Queens Own Oxfordshire Hussars – 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…

22

Aug

From Midshipman to Yeoman: Charles Morgan Hoare Charles Morgan Hoare was the son of Charles Twysden Hoare of Bignell Park, Bicester, and the Hon. Blanche Frances Hoare, daughter of the 1st Baron Tredegar. He was educated at Osborne and Dartmouth, with the intention of him joining the Royal Navy, but he elected for the Army, being Gazetted into the Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars in 1911 and then the 15th Hussars…

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…

The women's camp at Bergen-Belsen, at liberation

19

Jan

Naomi & Arthur: Letters from Liberation A new permanent exhibition opens on 27th January 2024 at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, tells a story of how a small act of kindness can have a life-changing impact. It will focus on two people from different worlds – Arthur Tyler, a soldier with the Oxfordshire Yeomanry, and Naomi Kaplan, a Polish Jew who survived both Auschwitz-Birkenau and Bergen-Belsen concentration camps. When the…

A grainy photograph of Cpl. Frank Kirby following his award of the Victoria Cross, as printed in a local newspaper.

22

Oct

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. This is our third VC special, looking instead at men named on our new Oxfordshire Gallantry Board,…

18

Mar

Featured: The Great War POW Album and Pilot’s Log Book of Lt. Frederick Matthews Recently donated to the museum was an incredible collection of items relating to Frederick Matthews, often referred to as ‘Eric’, who served with the Queens Own Oxfordshire Hussars and later the Royal Flying Corps. Eric’s story is already featured in our Airpower display in the museum’s permanent exhibition space, alongside copies of images now part of…

26

Jan

OXFORDSHIRE YEOMANRY ‘QUEENS OWN OXFORDSHIRE HUSSARS’ 63RD (OXFORDSHIRE YEOMANRY) ANTI-TANK REGIMENT RA (TA) SECOND WORLD WAR 1939-1945 In 1938 the regiment was converted from its artillery role to that of an anti-tank unit and renamed the 53rd Anti-Tank Regiment Royal Artillery (TA) (Worcestershire and Oxfordshire Yeomanry), the 4.5-inch Howitzer guns were now replaced with two-pound anti-tank guns. The Oxfordshire Yeomanry had two batteries, 211 at Oxford and 212 at Banbury.…

15

Oct

Cavalry training manuals to go on display at SOFOFour cavalry training manuals from the collection at Blenheim Palace are due to go on display at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, Woodstock in November 2021 including a copy of Field Service Regulations (1905) signed by Charles Spencer-Churchill, 9th Duke of Marlborough. These manuals offer an insight into the manoeuvres and training of cavalry regiments including the Queen’s Own Oxfordshire Hussars (QOOH),…

02

Aug

SOFO Museum’s Reminiscence Pod A successfully funded project – with help from the local community! With support from West Oxfordshire District Council and the Tesco Bags of Help scheme, SOFO installed a Reminiscence Pod in the main gallery in 2019. The pod was unveiled during a special Collections Day event held at the museum on 2 November 2019, with content developed and curated by our Collections Manager Peggy, along with…

Category: Queens Own Oxfordshire Hussars

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

The Man Behind the Medals: Lt. Charles Morgan Hoare

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

Life Lines: Naomi Warren Art Project

A remarkable story of kindness during wartime forms new display at the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum for Holocaust Memorial Day 2024

Man Behind the Medals: Frank Kirby VC

Featured: The Great War POW Album and Pilot’s Log Book of Lt. Frederick Matthews

63RD (OXFORDSHIRE YEOMANRY) ANTI-TANK REGIMENT RA (TA)

Cavalry training manuals to go on display at SOFO

SOFO’s Reminiscence Pod – built with community support!