Queens Own Oxfordshire Hussars – Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum

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…

11

Jun

Refugee Week 14-20 June 2021 ‘Gunner Gerin: Refugee and Liberator’ How did a Jewish Polish refugee come to be one of the liberators of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945? A brief mention in a soldier’s war-time diary led Harry Staff, a volunteer researcher with the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum, to track down a remarkable story. Gunner Henry Gerin was formerly Henryk Bochynski. Born 1905 in Poland he arrived in…

15

Apr

Bergen Belsen – Beyond May 1945 Nic Vanderpeet (SOFO Learning and Outreach Officer) Arthur Tyler, second left, with other men of the 63rd Anti-Tank Regiment (Oxfordshire Yeomanry), near Bergen-Belsen concentration camp, 1945. The survivors of Bergen Belsen would continue to live in camps after their liberation in April 1945. Camps were established to house Displaced Persons (DPs). Displaced persons were those who had been deported or sent as forced labour to…

24

Sep

Oxford Open Doors – The Regimental Chapel at Christ Church Cathedral Unfortunately the ongoing Covid-19 situation meant that this year, the usual tours of the Regimental Chapel at Christ Church Cathedral didn’t go ahead during Oxford Open Doors. As an alternative we’re updating the blog with some background information on the Chapel, along with a few images, from A brief guide to the Regimental Chapel Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The…

14

Aug

VJ Day 63rd (Oxfordshire Yeomanry) Anti-Tank Regiment RA (TA) War In the Far East 251 Banbury Battery Prisoners of War in Thailand In February 1942, Singapore fell and the men of 251 Battery who had been involved in the attempt to defend it became some of the 61,000 prisoners taken by the Japanese. for three and a half years they were prisoners and used as slave labour, made to work…

Category: Queens Own Oxfordshire Hussars

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!

Refugee Week 2021 – Gunner Gerin: Refugee and Liberator

Bergen-Belsen – Beyond May 1945

Oxford Open Doors 2020 – The Regimental Chapel

VJ Day – The Oxfordshire Yeomanry