The Group of Friends was founded in 1987 with the object of providing a focus for all those people with a mutual interest in The Aldershot Military Museum. It is an association for anyone who wishes to support the Museum and its activities, young and old, soldier and civilian. The Friends are a registered charity, no 1108637.
Membership of the Friends gives direct and practical support to the work of the Museum in its mission to present to the public and to preserve for future generations the history of the first great military camp built in the Kingdom, the Home of the British Army and the birthplace of British military aviation. In addition, members of the Friends enjoy a number of special benefits and a full programme of activities.
The Friends also help organise the Guns and Drums special events day at the museum in summer, which has been very popular and will be held this year at the Museum on Sunday 8th June 2008. For more details go to the Guns and Drums page.
The Friends are currently planning a special exhibition in 2008 for the centenary of the first powered flight in Britain, by Samuel Cody. For details, and to see how you can participate, please see the Cody Centenary Display page.
Illustrated right: Members of the The 2nd (Queens) Regiment of Foot re-create British infantry of the Napoleonic Wars at "Guns and Drums", the special events day organised by the Group of Friends at the Aldershot Military Museum
Support to the Museum
Many members of the Friends want to be able to give more active support to the work of the Aldershot Military Museum, and through their membership they have every opportunity to use their special enthusiasm or particular talents to partake more intimately in the running of the Museum. This may be acting as guides, assisting in the shop, working on the conservation and restoration of exhibits, help with publicity, education, research and many other fields. The Friends also act as a group in various Friends' Projects. Even for those with limited time available through work or other commitments, there is the knowledge that every member's support and subscriptions directly contribute to the Museum's work and collections.
Illustrated left: Talavera Barracks c. 1900, from an album of historic photographs of Aldershot purchased for the Military Museum by the Group of Friends
The Wellington Statue project
In 1985 the Friends were invited by the Project Wellington Committee to take on the role of Friends of the Wellington Statue, a great national monument to the Duke of Wellington and a symbol of Aldershot's pride in its military heritage. The Friends were pleased to take on this project, as it falls well within the Friends terms of reference, which encompass all aspects of milutary Aldershot within the boundary of the pre-1939 Aldershot Command. Since taking on the Wellington Statue project, the Friends have researched the history of the statue, designed and erected interpretative boards at the statue, and designed an information leaflet about the monument. They are actively collaborating with other groups within the Wellington Project for further improvements to the landscape around the statue and for improvements to the paths to the top of the mound to enable visitors to see the great sculture at close quarters. For more information see the Wellington Statue page.
See our other pages for:
Benefits of membership of the Friends
If you still have a question about the Friends of the Aldershot Military Museum after viewing our pages, please e-mail to friendsamm@hantsweb.org.uk
(Queries about the Museum itself should be sent directly to the Museum - use the link below to go to the Museum's homepage.)
