The Regimental Museum Display is housed within the Soldier’s Story gallery at Derby Museum

Soldier’s Story

The military gallery was re-furbished 2006-2008 with the aid of a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF), in partnership with the 9th/12th Lancers, the Derbyshire Yeomanry, Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and Derby City Council. The new gallery opened on the 25 October 2008.

New high-specification cases have been installed along with new high-technology fixtures and fittings along with stunning graphics. There are over 200 objects that have never been seen before by the public including, weapons, medals, uniforms, personal equipment, navigation and communication equipment, food and other items. There are two database units to explore our archive material, films and stories of soldiers as well as a mock-up of a tank turret and a small slice of a First World War trench along with sound-effects for both and a large video wall. Highlights include Victoria Crosses, on display for the first time, and a full-size reconstruction of a First World War era Lancer on horseback with full equipment.

Audio Visual Guide

A state-of-the-state PDA style Audio Visual Guide is now available, with tours suitable for a ‘family’ – aimed at a slightly younger age-range, or where English is not your first language; an ‘adult’ guide for anyone over 16 and a British Sign Language version which is still under development, but a test version is now available. Each tour has 20 ‘stops’ and some additional layers and takes over an hour to complete. The Audio Visual guide contains additional information not contained in the gallery, lots of new pictures, some videos and sound effects! Voice actors take the part of real soldiers and personalities connected with the regiments associated with Soldiers Story.

Entry to Soldier’s Story is Free.

I need your help:

I am interested in your opinion of the new gallery – please email me (see below) with your thoughts and views and tell me if you liked it and what you thought about it.

The 9th/12th Royal Lancers

The history of the Regiment began in 1715 when the two, then separate, Cavalry regiments were raised to counter the Jacobite Rebellion, since then they have fought in in the Peninsula War and at Waterloo; the Indian Mutiny; in the Crimean War; the 1879 Afghan War, the Boer War; the First and Second World Wars; and the Gulf War. The two regiments were merged in 1960 to become the modern Armoured Unit 9th/12th Royal Lancers (The Prince of Wales') and are currently based in Germany. They have strong links with Derby and Derbyshire as well as Leicester and Leicestershire, with many of the current serving soldiers coming from these local areas.

The museum traces the Regiment’s history through its displays of uniform, medals, weapons and lances, sporting equipment, and personal items alongside that of material associated with the Sherwood Foresters and the Derbyshire Yeomanry. Follow the ‘gold’ colour around the gallery to learn about the full history of the Lancers.

A touch-screen computer in the gallery provides access to the museum’s archive of men who served in the First World War, 1914-1919 in particular but soldiers from the 1820s to the present day. The touch-screen is based on our digitised archive and represents only a small portion of the data we may have available. The material available in the gallery is strong for the Boer War and the First World War and weak for more modern periods.

Derbyshire Yeomanry
and The Sherwood Foresters

In addition to the material of the 9th/12th Lancers, the museum also has displays covering the Derbyshire Yeomanry (volunteer cavalry) and the Derby/Derbyshire elements of the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment, including the Derby Militias and the 95th Regiment of Foot. They often fought in the same conflicts as the 9th/12th Lancers, though as infantry, the Sherwood Foresters had very different experiences. Follow the ‘blue’ colour around the gallery to learn about the full history of the Derbyshire Yeomanry and the ‘green’ colour for the Sherwood Foresters.

Enquiries:

The Military Keeper, Mike Galer is happy to receive enquiries concerning the history and men of the 9th/12th Lancers and the Derbyshire Yeomanry, military history in general and the identification of medals, uniforms, weapons and objects. However, the refurbishment of the military gallery has left a large back-log of enquiries and it may be some months before you can expect a reply.

We do not currently charge for enquiries but for the 9th/12th Lancers a modest donation is appreciated (£5 to £50 depending on the enquiry and your ability to offer a donation) in order to maintain the collections. We reserve the right to discuss with you fees for enquiries if they are likely to exceed 30 minutes in time. Enquiries will be briefly assessed before commencing and simple, general and quick enquiries will not expect a donation unless you wish to make one. For enquiries that I cannot answer, belong with another museum, or we cannot help for any other reason – it is not reasonable to expect you to make a donation. Enquirers who pay a donation will get priority treatment when allocating time and resources, but don’t worry if you can’t afford to make a contribution. Cheques should be payable to the ‘9th/12th Lancers Museum’.

The museum is happy to receive donations of objects or archive material relating to the 9th/12th Lancers and the Derbyshire Yeomanry. Each offer of donation will be considered on its own merits. Objects that relate to The Sherwood Foresters (including the 95th Regiment of Foot and other Derbyshire Regiments) should be offered to the Sherwood Foresters Museum (see below).

The museum holds archive material relating to individuals who served with the 9th and 12th Lancers, and the Derbyshire Yeomanry, particularly for the Boer War and First World War, but also some much older records from the early 19th Century.

E-mail enquiries: mike.galer@derby.gov.uk
Postal enquiries:
Mike Galer
Senior Keeper of Military and Social History
Derby Museums and Art Gallery
The Strand, Derby DE1 1BS
Tel: 01332 641913
Fax: 01332 716670 

External Links:

For enquires about the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment and the men who served in it and its predecessors (for example the 95th Regiment of Foot), please contact the regimental museum at Chilwell or Nottingham Castle, by emailing: archivist@wfrmuseum.org.uk or visit their website at http://www.wfrmuseum.org.uk  

If you are tracing military ancestors, advice is available on the National Archives website
http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk  just go to ‘Records’ and then ‘looking for a person’.

For information about the modern regiment and its current activities, please see the 9th/12th Lancers page at the Army website: http://www.army.mod.uk/1632.aspx  

For old comrades, as well as welfare issues relating to ex-servicemen, please contact:
9th/12th Royal Lancers Home Headquarters (HHQ)
Regimental Secretary
TA Centre
South Wigston
Leicester LE18 4UX
0116 275 9571
www.delhispearman.org.uk