. The town is mainly constructed of locally quarried Cotswold stone...
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 over £6,700.
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
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 , is still large .The village of Sharpness is pronounced with the...
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, 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. In addition to housing the Museum, the Customs House continues to operate as the County Office of The Rifles
The Rifles
The Rifles is the largest regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of five regular and two territorial battalions, plus a number of companies in other TA battalions, Each battalion of the Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light...
.