About the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum
The Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum is not a Regimental Museum, more a Military Museum related to the connection between the Military of Oxfordshire and the County in which they are based, hence the strapline of “Conflict and County”.
At the heart of the Museum is the rich histories of the two County Regiments; The Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry and the Queens Own Oxfordshire Hussars in which Churchill served and was associated with for 64 years. Apart from the two county regiments, Oxfordshire has been, and still is, heavily populated by Military, and has been for centuries.
It currently hosts a Battalion of The Rifles (the successors to the Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry) in Abingdon; a squadron of the Queens Own Oxfordshire Hussars in Banbury; two major RAF bases in Brize Norton and Benson; a major logistics base and the Defence Explosives Munitions School at Bicester as well as other logistic regiments within the County.
The aim of the museum is to tell the stories of these soldiers, their families, the county towns in which they lived or came from and the consequences of conflict on them and the County. It houses a significant and important part of the social and development history of the County and portrays this in static and special exhibitions in the Museum.
It demonstrates the courage, tenacity, comradeship and fellowship of the Military, their families, the towns in which they lived or were born and the close links with the population of this county of Oxfordshire. Together it exemplifies the concept of mutual support in “Conflict and County”.
The museum has outreach and research departments, which are there to educate and inform adults who are carrying out their own research, for schools who are meeting the requirements of their school curriculum, and for general public interest.
There are monthly lectures ranging from military history to the history of the Special Operations Executive to the relationship between Queen Victoria and her Indian manservant. In the summer months, they have monthly film nights.
And there are regular Kids’ Clubs throughout the year, particularly in the school holidays.
