Oxfordshire Airpower Stories In the first of a series of blogs on Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum’s airpower stories, from local pilots to the many airbases across the county, Museum’s Director Ursula Corcoran presents a favourite story from our archives. When we first opened our doors to the public in 2014, Charles Owen ‘Aussie’ Stone’s story was one of our highlights. The account was brought to us by the family who…
Evacuee’s Coat from our Oxfordshire’s Military Heritage in 50 Objects Exhibition By Geraldine Howell Object photography by Colin Morris Philip Williams’ woollen, fully-lined children’s coat would certainly have satisfied the requirement for evacuees to take with them a warm winter coat as they moved from their homes to safer locations elsewhere, often in the countryside. This smart, yet also sensible and practical design, very much reflected the type of coat…
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…
