 The Royal Engineers Museum | |
  Shown in Kent | |
| Established | 1987 |
|---|---|
| Location | Gillingham, Kent |
| Coordinates | 51°23′32″N0°32′18″E / 51.3921°N 0.5383°E Coordinates: 51°23′32″N0°32′18″E / 51.3921°N 0.5383°E |
| Type | Military Museum |
| Website | www |
The Royal Engineers Museum, Library and Archive is a military engineering museum and library in Gillingham, Kent. It tells the story of the Corps of Royal Engineers and British military engineering in general.
The 'Ravelin Building', which was designed by Major E.C.S. Moore, Royal Engineers and was completed in 1905 at a cost £40,000, [1] was originally used as electrical engineers' school before becoming the home of the museum in 1987. [2] It was classed as Grade II listed on 5 December 1996. [2] Its collection received 'Designated' status in 1998 (it is recognised as having an outstanding collection of national and international significance). It is one of only three military or regimental museums in the country to hold this status. [3]
The museum and library hold over 500,000 objects relating to the history of the Corps of Royal Engineers and the development of military engineering. It also has a collection of paintings and a large collection of medals including 25 Victoria Crosses. [4] Other items include a German V-2 rocket used during the Second World War, [5] the map used by the Duke of Wellington during the Battle of Waterloo, a finial from the Mahdi's tomb, [6] weapons used by Lieutenant John Chard during the Anglo-Zulu War, a collection of bridge-laying tanks, a Brennan torpedo and a Harrier jump jet. [7]
Chatham is a town located within the Medway unitary authority in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Gillingham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham.
The Royal Regiment of Artillery, commonly referred to as the Royal Artillery (RA) and colloquially known as "The Gunners", is one of two regiments that make up the artillery arm of the British Army. The Royal Regiment of Artillery comprises thirteen Regular Army regiments, the King's Troop Royal Horse Artillery and five Army Reserve regiments.
Medway is a unitary authority district and conurbation in Kent, South East England. It had a population of 278,016 in 2019. The unitary authority was formed in 1998 when Rochester-upon-Medway amalgamated with the Borough of Gillingham to form Medway Towns. It is now a unitary authority area run by Medway Council, independent of Kent County Council but still part of the ceremonial county of Kent.
The Corps of Royal Engineers, usually called the Royal Engineers (RE), and commonly known as the Sappers, is a corps of the British Army. It provides military engineering and other technical support to the British Armed Forces and is headed by the Chief Royal Engineer. The Regimental Headquarters and the Royal School of Military Engineering are in Chatham in Kent, England. The corps is divided into several regiments, barracked at various places in the United Kingdom and around the world.
The Royal Corps of Signals is one of the combat support arms of the British Army. Signals units are among the first into action, providing the battlefield communications and information systems essential to all operations. Royal Signals units provide the full telecommunications infrastructure for the Army wherever they operate in the world. The Corps has its own engineers, logistics experts and systems operators to run radio and area networks in the field. It is responsible for installing, maintaining and operating all types of telecommunications equipment and information systems, providing command support to commanders and their headquarters, and conducting electronic warfare against enemy communications.
Gillingham is a large town in the unitary authority area of Medway in the ceremonial county of Kent, England. The town forms a conurbation with neighbouring towns Chatham, Rochester, Strood and Rainham. It is also the largest town in the borough of Medway.
Chatham Dockyard was a Royal Navy Dockyard located on the River Medway in Kent. Established in Chatham in the mid-16th century, the dockyard subsequently expanded into neighbouring Gillingham.
Catterick Garrison is a major garrison and military town 3 miles (5 km) south of Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. It is the largest British Army garrison in the world, with a population of around 13,000 in 2017 and covering over 2,400 acres. Under plans announced by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) in November 2005, its population is expected to grow to over 25,000, making it the largest population centre in the local area.
Fort Amherst, in Medway, South East England, was constructed in 1756 at the southern end of the Brompton lines of defence to protect the southeastern approaches to Chatham Dockyard and the River Medway against a French invasion. Fort Amherst is now open as a visitor attraction throughout the year with tours provided through the tunnel complex
Peter Leitch VC was a Scottish recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
Lieutenant-General Sir Wilbraham Oates Lennox was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. He was the first Royal Engineer officer to win the VC.
Francis Fowke was an Irish engineer and architect, and a captain in the Corps of Royal Engineers. Most of his architectural work was executed in the Renaissance style, although he made use of relatively new technologies to create iron framed buildings, with large open galleries and spaces.
The Royal School of Military Engineering (RSME) Group provides a wide range of training for the British Army and Defence. This includes; Combat Engineers, Carpenters, Chartered Engineers, Musicians, Band Masters, Sniffer Dogs, Veterinary Technicians, Ammunition Experts, Bomb Disposal Operators, and Counter Chemical Warfare experts, as well as Command and Leadership.
Brompton is a village near the town of Chatham in Medway, Kent, England. Its name means "a farmstead where broom grows" — broom is a small yellow flowering shrub. Today, Brompton is a suburban village and is located between Chatham Dockyard and the town of Gillingham.
In countries whose armies are organised on a regimental basis, such as the army of the United Kingdom, a regimental museum is a military museum dedicated to the history of a specific army regiment.
Garrison 1 Cricket Ground is a cricket ground in Chatham, Kent. The ground is owned by the Ministry of Defence and has been used by military teams throughout its history, being linked with the various military establishments at Chatham. It has been known as the Nore Command Cricket Ground and the Royal Navy and Royal Marines Recreation Ground, the Nore Command being associated with the nearby Chatham Dockyard. It remains the main home ground used by the Royal Engineers Cricket Club.
Brompton Academy is an 11–18 mixed, secondary school and sixth form with academy status in Gillingham, Kent, England. It is part of the University of Kent Academies Trust.
The Great Lines Heritage Park is a complex network of open spaces in the Medway Towns, connecting Chatham, Gillingham, Brompton and the Historic Dockyard. The long military history of the towns has dominated the history of the site and the park. The Great Lines Heritage Park, consists of Fort Amherst, Chatham Lines, the Field of Fire, Inner Lines, Medway Park together with the Lower Lines.
Garrison Ground 2 was a cricket ground in Gillingham, Kent. The ground, which has also been known as the Royal Engineers Sports Ground and simply the Garrison Ground, was used by Kent County Cricket Club for first-class and List A cricket between 1937 and 1972 and was the home ground of the Royal Engineers Cricket Club until 1961.
Gibraltar Barracks is a military installation at Minley in Hampshire.
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