Hampshire County Council asked to safeguard forces' history (From Andover Advertiser)
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Hampshire County Council asked to safeguard forces' history
3:34pm Thursday 21st March 2013 in Basingstoke By Emily Roberts, Chief Reporter
The reginmental archives of the Royal Green Jackets are moving to Winchester
AN ARCHIVE of military history has been entrusted to Hampshire County Council’s Record Office.
The regimental archives of The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) and two of its predecessor regiments, The Rifle Brigade and King’s Royal Rifle Corps, have been transferred to the office in Winchester from The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum at Peninsula Barracks, also in Winchester, where a collection of objects relating to the regiments can be seen.
The new addition to the Record Office is the only regimental archive held there.
Councillor Ken Thornber, leader of Hampshire County Council, marked the historic moment the collection arrived, where he said it would be “cared for and made accessible to the public for many generations to come”.
Lieutenant General Sir Christopher Wallace, chairman of the museum’s trustees, said: “I know that the collection will be well looked after by caring staff and stored in ideal conditions. This has to be good news for the long term and for all seeking access to it.”
The collection can be used for a variety of research purposes, including personal family history inquiries and political studies.
It includes 18th century letters and commissions, 19th century photographs of India, watercolours of the Nile, and war diaries, covering Asia, Africa, India, North America, Europe, and the UK and Ireland.
The archives are in 266 boxes, 19 volumes and a leather portfolio case which will be imported by staff into a catalogue of over 36,000 entries so it is available on the council’s website.
