Great War Huts Museum
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greatwarhuts.bsky.social
Great War Huts Museum
@greatwarhuts.bsky.social
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📜 First World War heritage project 📆 Year-round events & immersive experiences 🕰️ Fascinating collection of artefacts 📍Near Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk
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It is ‘that’ time of year again!

Tickets for our annual ‘Trenches by Twilight’ event are now on sale. Hear the story of the 1914 Christmas Truce with Taff Gillingham as we make our way through the Trenches by the light of our lanterns.

10th-13th December. For tickets:
www.greatwarhuts.org/events
Reposted by Great War Huts Museum
Sign up for the final talk in the @fusmuswarwick.bsky.social series related to its Home and Away: Football and the British Army exhibition.
Taff Gillingham of the @greatwarhuts.bsky.social will talk about the Christmas Truce and Football.
Details of how to book your ticket below
Talk by leading authority on the subject, Taff Gillingham who will explore the role of football on the battlefields of WW1 and the evidence for a Christmas Truce football match in 1914. Go to fusiliermuseumwarwick.com
#Christmas #football @footballandwar.bsky.social @greatwarhuts.bsky.social
Well, it has been a while since we last recorded a ‘Hutted Histories’ talk, but we have so much great stuff we thought we should start sharing some more of it with you!

Here is our latest HH film:

youtu.be/Nt0jko74yIE

😊👍🏻
It was a pleasure to have you here! Everyone really enjoyed your talk 🤗
Reposted by Great War Huts Museum
Finally visited the Great War Huts, almost two years after moving to Suffolk! It was great to talk about the commemoration of war dead buried in the UK, and have some fascinating conversations with the audience.

Huge thank you to those who came and @greatwarhuts.bsky.social for organising!
Certainly keeping us in check! 🤣
Hut Dog Charlie Chaplin is with us on a Temporary Posting at the moment whilst his mum is in hospital.

He has been patrolling the trenches, inspecting the huts and checking out the woodland for enemy activity!
…The archive is a superb record of two of the Ipswich Home Guard battalions, and the lists of members are particularly useful.
Thank you to Major Webster’s daughter, Helen, and Ryan Davies for the opportunity to acquire this important addition to our Home Guard collection.

2/End
We are very lucky to have recently received the archive of Major J.B. Webster, who commanded D Coy. of the 9th and also the 11th Suffolk Home Guard in Ipswich.

The boxfile was packed with orders, letters, nominal rolls, circulars, maps & details of local Home Guard exercises…
1/
It is extraordinary how a battered old cap like this can suddenly open up a whole story about a soldier’s life.

Remembering all those who fought for liberty and freedom in the Far East, 1941-1945, and have rarely received the recognition that they deserved.

5/End
With the action occurring in North Africa the cap being sold by a maker in Cairo makes perfect sense.

His Squadron (B) of the 3rd King’s Own Hussars were posted to Java, where he was captured after the Squadron were involved in a brief fight.

4/
The cap had been worn by Capt. John Bentley-Taylor, MC, for 3 years as a FEPoW.

We found his MC citation, for rescuing the crew of a Light Tank in Jan. 1941, with 13 Italian M13 tanks closing in on him - a “particularly gallant” action, as the 4 Armd Brig commander said.

3/
However, the lady who gave it to us had said, “This cap belonged to Bentley-Taylor. He did something terribly brave and was then a Prisoner of War in the Far East”.

The neatly darned hole in the top and those excessive sweat stains in the lining suddenly made more sense…

2/
Another reminder of the war in the Far East for VJ Day 80:

When we were first given this battered old Officer’s cap it was covered in cobwebs and dust, with several holes in the fabric, and, at first glance, looked like something that had been used for amateur theatre.

1/
Kicking off our July #HuttedHistories, the fantastic Stephen Barker joins us with his talk ‘Watershed – Mahatma Gandhi and the First World War’
It is just over a week until our July #HuttedHistories, on Wednesday 23rd, when we are delighted to welcome Stephen Barker for his talk: ‘Watershed - Mahatma Gandhi and the First World War’

For more information and tickets for this fascinating talk:

rb.gy/lxxuuy
One of our resident fox cubs at Brook Farm Camp was caught on camera enjoying a peaceful snooze… until his sibling decided now was the perfect time for a surprise play attack!

🦊

#AnimalsofBrookFarmCamp
To celebrate World Horse Day 2025 we have this beautifully illustrated pre-Great War card game for you.

The Cavalry Game “…was invented in the hope that it might teach some of our boys and girls the names and numbers of the British Cavalry Regiments”.

#WorldHorseDay2025
“The Trench Periscope has been hit, Sir!”

“German sniper?”

“No, Sir.
Great Spotted Woodpecker, Sir!”
To mark the 2025 Tour de France here is a rare Great War cyclist piece from our collection, found recently in France.

It’s a 1916 dated Lucas “Cycloe”No.10 front carrier. These were fitted to the MkIV & V bicycles of the Army Cyclist Corps and Infantry Battalion Signallers.
🚲
A poignant reminder of the first day of the Battle of The Somme - Lt Gilbert Hattersley’s blood-stained map showing the planned advance, up Sausage Valley, of the ‘Cambs Suffolks’ (marked ‘D Coy’ on the map), to Contalmaison.

Hattersley was wounded very early on.

#Somme109
It’s a full house for tonight’s #HuttedHistories talk! The brilliant Richard van Emden is giving us a fascinating sneak preview of his upcoming memoir about his life with Great War veterans.
The Old Contemptibles Association was inaugurated at the Red House, Clapton, 100 years ago today. There is a service at the Red House to mark the occasion.

We are proud to hold the Teddy Noyes Old Contemptibles Archive here at Great War Huts and we will remember The Chums today.
Reposted by Great War Huts Museum
Clive Harris will be giving a talk entitled: ‘A Tale of Two Footballing Men’ about Alex 'Sandy' Turnbull and Donald Bell, on Saturday 19th July at the @greatwarhuts.bsky.social Football at War Event.

🎟️ Tickets £25 including lunch
shorturl.at/r98VL