 | |
 Front of the Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum | |
  Location in Hampshire | |
| Established | 1989 |
|---|---|
| Location | Peninsula Barracks, Winchester |
| Coordinates | 51°03′47″N1°19′16″W / 51.062954°N 1.321023°W |
| Type | Regimental museum |
| Curator | Christine Pullen |
| Website | http://rgjmuseum.co.uk/ |
The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum is situated at Peninsula Barracks in Winchester, England. The museum is one of several regimental museums that form part of Winchester's Military Museums.
The museum brings together the collections of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry (which had been at Cowley Barracks); renamed 1st Green Jackets (43rd and 52nd) from 7 November 1958, [1] the King's Royal Rifle Corps (which had been at Peninsula Barracks) and the Rifle Brigade (which had also been at Peninsula Barracks). These regiments went on to form the Green Jackets Brigade in 1958 and the Royal Green Jackets Regiment in 1966. [lower-alpha 1] [2] It was opened by the Queen, the regiment's former Colonel in Chief, in December 1989. [2]
The exhibition, entitled “With the Rifles to Waterloo”, opened in 2015 to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Waterloo, is focused on the Napoleonic Wars. Interactive displays and weapon handling exhibits cover the creation in 1800 of the Experimental Corps of Riflemen (later the 95th or Rifle Brigade), and the story of the Light Division commanded by Sir John Moore in the Peninsular War. Set against a display of original campaign medals from the period, [lower-alpha 2] spelling out ‘WATERLOO’ the centrepiece of the exhibition is a 25 square metre diorama of the Waterloo battlefield on which 30,000 model soldiers and horses, with an accompanying sound and light commentary, depict the fighting on 18 June 1815. [3] Other visitor attractions include the Early Years Section covering the raising in 1755 of The Royal American Regiment in North America, the Siege of Quebec and the Indian Mutiny. [4] The Victoria Cross display “For Valour” describes the personal histories of each of the regiments’ 59 soldiers who were awarded the Victoria Cross. [5]
The museum also has a display which covers the two world wars (including the Siege of Calais in May 1940, the defence of Outpost Snipe in October 1942 and the action at Pegasus Bridge in June 1944. The recent history display covers the Cold War, operations in Northern Ireland, United Nations operations in Bosnia and Herzegovina and the 2003 invasion of Iraq. [6]
The museum holds 31 of the Victoria Crosses awarded to the members of the antecedent regiments, including: [7]
The King's Royal Rifle Corps was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army that was originally raised in British North America as the Royal American Regiment during the phase of the Seven Years' War in North America known in the United States as 'The French and Indian War.' Subsequently numbered the 60th Regiment of Foot, the regiment served for more than 200 years throughout the British Empire. In 1958, the regiment joined the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the Rifle Brigade in the Green Jackets Brigade and in 1966 the three regiments were formally amalgamated to become the Royal Green Jackets. The KRRC became the 2nd Battalion, Royal Green Jackets. On the disbandment of the 1st Battalion, Royal Green Jackets in 1992, the RGJ's KRRC battalion was redesignated as the 1st Battalion, Royal Green Jackets, eventually becoming 2nd Battalion, The Rifles in 2007.
Henry Addison, VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. A soldier with the 43rd Regiment of Foot, he was awarded the VC for his actions on 2 January 1859, during the Indian Mutiny.
The Royal Green Jackets (RGJ) was an infantry regiment of the British Army, one of two "large regiments" within the Light Division.
Henry Smith VC was an English recipient of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces.
The Rifle Brigade (The Prince Consort's Own) was an infantry rifle regiment of the British Army formed in January 1800 as the "Experimental Corps of Riflemen" to provide sharpshooters, scouts, and skirmishers. They were soon renamed the "Rifle Corps". In January 1803, they became an established regular regiment and were titled the 95th Regiment of Foot (Rifles). In 1816, at the end of the Napoleonic Wars, they were again renamed, this time as the "Rifle Brigade".
The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry was a light infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1881 until 1958, serving in the Second Boer War, World War I and World War II.
The 1st Green Jackets was an infantry regiment of the British Army that existed from 1958 to 1966. The regiment served in the Cyprus Emergency, Brunei Revolt, Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation and West Berlin. The regiment formed part of the Green Jackets Brigade and in 1963 was redesignated as a rifle regiment.
The Rifles is an infantry regiment of the British Army. Formed in 2007, it consists of four Regular battalions and three Reserve battalions. Each Regular battalion of The Rifles was formerly an individual battalion of one of the two large regiments of the Light Division. Since formation, the regiment has been involved in combat operations in the later stages of the Iraq War and in the War in Afghanistan.
The Light Division is a light infantry division of the British Army. It was reformed in 2022, as part of Future Soldier reforms.
The Green Jackets Brigade was an administrative brigade of the British Army from 1946 to 1966 , that administered the English rifle regiments.
The 43rd (Monmouthshire) Regiment of Foot was an infantry regiment of the British Army, raised in 1741. Under the Childers Reforms it amalgamated with the 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot to form the 1st and 2nd battalions of the Oxfordshire Light Infantry in 1881. The regiment went on to become the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry in 1908.
The 52nd (Oxfordshire) Regiment of Foot was a light infantry regiment of the British Army throughout much of the 18th and 19th centuries. The regiment first saw active service during the American War of Independence, and were posted to India during the Anglo-Mysore Wars. During the Napoleonic Wars, the 52nd were part of the Light Division, and were present at most major battles of the Peninsula campaign, becoming one of the most celebrated regiments, described by Sir William Napier as "a regiment never surpassed in arms since arms were first borne by men". They had the largest British battalion at Waterloo, 1815, where they formed part of the final charge against Napoleon's Imperial Guard. They were also involved in various campaigns in India.
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.
The Peninsula Barracks are a group of military buildings in Winchester, Hampshire.
The Gurkha Museum commemorates the service of Gurkha soldiers to the British Crown, a relationship that has endured since 1815. It is located in Winchester in Hampshire, England and is part of Winchester's Military Museums.
Colonel John Maurice Arthur Tillett was a British Army officer who had a critical role in the planning of the capture of the Caen canal and Orne river bridges on D-Day, 6 June 1944, during the Second World War. He was one of the last surviving British Army officers to have served with the 6th Airborne Division in Operation Mallard, on 6 June 1944, and in Operation Varsity, on 24 March 1945. He later commanded the Ugandan Army.
HorsePower: The Museum of the King's Royal Hussars is a military museum in Winchester, Hampshire, that is dedicated to documenting the King's Royal Hussars, a cavalry regiment of the British Army. The museum is one of the founding members of Winchester's Military Museums, a partnership of six museums located in the Peninsula Barracks, Winchester. The museum contains exhibits spanning three centuries of two of the Royal Hussar regiments; the 10th Royal Hussars and the 11th Royal Hussars, as well as the Royal Hussars, which became The King's Royal Hussars in 1992.
The Band and Bugles of the Rifles is a military band serving as the regimental band for The Rifles, the sole rifle regiment and the largest in the British Army. It is the senior most of three bands in the regiment and is the only one that is part of the regular army. Uniquely, it employs bugles at its front, a tradition that goes back to the conflicts of the 18th century. Major Séan O’Neill is currently serving as the Director of Music (DOM) of the band and bugles. It is part of the Royal Corps of Army Music.
The 7th Battalion, The Rifles is an Army Reserve battalion of the British Army originally formed from elements of the Royal Rifle Volunteers, and Royal Green Jacket badged Sub-Units of The London Regiment following the Future Army Structure programme, and remains an integral part of the regiment.