Become a Friend
The Friends of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum
Our vision is to create an exciting window into the past for all our visitors young and old, inspiring you with stories of the county, the people who lived here, and
stories of the soldiers, their families, and the conflicts represented within our museum.
By becoming a Friend, you can help us to continue to acquire, conserve and educate future generations about the history and heritage of the Soldiers of Oxfordshire so that our passionate team can continue their essential work helping to support visitors who come to learn, reflect, and be inspired by the collections we have showcasing the county’s military heritage, and the people involved.
The income we are able to generate from subscriptions and events is used across the collections, and is frequently used to unlock further income from grant givers.
As a charity, we are able to recover a substantial additional sum from Tax Relief in respect of each membership - currently 25p for each £1 donated by Friends who are UK taxpayers and who sign a Gift Aid declaration. Friends who pay tax at the higher rate are able to claim higher tax relief.
For our life membership, donors of ‘qualifying investments’ may qualify for income and capital gains relief tax.
We look forward to welcoming you to the museum.
Your Friends' Membership options
Annual Pass - £10 a year
Perfect for regular visits, becoming a Friend gives you an annual pass and keeps you updated with everything happening at SOFO
Free entry for one to all of our galleries, all year
Free entry to our special exhibitions all year
Events newsletter
10% discount in museum shop and website store
A copy of the Conflict & County Souvenir Guidebook
Dragoon - £35 a year
Dragoons were originally a class of mounted infantry, who used horses for mobility.
Becoming a Dragoon gives you all the benefits of an Annual Pass membership, plus:
A complimentary ticket to a talk in the Friends’ talk program
A complimentary archive tour ticket
Invitation to private viewings and exclusive opening events
Invitation to an annual Friends' party / garden party
Warrior - £50 a year
Warrior is the name of the warhorse of Winston Churchill's great heroic friend, Jack Seely. Becoming a Warrior gives you all the benefits of Annual Pass membership, plus:
A complimentary ticket to a talk in the Friends’ talk program
A complimentary archive tour ticket
Invitation to private viewings and exclusive opening events
Invitation to an annual Friends party / garden party
15% discount on children’s party hire / Escape room group bookings
Pegasus - £80 a year
The winged horse of antiquity - synonymous with British Airborne forces and of course the bridge captured by the Oxf & Bucks Light Infantry on D-Day. Becoming a Pegasus gives you all the benefits of Annual Pass membership, plus:
Two complimentary tickets to a talk in the Friends’ talk program
Two complimentary archive tour tickets
Invitation to private viewings and exclusive opening events
Invitation to an annual Friends party / garden party
15% discount on children’s party hire / Escape room group bookings / Meeting Room booking
A complimentary Escape Room experience ticket
Household Memberships
All of the membership options from Dragoon and up are valid for up to 2 adults and 0-4 children. Perfect for couples, or those that want to visit regularly with the whole family.
Copenhagen - £250 a year
Copenhagen is the name of the Duke of Wellington’s horse that came through Waterloo successfully. Our premium membership tier, you'll enjoy all the benefits Annual Pass membership, plus:
Two complimentary tickets to a talk in the Friends talk program
Two complimentary archive tour tickets
15% discount on children’s party hire / Escape room group bookings/ Meeting Room booking
Two complimentary escape room tickets
Invitation to private viewings and openings
Annual invitation to a Copenhagen members lunch and talk
Lifetime Memberships
With a one-time donation of £500 or more, you can secure a lifetime of benefits as a Friend of the Museum. Donations can be made via cheque or by gifting qualifying investments such as shares or securities listed on the UK Stock Exchange.
Please email fundraising@sofo.org.uk to discuss this option further.
Sign up today!
Use the button below to sign up for one of our membership options online via the Charities Aid Foundation.
You can also purchase a single-year membership or your choice during your visit to the museum. Just ask a member of our team at reception!
Upcoming Events
Check our event page and calendar for all our upcoming Saturday afternoon talks, and check your newsletters for your Friends discount code for money off talks, tours and more.
Find the full Events Calendar here or take a look at our programme below.
Past Events
We regularly hold events in support of the Museum. Some are exclusively for our Friends and Praetorians, others are public or fundraising affairs. Not all of our events take place here, we are lucky enough to be able to invite our supporters to visit some beautiful places in the county not normally accessible to the public. Below you can see some of our past events. Friends and Praetorians receive personal invitations to our exclusive events, details of all other events can be found on the ‘What’s On’ page of our website.
2023 - The return of in-person talks, The Tom Shannon Memorial Lecture
2023 saw us return to hosting in-person talks alongside other events. We hosted two more joint events with the Army Benevolent Fund, as well as our first 'hybrid' talk.
