Page 91 - Mercian Eagle 2016

Entrance to the Museum of the Mercian Regiment (WFR Collection) at Nottingham Castle
Coming for 2017
A new feature of our new gallery is that
we now have space to host temporary exhibitions. May 2017 will see the Centenary of one of our Victoria Cross recipients, Captain Albert Ball VC,DSO*, MC who was killed in action on the 7th May 1917. His career began in 1914 with 7th (Robin Hoods) Battalion The Sherwood Foresters and he transferred to The Royal Flying Corps (which went onto become
the RAF in 1918). Captain Ball went on to become a local celebrity of Nottingham
and one of the most well-known Flying Aces of The First World War. The temporary exhibition runs from March –17th July 2017 and examines his life, career and the legacy which he left behind. Some of the items have never been seen on public display before and probably the first time in 100 years that it has all been together.
The Albert Ball VC Temporary Exhibition
Mercian Regiment Museum (Worcestershire)
A new feature of our new gallery is that we now have space to host temporary exhibitions.
Our next exhibition focuses on the Battle of Passchendaele, or the Third Battle of Ypres as it is otherwise known as.
New Acquisitions
Despite how busy we have been we
have taken a number of items into the collection. We have been very lucky to have received Second World War medals that have come from the family of Sergeant Baines, who fought in Norway in 1940.
In addition we have been receiving more items relating to The Mercian Regiment such as photographs from 2 MERCIAN’s tour of Afghanistan on Op Herrick 15 and a recruiting poster as well. We are still activity seeking objects for the collection that cover: • The Sherwood Foresters post Second
World War, especially items relating to Malaya as we hope to put an exhibition together in 2018.
• The WFR-Tours of Northern Ireland, UN Tours and Afghanistan
• The Mercian Regiment
The Museum would like to thank all
those who have donated items to us in the past year and we would also like to thank everyone for their support over the past year during the gallery move.
The new “Op HERRICK” display in the Worcestershire Soldier Gallery
Dr Paddock, Curator
This year has been a busy one for the Mercian Regiment Museum (Worcestershire) which has created two new displays, one permanent and one temporary; intended to celebrate the achievements and mark the sacrifice of members of the Regiment, and its antecedents, in two wars, separated by a continent and a century.
The “Op. HERRICK” Display
On Friday 22nd April 2016, a new display to mark the end of the Combat Role of the Mercian Regiment in Helmand Province, Afghanistan was officially opened. 2014 marked the end of a 13 year deployment of British troops in Afghanistan during which the British Armed Forces suffered 454 casualties. For most of this campaign the three battalions of The Mercian Regiment, and its antecedents, have been deployed almost continuously.
Through the personal stories of those on the ground, the new display seeks to provide a snapshot of this pivotal point
in the history of Afghanistan. The display
is composed entirely of new objects, photographs and video collected by the 1st Battalion The Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and the 2nd Battalion The Mercian Regiment, in Afghanistan between 2004 and 2014. It is designed to help our visitors understand the challenges that soldiers from the County Regiment faced from initial peaceful deployment through to high intensity combat
missions and the critical role of mentoring and training of the Afghan National
Security Forces. The displays put recent deployments into an historical context and perspective and help to explain the current role and dilemmas facing the Regiment and the army more widely.
Since formation on 1 September 2007 The Mercian Regiment has deployed on eight operational tours, one in Iraq and, seven in Afghanistan, making it one of the most experienced regiments in the British Army. In the course of its service
THE MERCIAN EAGLE
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