February’s Object of the Month follows a Valentine’s Day theme! Volunteer Geraldine has selected a First World War pin cushion, shaped like a heart, it has quite a story behind it! Sweetheart Pin Cushion By Geraldine Howell Object photography by Colin Morris This sweetheart pin cushion was made during the First World War by a member of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. Sweetheart cushions were not unknown before…
December’s Object of the Month had to be a Christmas special! Volunteer Geraldine has selected the iconic First World War gift sent out to troops overseas, researching the boxes themselves and where the men of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry would have been spent their Christmas in 1914. Princess Mary’s Gift Boxes By Geraldine Howell Her Royal Highness The Princess Victoria Alexandra Alice Mary was the only daughter of…
Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum was recently approached by historian Feutry Bernard about a memorial to Allied airmen who were killed during the Second World War in the Avesnois region of France, which was recently unveilled in the village of Boussières sur Sambre. Of the 116 named on the memorial, 69 are British, with one Flight Lieutenant known to have hailed from Leafield in Oxfordshire. Paul Geoffrey Chapman flew with No.…
Object of the Month (October 2025): Spitfire Rear-View Mirror, 1940 Object of the Month returned this October, with our first featured artefact chosen by volunteer Geraldine, who has also been selecting objects to go on display alongside our recent exhibition of Paul Joyce’s paintings in Remembrances of War. By Geraldine Howell This mirror was taken from a Spitfire that had flown from North Africa to RAF Lyneham after the…
Oxfordshire’s VJ Day Stories: Sergeant Major Albert Benjamin Pritchet By Joseph Vale Oxfordshire’s VE Day Stories are our series of articles covering Second World War stories with county connections, celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day in 2025. Our commemorative exhibition is now open until 18 November 2025, but when we called out for your stories from the local area, we received more than we could fit…
Oxfordshire’s VE Day Stories: Captain Montague Flower and ‘T’ Force By Joseph Vale Oxfordshire’s VE Day Stories are our series of articles covering Second World War stories with county connections, celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day in 2025. Our commemorative exhibition is now open until 18 November 2025, but when we called out for your stories from the local area, we received more than we could fit…
The Long March From The Camps – Winter 1944/5 by Ingram Murray The Archives of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum hold many accounts by British Prisoners of War of the forced marches from camps in Eastern Europe to the west as the Red Army swept through Poland and Prussia in late 1944. There is none so moving as the story of Bernard Green, known as ‘Pop’ because of…
Welcome to the first of a series of articles covering Second World War stories with county connections, celebrating the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day in 2025. Our commemorative exhibition is now open until 18 November 2025, but when we called out for your stories from the local area, we received more than we could fit into the exhibition alone! Last year, Tom Davis shared his many finds from…
Life Lines: Naomi Warren Art Project Part of our commemorations of the 80th anniversary on 15 April 2025, Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum are inviting artists to participate in a three-part series of artist workshops to engage with the story of Jewish survivor Naomi Warren and the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, and create artwork in response to four themes: witnessing, kindness, vision and positivity. Artists will be encouraged to create artwork and/or…
Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum signs the Armed Forces Covenant On Wednesday, 29 January 2025, the museum signed the Armed Forces Covenant in front of gathered members of the Armed Forces community and representatives. Trustee Mike Montagu, who served in The Light Infantry and then The Rifles, signed on behalf of the museum, alongside Lt. Col. Ged Hennigan RLC, Bicester Garrison Commander. The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum recognises the contribution…
