Home of the Infantry Regiments of Berkshire and Wiltshire
New for 2014
We are currently working on plans to re-design some of the
museum for 2014. This will include displays and a new exhibition related to the
First World War, to coincide with the 100th Anniversary of the start of the
war. Also to be included in the new
plans, will be an updated exhibition about the Rifles Regiment involvement in
Afghanistan
Our new temporary exhibition for next year will be entitled
?1914 The Country Goes to War? and we are aiming to hold an exhibition for each
year of the war. This first exhibition will concentrate on mobilization - from
life as a civilian through to conscripts and on to the front line, and we will
be using photographs, weapons, medals, artefacts and original documents from
our own collection! Amongst the new displays, will be an exhibition about the
machine gun and we will have on display three of those used during the First
World War ? The Lewis, Vickers and Maxim guns.
Some facts about the museum and the First World War - We
have 11,439 objects in our collection that relate to WW1! The Royal Berkshires
raised 13 Battalions, The Wiltshires 11. They served in France, Flanders,
Italy, Salonica, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia and Palestine. The Berkshires earned 55
Battle Honours, The Wiltshires 60. Two
Officers and a LCpl. serving with
the Royal Berkshire's and an Officer serving with the Wiltshire's won VC's. The
Royal Berkshire's lost 6,688 men and the Wiltshire Regiment nearly 5,000.