A WEEK OF VISITORS
7th April 2011

Russian Greatcoat worn by Capt G Clay

It has been a busy week at the museum with visits from researchers, the Heritage Lottery Fund and relatives of 2^nd Lt Donald Simpson Bell and Capt Clay.

Two PhD students used our archive to discover what the 19^th Foot thought about French soldiers during the Crimea. They had been alerted to our holdings by the Crimea addition of the Friends newsletter and looked at Charles William Usherwood’s diaries and letters sent by Lt William Dunham Massy to the Regiment’s surgeon Thomas Longmore.

We also hosted a visit by the Heritage Lottery Fund who wanted their new chair of the Yorkshire and the Humber region Garry Verity to see what previous successful applicants had achieved with lottery funding. It was a good visit and we hope it will help the lottery understand what we are trying to achieve as the museum gets ready for a new application to the Heritage Lottery fund.

We were delighted to welcome relatives of 2^nd Lt Donald Simpson Bell all the way from New Zealand. They were able to see Bell’s miniature medal group on display as well as his helmet and field glasses. We were able to discuss the purchase of the Bell’s VC group by the Football Association and that the group will go on display at the Football Museum later this year.

Each day brings visitors who have a family connection to the Green Howards but we were particularly struck by the enthusiasm of a relative of Capt G Clay. He had discovered that the Russian Greatcoat that Clay had picked up from the battlefield after the battle of Alma was on display at the museum. He had made a special journey to come and look at the coat and we were delighted to show him this wonderful object in our Crimea display case.

No week at the museum is the same but this week has particularly brought interesting visitors to our door.

If you want to receive regular informal updates of what is happening at the museum you might like to look at our twitter page. We try to post a regular short updates on our twitter page which gives a flavour of what is happening at the museum and what staff and volunteers are working on. We will of course continue to provide weekly news items whenever possible on the museum website.

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