Aldershot Military Museum
Encyclopedia
Hampshire
Hampshire is a county on the southern coast of England in the United Kingdom. The county town of Hampshire is Winchester, a historic cathedral city that was once the capital of England. Hampshire is notable for housing the original birthplaces of the Royal Navy, British Army, and Royal Air Force...
was conceived by former Aldershot Garrison Commander, the late Brigadier John Reed. The Museum was 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 1984 and is housed in the only two surviving barrack bungalows built in the "North Camp" area of Farnborough
Farnborough, Hampshire
-History:Name changes: Ferneberga ; Farnburghe, Farenberg ; Farnborowe, Fremborough, Fameborough .Tower Hill, Cove: There is substantial evidence...
in the 1890s. The Museum tells the story of the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
in Aldershot, the "Home of the British Army", from the Army's arrival in the area in the 1850s to the present.
Galleries
The Montgomery Gallery building once stood in the grounds of Field Marshal Montgomery's home at Isington
Isington
Isington is a hamlet in the East Hampshire district of Hampshire, England. It is 1.4 miles southwest of the village of Bentley, and 3.9 miles northeast of Alton, just south of the A31 road....
near Alton
Alton, Hampshire
Alton is a historic market town and civil parish in the East Hampshire district of the English county of Hampshire. It had a population of 16,584 at the 1991 census and is administered by East Hampshire district council. It is located on the source of the River Wey and is the highest town in...
. It was built for him in 1947 to house his war time caravans and was moved to the museum in 1995 and houses some of the museum's collection of larger exhibits of field guns and other vehicles, including tanks.
The Rushmoor Local History Gallery tells the story of Aldershot and Farnborough, and the people and businesses associated with those towns. In this gallery are displays about George Potters, drum makers to the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, a Victorian shop, information on the French Imperial Family, the construction of Farnborough Abbey and the pottery industry of Farnborough and Cove.
The Boyce Building
Church Crookham
Church Crookham is a suburb, village and civil parish on the southern edge of the town of Fleet, in north east Hampshire, England, located south west of London...
, and was once the home of the Regimental Administration Offices for the camp. Carefully reconstructed at the museum thanks to a £50,000 Heritage Lottery grant, the Boyce Gallery explores the users of the barracks which was once home to the Royal Army Service Corps
Royal Army Service Corps
The Royal Army Service Corps was a corps of the British Army. It was responsible for land, coastal and lake transport; air despatch; supply of food, water, fuel, and general domestic stores such as clothing, furniture and stationery ; administration of...
, Royal Army Medical Corps
Royal Army Medical Corps
The Royal Army Medical Corps is a specialist corps in the British Army which provides medical services to all British Army personnel and their families in war and in peace...
, Royal Corps of Transport
Royal Corps of Transport
The Royal Corps of Transport was a British Army Corps formed in 1965 from the transport elements of the Royal Army Service Corps and the movement control element of the Royal Engineers . The depot was Buller Barracks in Aldershot...
and many battalions from the Brigade of Gurkhas
Brigade of Gurkhas
The Brigade of Gurkhas is the collective term for units of the current British Army that are composed of Nepalese soldiers. The brigade, which is 3,640 strong, draws its heritage from Gurkha units that originally served in the British Indian Army prior to Indian independence, and prior to that of...
before closing in 2000.