One of my volunteer roles is as a Trustee of the Royal Military Police Museum. Today would have been our summer Trustee meeting so it seems appropriate dedicating this blog post to the fantastic team at the RMP Museum. Based at Southwick Park in Hampshire, the Museum is close to my heart as it showcases the history of the Corps in which my dad served. For his 80th birthday, I took him on a visit and he was treated to a personal guided tour by the curator, Richard and his assistant, Matthew. Dad loved it, reminiscing about Army life and even recognising some of the equipment which was on display in the Museum. A few years ago the Museum Director asked if I would become a Trustee, a piece of news I excitedly shared with dad. He was really supportive, and it was that enthusiasm and the personal connection with th...
As I cycled to the Castle this morning, I was greeted by a sweet smell floating across the park. A large inhale... yes, it was probably the nearby McVitie's factory cooking biscuits. We often get visitors at the Museum who ask what the smell is. We pop outside the building, take a deep breath and reply 'custard creams today' before explaining about McVitie's. Still known locally as Carrs, the factory stands on a major road junction near a large Sainsbury's supermarket, which probably sells many of the range of biscuits produced in the factory. It is one of the oldest and biggest biscuit factories in the world, opening in 1831. Started by Jonathon Dodgson Carr, a baker, who built a flour mill, bread and biscuit bakery before gaining a Royal Warrant for his biscuits in 1841. By 1881, Carr was employing 222 men, 36 women and 53 boys at his factory. Not bad for the son of a Kendal grocer. McVitie's is still a major employer in the city, with staff producing 250,000 ...
It's still Armed Forces week and today we celebrate our veteran community. The Museum has a good rapport with local veterans which has strengthened over the years. Last year we worked with veterans who had served in Afghanistan who helped us put together an exhibition to share their stories. We have hosted veteran groups, provided talks, done guided tours and have gone to their meetings. We are proud to be involved with the veteran community. In 2018, as part of our Lest We Forget project funding, we used HLF money to start a veterans lunch club. We held a one-off Christmas meal the year before, but we wanted to provide a relaxing, welcoming venue for veterans to meet like-minded folk. Although it started cautiously, we have developed this into a format that works. There is a small charge to cover costs, we have a dedicated team of volunteers that run the event, we hold the lunches on the same Monday each month. Except December. Now December is a different ball game. The Christmas...
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