Lancashire Infantry Museum

Housed in Fulwood Barracks, some of Preston's finest 19th-Century listed buildings, and still a real life working barracks to boot, this is the largest regimental military heritage collection in the North of England, and possibly the whole country with over 60,000 items catalogued. The Lancashire Infantry Museum provides a most unusual museum experience that covers over 300 years of our history with the prime appeal being to those who served, or have family members who served in the present or ancestor Regiments.

 

The infantry is the ‘go anywhere, do anything’ backbone of the British Army, the family of regiments covered by the museum dates to 1689 when King William III ordered the raising of Castleton’s Regiment at York.  Similar royal commands raised the ancestor regiments and in a numbering system they became the 30th and 59th East Lancashire Regiment, 40th and 82nd South Lancashire Regiment and the 47th and 81st Loyal North Lancashire Regiments with their recruiting and training centres (known as depots) being in Preston, Warrington and Burnley respectively.

 

These were the Regiments that served world-wide; supporting British interests against the French under Napoleon, in the outposts of Empire, Gibraltar, India, South Africa and North America. Our grandfathers and fathers might have served with them in the World Wars. Notably serving at Waterloo, Quebec where General Wolfe died and in the Somme in World War I, these are now names of rooms of the collection. Uniquely, these Regiments served on every inhabited continent and the formidable list of Battle honours tells all.

 

As the Army contracted after World War II, the ancestor Regiments first saw the East and South Lancashires join to become The Lancashire Regiment (Prince of Wales Volunteers) and then the Loyals joined them to form, The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment in 1970. Service continued around the world – Germany, Malaya, Hong Kong, Cyprus, Northern Ireland, Swaziland and the Middle East.

 

Further reductions led to The King’s Regiment and King’s Own Royal Border Regiment joining The Queen’s Lancashire Regiment to form today’s Duke of Lancaster’s Regiment in 2006.  The Museum keeps pace with all these changes and includes Volunteer, Territorial and Home Guard units that formed alongside the regulars. The huge expansions of the two World wars meant that the citizen soldiers were the bulk of the forces.

 

The extensive collection of objects, documents, photographs and film relates the combined heritage of three old County ancestor regiments and their successors, telling the stories of great historical events and of ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances. Interactive video screens bring immediacy to the Museum.  Special ‘treasures’ include a Napoleonic Eagle, captured at the Battle of Salamanca, the Sebastopol Bell from the Crimean War, and a jacket, worn at Waterloo and much, much more! The extensive medal collection includes a number of the 17 VC s that were won. Notably there is a German machine gun captured and turned on the enemy by Private William Ratcliffe in 1917 that earned his VC and a section of the Berlin Wall commemorating the Regiment’s presence as the last Infantry unity in the city after World War II.

 

Facilities for youngsters include dress-up uniforms, quiz sheets, videos and equipment to handle.  Staff are on hand to help and advise and there is a 16 page Souvenir Guide to the Museum Treasures and DVDs that cover the photographic archives of the Museum. There are extensive research archives.

 

The Museum is on two floors with a lift. On the ground floor are the Waterloo Room, The Somme Room and the Quebec Room together with the Emsley Room with the Library and Education facilities.  There is a small museum shop also on the ground floor. Upstairs are the Garrison Church of St. Alban and the magnificent Council Chamber with paintings and portraits, regimental silver and a handsome stand of drums. Through the year, they have a variety of special events and activities on, as well as lots of educational opportunities for schools, cadets and youth organisations.   An active group of Friends and volunteers support the Museum. 

 

Full details are on the website www.lancashireinfantrtymseum.org.uk