Page 94 - Mercian Eagle 2016

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Cheshire Museum
Earlier this year the museum was saddened by the sudden death of one of our greatest supporters, His Grace the Duke of Westminster. He was a lifelong supporter
of the Armed Forces, especially the Territorial Army, and championed a number of charitable initiatives for the care of the wounded and of the families of service personnel. I am sure that the wider Mercian community will join the staff and volunteers at the Cheshire Military Museum in offering condolences to his family.
2016 was a busy year for the museum with a number of temporary displays and events. The main focus was the centenary commemorations of the Battle of the Somme which took place from 1st July to 18th November 1916. The British Army took more than 420,000 casualties during the offensive, more than 57,000 of these occurred on the first day. The scale of the losses affected many families throughout Cheshire and the centenary has seen an increase in local interest from those wanting to research their ancestors’ role in the Great War. Anyone interested in our research services can find out more and download
a Research Application Form from our website www.cheshiremilitarymuseum.co.uk
Our temporary exhibition this year was focussed on the actions of the 1/5th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment during the early part of the Somme offensive and on the 1st July in particular. It was produced by Nick and Emily two of our wonderful volunteers.
In the last year we have welcomed a number of new volunteers to the team in addition we have hosted work placement students from the University of Chester
and local schools all of whom have made
a vital contribution to the running of the museum. Should you or anyone you know be interested in joining the team please get in touch with us.
In a further exciting development we have finally entered the modern age and the museum shop is now online. Visitors to the website can now order and pay for a variety of regimental and museum items which will then be despatched to their home! New lines are being added to the shop all the time, so do look out for them.
For the first time that the museum has took part in the Mercian Regiment family day, on Saturday 17th September at Dale Barracks, Chester. Again volunteers took the lead displaying a selection of historic artefacts from the handling collection.
By all accounts a good time was had by volunteers and visitors to the stand alike. The museum certainly looks forward to taking part in similar events in the years to come.
New Acquisitions
The museum has received a number of wonderful additions to the collection in the last year, many of them have highlighted
Somme 100
touching personal stories. One such donation was that of the Second World War medals of John Collins, 4th Battalion, Cheshire Regiment which were gifted by his son William. In addition to the medals and some mementoes from the war was a photograph of William as a baby with his father and mother and a War Office note explaining that John Collins was missing. The note dates from May 1940 when the Battalion was withdrawing to Dunkirk. His wife and baby son may well have feared they would never see John again... happily he turned up safe and well some time later but it does bring home to the reader the effect of war not just on those serving but their families too. The medals, photograph and letter have taken pride of place in our Second World War gallery.
Work is also progressing on the Fox
and Ferret armoured cars loaned to the museum at the end of 2015 by the Cheshire Yeomanry Association. The Ferret scout car has been repainted and both vehicles look splendid in the museum yard. Next year we hope that the Fox will also receive a coat
of paint and look equally smart. Be s
Mercian Family Day
sure to
The Collins Family
Ferret scout car
THE MERCIAN EAGLE