Page 103 - MERCIAN Eagle 2018

Sketch by Julia Midgley – We Remember them
service, although many personal items and early drawings and paintings were also included.
Douglas first joined the Cheshire Yeomanry in 1914 and was commissioned in the Cheshire Regiment in 1915. He
was first severely wounded in June 1916 at the Somme in France and then again
in a bombing accident in 1917. After a protracted convalescence, he returned to the war in August 1918, and re-joined his regiment at Ypres in Belgium. Two weeks later, on 4 September 1918 he was shot dead by a sniper as he was leading his company in an advance.
We Remember Them
Our Remembrance exhibition ‘We Remember Them’ brought together material created by artists, students and members of the local community as they reflected on the centenary of the end of the First World War. The works included sketches, sculpture, collage, textiles and poetry. Members of the public also contributed knitted and textile poppies which were made into a falling poppy curtain. A sound installation called “Fallen but not Forgotten” was produced
by Kate Gater MA FRSA especially for the exhibition.
In addition we displayed work by Julia Midgley A.R.W.S. R.E. Dip.A.D . Julia is
a professional reportage artist with an interest in military drawings and medicine. In February 2018, during a visit to the Cheshire Archives in Chester, she was introduced
to the small-scale World War 1 drawings
of William Harold Hutchings, a Cheshire artist and soldier. Hutchings drew from life with pencil on paper, for some years he lived in Northwich. Midgley, coincidentally another Northwich resident, also draws from life with pencil on paper. Since May 2018 she has spent time drawing members of the Queens Own Yeomanry during their training sessions at Fox Barracks, Chester. This resulted in a series of pocket-sized drawings depicting modern day serving
Cheshire soldiers, which reflect those made 100 years ago by William Harold Hutchings. The museum also worked with a number
of schools and colleges during 2018 some of whom produced work for the exhibition. Frodsham Manor House School year 6 made two large collages, St John Bosco Specialist Art College pupils created poppy collages made from recycled material and pupils from year 6 at the Firs school wrote poems, South and West Cheshire College students produced individual pieces as part of their Foundation in Art and Design and Extended Diploma in Art and Design courses.
The exhibition ran from 10th November 2018 until the end of January 2019.
New Acquisitions
The museum has acquired an experimental diesel motorcycle which may be the only one of its type remaining. One of six built by Hayes Diversified Technologies to test the performance of a diesel-powered motorbike in order that a single fuel policy could be adopted. Tested in 2001, unfortunately
the weight and manoeuvrability of the bike proved a problem and the experiment was abandoned. This example was displayed initially at the Royal Logistics Corps Museum until its transfer to us. It forms part of a display in the garage.
The museum has displayed some wonderful new objects that have been donated to us in the past year. These include the cap band worn by Arthur Harrison on HMS Chester and his souvenir from HMS Valiant. Arthur, a native of Chester, joined the Royal Navy aged 16 in 1916 and retired from the service in 1929. These items can be seen in the ‘With Love’ case, which houses our collection of touching mementoes and personal items.
A fragment of what is reported to be the Regimental colour carried at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (1759) has also been donated to the collection. It was discovered in America, mounted in an ornate wooden,
Poppy decorated helmet – We remember them
gold coloured frame dated c1897. It has been placed in the gallery near to our Wolfe colour fragment.
The museums’ medal collection has continued to grow with a number of First and Second World War groups being donated. We have also acquired some more recent medals including General Service medals with Malaya and Northern Ireland clasps and Iraq and Afghanistan campaign medals, which help tell the story of modern warfare.
In December 2018 the museum purchased the musket of Francis Pym Harding, CB (1821-1875). Harding joined the 22nd Foot as an ensign in 1836 and was posted to India where he was part of the force under the command of General Napier during the invasion of Scinde.
He also served at both Hyderabad, and Meeanee, where he was severely wounded. During the Crimean War he was A.D.C.
to General Pennefather (also of the 22nd 1826-1848 and Colonel 1860-72) and was present at the battles of Alma, Balaklava, Inkermann, where he was again badly wounded, and at the siege of Sevastopol. In 1858 he was promoted to Colonel and by 1866 he was in command of the 1st Battalion, 22nd Foot in Malta. Harding then served as the second Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick from 1867 to 1868, before being promoted to Major General and returning to England. He died in 1875 in his native Hampshire. The musket will
be displayed alongside his medals which already form part of the collection. The purchase was only made possible through the generosity of the public who contributed via a crowdfunding campaign.
Shelter for Fox and Ferret
A shelter for the Fox and Ferret armoured cars has been constructed in the museum yard. The structure will keep the weather
off the vehicles and enable volunteers to complete maintenance work throughout the year.
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