Jeremy Mainwaring-Burton, former equerry to the Queen Mother, gave a talk on Castle of Mey and Her Majesty’s time there, while Dr Helen Fry capped off our Women & War exhibition season with in Intelligence.
We also bridged the gap between our online and in-person events with Shrabani Basu’s talk on Noor Inayat Khan GC, Spy Princess, taking place at Ditchley Park while it was streamed live to audiences around world from website. The event was held in celebration of the life former Trustee, Tom Shannon.
June 2022 and June 2023 - Children and Military Lives and Women & War Exhibition Launches
Opening during the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee our headline exhibition for 2022 saw us work alongside UK charity Little Troopers and US-based non-profit War Toys for an exhibition that put the spotlight on the lives of both British military families and families around the world in areas directly affected by conflict.
We hosted a special launch event with a private view for Friends and supporters - something we continued in 2023 with Women & War, our summer exhibition the following year which explored the evolution of women's roles in the Armed Forces. Those attending got to meet the many people who shared their stories for the displays, as well as academics that leant us their expertise. Colonel Lucy Giles, first female College Commander at Sandhurst, opened the exhibition and gave a short talk.
January 2021 to present - 'Lockdown Lectures' and Online Talks
With the museum still closed and unable to to run in-person events throughout much of 2020 and 2021, our Friends' talks and events had to be put on hold. However, we started a series of online talks in January 2021 that continue to this day, allowing all our Friends and many other to enjoy regular events from the comfort of home. Our first online event was a huge success. The talk, given by SOFO Trustee David Innes and Paul Beaver, was a co-production with The Army Flying Museum, who had already seen success with online events in 2020 and took us under their wing with production and technical help to get us off the ground.
March 2020 - ‘Dad's Underground Army’ The Auxiliary Units (British Resistance Organisation)
Our second joint event with ABF The Soldiers Charity, and our first and last in-person talk of 2020 due to Covid-19 lockdowns and restrictions throughout the rest of the year. Funds were raised for both the museum and ABF at this fascinating talk by Bill King.
March 2019 - Spy Princess: The Story of Noor Inayat Khan with Shrabani Basu
Having previously given her talk on Victoria & Abdul at SOFO, best-selling author Shrabani Basu gave another talk supporting the museum, this time at Banbury Town Hall, focusing on SOE agent Noor Inyat Khan. Noor Khan also features in SOFO’s permanent Secret War display.
April 2018 - My Life as a Cold War Spy
A joint fundraiser for SOFO and the Army Benevolent Fund, Major General Peter Williams enthralled the audience with his experiences in East Germany as a member of British Military Liaison Mission to the Soviet Army (BRIXMIS).
At the time, very few people knew about the intelligence collection operations of the mission, but it is now possible to describe many of the highly successful activities those involved in the operations undertook.
The talk followed a drinks reception for supporters of both charities.
February 2018 - Lunchtime event with Michael Linton, creator of 1066: A Medieval Mosaic
SOFO was thrilled to be one of the few venues to host the Guinness World Record-winning Medieval Mosaic recreating the Bayeux Tapestry during 2017-2018, and its creator, Michael Linton, gave a special talk and tour at our exclusive Praetorians Lunch event.
November 2017 - Opening of Oxfordshire Remembers Part II
Our second exhibition commemorating the Great War opened in November 2017 and ran for 12 months to coincide with the closing events to mark the centenary. The exhibition was opened by the Duke of Marlborough and was attended by over 60 supporters and friends of the museum.
April 2017- Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim
The writer Shrabani Basu gave a fascinating talk on the relationship which caused waves of concern during the latter days of Queen Victoria’s reign. The film starring Judi Dench was later released in 2017.
March 2017 - War Horse and the Launch of the Cotswold Hare Trail.
With a visit from the National Theatre and the puppet ‘Joey’ from War Horse, our own Hare, designed by Mike Smith was unveiled.
SEPTEMBER 2016 - Unknown Stories of the Great War
Part of our ongoing commemoration of the Great War, SOFO opened its doors to Oxfordshire families with their own items relating to the conflict that had such a huge impact on the world. Living historians, the Western Front Association and other organisations helped support the museum during the open day.
MAY - SEPTEMBER 2016 Pilots of the Caribbean, Volunteers of African Heritage in the Royal Air Force.
SOFO was pleased to welcome this touring exhibition curated by the Royal Air Force Museum and Black Cultural Archives. Opened by Terry Jervis, TV producer, director and originator of the exhibition (which was based on his TV documentary) who explained the impetus behind his project.
MAY 2016 - Fundraiser to launch SOFO’s Film Nights
The film ‘Theirs is the Glory’ was the opening film with a talk led by Al Murray, AKA the Pub Landlord. Joined by veterans from the Battle of Arnhem, the night launched a new development for SOFO.
