Royal Signals Museum

Description:

The Royal Signals Museum is located in Blandford Forum at the Royal School of Signals based at its camp in the town. It is the national museum of Army communications and the exhibits and displays show the part that communications have played in the many wars and campaigns of the last 150 years.

The museum's collection is regarded as being of National importance and the excellent archives are recognised by the Public Records Office.

The museum started in Catterick, but moved to Blandford Camp in 1967.

The main purposes of the museum are to: provide educational resources to local schools, to preserve and display the heritage of the Royal Signals, to tell the story of military communications from the Napoleonic war onwards and to provide research, educational and recruiting support facilities.

A small museum existed at the Signal Training Centre at Maresfield in 1922, but all trace of the collection vanished when the STC moved to Catterick Camp in 1925. Historic artefacts continued to accumulate, however, in the STC Headquarters Mess and were to form an important element in the Corps Museum's collection.

The present Museum was set up at the suggestion of Colonel G E Sampson, DSO, the Chief Signal Officer, Aldershot Command, who persuaded the Corps Committee in 1934 to look into the possibility of establishing a museum at the STC to record the history of the Corps and to assist in training.

A start was made at setting up a museum collection, but no suitable accommodation could be found in Catterick Camp at that time. The outbreak of war in September 1939 put the whole scheme into abeyance.

After the war the collection remained locked in two huts until may 1950 when the Royal Signals Institution was established and made responsible for the Museum. A Museum display was finally set up in one of the huts and a part-time curator was employed. The next fifteen years were difficult ones for the Museum, however, as an extensive programme of rebuilding work at Catterick meant that the Museum had to inhabit a number of temporary premises, never staying more than a few years in any one site.

In 1967, however, the Museum finally found a permanent home when it accompanied the School of Signals to Blandford Camp and was set up in the Entrance Hall to the School. During the next decade the collection continued to grow and small extensions had to be added to the original building in 1977 and 1981. By the mid-1980s the Museum was no longer large enough for its collection, nor could it display the Corps' recent history.

The Corps Committee ordered a review of the Museum's situation and in 1988 decided that the only way forward was to launch a New Museum Project to raise the funds needed to build a larger, purpose built museum at Blandford. Fund raising began in 1989, but coincided with a period of financial stringency and cut backs in Defence expenditure which made it very difficult to raise funds from the Defence Industry or from other outside bodies; though the members of the serving and retired Corps gave generously.

In 1992, therefore, the Corps Committee decided to limit the scope of the Project and to extend the existing Museum premises rather than attempt to construct a stand-alone building. The Project was relaunched and in 1996 the new purpose built extension to the Museum, fitted out with a temporary display, was opened by the Colonel-in Chief. Fund-raising continued and, aided by a grant of £200,000 from the National Lottery the Museum was opened in 1997. The Museum now tells the history of Royal Signals and its antecedents and, military communications from the Crimean War to the present day.

(Nearest) was introduced in about 1938 and was used extensively throughout the Corps until the early 1980's. It was a 60 line switchboard that could be used in tandem to make up to 180 lines.

The Field Exchange 40/160 (Furthset) was used at Brigade, Division and Corps level. It was a 40 line exchange that could be used in tandem up to 160 lines. It was used until the late 1980's by Royal Signals.

Monday to Friday (all Year) 10am to 5pm (last entry 4pm)

Saturday and Sunday & Bank holidays
10am to 4pm (last entry 3pm)

Admission Charges Jan - Dec 2009
Adults £ 7.00
Senior Citizens, Concessions £ 6.00
Children (5-16) £ 5.00
Family Ticket (2+2) £ 20.00

Group rates available (10+)

Schools, Scouts & Cubs
Cadets
10% Discount
£ 3.00
£ 2.00
Archive entry £ 7.00

THE ROYAL SIGNALS MUSEUM IS WITHIN THE BOUNDARIES OF BLANDFORD ARMY CAMP THEREFORE PLEASE BRING SOME FORM OF I.D. - Driving License, Passport, Bank Bank or Credit Card etc.