Chatting Behind the Lines - Curator's tales and musings

Today is a very important day in the calendar of both New Zealand and Australia. Today is ANZAC day, their national day of remembrance commemorating all those from both nations who died in conflict. It was on this day in 1915 the Armed Forces from both of these nations were part of the Allied landings on the Gallipoli peninsular. This date has become a  day of national focus in the southern hemisphere. ANZAC day. But it was not just Australians and New Zealanders involved in the infamous Gallipoli campaign. The Allied Forces comprised of British, French, Indians and Newfoundlanders. The landings on the 25 April also consisted of the 1st Battalion the Border Regiment who landed on X beach. They were joined later in the campaign by the 6th Battalion who landed in early August at Suvla. Both their contribution to the campaign is remembered in the publication Glory is No Compensation. There is also another local connection with Gallipoli as Carlisle-born Commander Edward Boyle was awar...

None of us cannot but have been impressed by the pomp and ceremony at the funeral of the late Duke of Edinburgh yesterday. Despite the restrictions, the military presence at Windsor Castle was spectacular and highlighted the strong connection the Duke had with the Armed Forces. We are all aware of his naval career but his connection to the Army was very evident at yesterday's service. Of course, tradition and ceremonial play an important part within army life. From Remembrance parades, laying up of Colours, freedom of a Borough, or Regimental weekends at a more local level to Changing of the Guard and Trooping of the Colour at a more national level, the more ceremonial role of a soldier may be slightly different but plays an important part of any military career. Planning, practice, practice and more practice is the order of the day to get the precision and accuracy of any ceremony. I cannot imagine how much practice went into yesterday's funeral to get everything exactly right...

  Today’s post fittingly ties into the 103 rd anniversary of the Victoria Cross action by Acting Lieutenant-Colonel James Forbes Robertson, a set of medals that we hold at the Museum. When pondering on today’s blog post, I began to think of all the medals that we hold in the Museum. Many donated by family members for us to take care of and look after. Ranging from Victoria Crosses to ‘Pip, Squeak & Wilfred’ the medals are safely and securely stored in a selection of cabinets within the Museum for visitors to view when they visit. Precious items that connect directly to the individuals who they belonged to. The Victoria Cross (VC) has an almost mythical status, awarded for acts of conspicuous bravery in the presence of the enemy. The VC is Britain's joint-highest award for gallantry, only equalled in status in 1940, when the George Cross (GC) was introduced for acts of conspicuous bravery not in the enemy's presence. Legend has it that the initial crosses awarded ...

It doesn't seem five minutes since our knitted friends made an appearance on one of my blog posts. But then in April last year who would have thought that we would be in a lockdown 12 months later?   Our wee bunnies have once again become the theme of our social media over the Easter weekend. A little bit of fun both for staff and our virtual audience.  Several weeks ago we realised that we were in the same position as last year and would not be able to host an Easter trail for visitors in the Museum. However, last year we realised just before lockdown1, managed to photograph rabbits and put together a family-friendly trail before we retreated to our own homes. This year, it was not so easy and photographing the rabbits had to be undertaken during a weekly check of the Museum. So thanks to Angela who took on the challenge of photographing the bunnies round the gallery and then came up with the 'Elf on the Shelf' idea, pulling together a week of cheeky bunny posts. Working...