FEBRUARY 2016 - Abingdon and Witney College Art Exhibition
We were delighted with the fantastic exhibition ‘Victory’ by the art and design students at Abingdon and Witney College. The display they put on was outstanding and SOFO would go on to host further art exhibitions from the College.
FEBRUARY 2016 - Colonel John Bridgeman CBE- 600 Years of Oxfordshire Yeomanry
From the Black Prince to Winston Churchill, from Poitiers to Present Day. Colonel John Bridgeman gave a fascinating talk as he took us from Oxfordshire's knights, archers and men-at-arms to Winston Churchill's Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry with its unique archive housed here at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum. The event was very well attended and every one very much enjoyed it.
DECEMBER 2015 - Peter Dye: Above the Dreaming Spires- Oxfordshire’s Great War Aviation Story.
Peter Dye, ex Director General of the RAF Museum gave an excellent talk ‘Above The Dreaming Spires- Oxfordshire’s Great war aviation Story’. The talk linked in with the fantastic exhibition we had here, also curated by Peter, all about aviation in Oxfordshire during the First World War. The event was a huge success and our third event in a row to be a complete sell out.
The exhibition also included a short film directed by Peter Jackson director of Lord of the Rings.
NOVEMBER 2015 - Gilly Halcrow: Churchill’s Secret Army
Another event to sell out and we are not surprised. Gilly Halcrow gave an excellent talk about SOE agents, dubbed 'Churchill’s Secret Army'. She told exciting stories all about the roles these brave men and women undertook.
OCTOBER 2015 - Dan and Peter Snow: The Battle of Waterloo Experience
We were incredibly lucky to have Peter and Dan Snow come to the Orangery at Blenheim Palace to give a talk on their latest book, The battle of Waterloo Experience. The talk was excellent and we had over 220 guests to this special event which included a 3 course meal and managed to raise a staggering £11,500 for the museum. A fantastic evening was had by all who attended.
AUGUST 2015 - 66 Men of Grandpont Exhibition
A very moving temporary exhibition was here for August only, it tells the stories of 66 men from the Grandpont Parish in Oxford who went to War and didn’t return. The research was carried out by the Oxford Local History Society and outside each address where the men lived a poppy and their story was displayed as a trail which could be followed.
JUNE 2015 - Nigel Sale: The Lie at the Heart of Waterloo
On the 200th Anniversary of the battle of Waterloo, Nigel Sale, Author of the Lie at the Heart of Waterloo launched his book here at the museum. A free event which herd Nigel give an overview of the book and the chance to purchase a signed copy. There were lots of people here and it was very interesting to hear Nigel’s account of how the OBLI won the battle and the conspiracy behind the history.
MAY 2015 - Ashley Jackson: Churchill Command and Leadership
Ashley Jackson gave a talk on Churchill, a man who inspires controversy but also fascination about his leadership and guidance through the war. This talk was part of our Churchill programme commemorating 50 years since the death of Winston Churchill and 70 years since the end of World War 2.
Ashley Jackson is Professor of Imperial and Military History at King's College London, and a Visiting Fellow at Kellogg College, Oxford. Resident in Woodstock since the mid-1990s, Ashley has been involved with SOFO since 2009. He has written nine books on aspects of Britain's imperial and military history, including a biography of Winston Churchill.
MARCH 2015 - Al Murray: History and Comedy, My Debt to Oxford
Al Murray joined SOFO and Care 4 Casualties at the Oxford University Officers Training Corps (OUOTC) for a wonderful talk on his take on military history and his time spent at University in Oxford. He even managed a pint and a chat with the audience after the talk. A great time was had by all and over 100 people attended this unique event.
OCTOBER 2014 - John Fox the King’s Smuggler and lunch at Towersey Manor
A rare opportunity for our Praetorians to have lunch at the beautiful Towersey Manor, a private Oxfordshire residence belonging to the Chairman of the Friends, Mrs Marie-Jane Barnett. Author John Fox talked about his book ‘The King’s Smuggler’- Jane Whorwood (1612-1684) was the daughter of Scots courtiers at Whitehall and the wife of an Oxfordshire squire. She became involved in helping the Royalist cause after the court moved to Oxford in 1642, and smuggled goods and spied for the king. When King Charles I was held by the Parliamentarians from 1646 to 1649, she organised money, correspondence, several escape attempts and a ship. Allegedly she even had an affair with him! It was a fabulous afternoon.
SEPTEMBER 2014 - The Official Opening with Her Royal Highness The Princess Royal
HRH Princess Anne visited the museum in September to officially open the building. All our Friends and Praetorians were invited to join us for this very special occasion and many of them had the opportunity to meet the Princess herself. Princess Anne pictured receiving gifts from Toby Cotter aged 6. A memorable day was had by everyone who came.
