collection – Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum

13

Dec

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…

29

Oct

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…

24

Jul

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…

21

Mar

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…

12

Nov

Remembering the crew of AD714 A little over 82 years ago, at 6 minutes past midnight on 7 November 1942, an RAF Armstrong Whitworth Whitley bomber, serial number AD714, crashed at Ferryman’s Farm, in the small village of Northmoor, near Witney, following a night training exercise. Three of the five-man crew were killed and two injured. The men who died were the pilot, Sergeant Alfred Taney, navigator Sergeant Leonard Spratt…

13

Jun

Johnny Granville joined the 2nd Battalion of the Regiment as a Second Lieutenant in August 1936, when the Battalion was in India. He quickly made his mark as an instructor and as a polo player in the regimental team, as well as a fine shot. Posted home early in 1940 he was appointed Adjutant of 7th. Battalion of the Regiment as it was formed in Aldershot. As the Battalion expanded…

18

Jan

Oxfordshire’s D-Day Stories 2024 marks the 80th anniversary of D-Day. It is an opportunity to restate and refresh some of the compelling stories of the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry, and the Pegasus Bridge operation in particular. But there will also be many other less dramatic stories of how the county was involved in the run-up to D-Day which we are keen to bring to light, and which may…

30

Sep

The Man Behind the Medals In this blog series, SOFO Museum’s Research volunteers look at the stories behind some of the medal sets in the museum’s collection, from those that can be seen on a visit in our dedicated Medals display, to some of those that are still tucked away in the archive. While medals will tell you a little bit about a soldier’s service, it’s only with further research…

30

Sep

New Oxfordshire Gallantry Board to commemorate the county’s military and civilian heroes On 22 October 2023 we open a brand new permanent display to celebrate some of the county’s most remarkable heroes – the 31 men who have been awarded the Victoria Cross, the George Cross, or the Edward and Albert medals that preceded its institution. We always aim to excite the curiosity of visitors through the diverse…

24

Sep

The Man Behind the Medals In this blog series, SOFO Museum’s Research volunteers look at the stories behind some of the medal sets in the museum’s collection, from those that can be seen on a visit in our dedicated Medals display, to some of those that are still tucked away in the archive. While medals will tell you a little bit about a soldier’s service, it’s only with further research…

Category: collection

Object of the Month (Christmas 2025): Princess Mary Gift Tin

Object of the Month: Spitfire Rear-View Mirror, 1940

Oxfordshire’s VJ Day Stories: Sergeant Major Albert Benjamin Pritchett

Life Lines: Naomi Warren Art Project

Remembering the crew of AD714

Oxfordshire D-Day Stories: Lt. Colonel John Granville

Oxfordshire’s D-Day Stories

The Man Behind the Medals: Alfred Wilcox VC

Unveiling the New Oxfordshire Gallantry Board

The Man Behind the Medals: Frederick Augustus Smith VC