Collection: Royal Army Chaplains’ Museum

Collection-level records:

• Collection history (Collection development policy)

  The Royal Army Chaplains’ Museum is a unique museum telling the story of Army Chaplains and Faith in the Forces. There is no other museum which covers these areas. Despite its long history beginning in 1796, the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department did not possess its own home until December 1946 when HM King George VI offered Bagshot Park to the Chaplain-General. It was then possible to centralise the archives and historical relics of the Department in one place. Successive Wardens and Deputy Wardens carried out a great deal of work between 1946 and 1966 to produce a worthwhile Museum display. In 1967 approval was given by the Ministry of Defence for the Museum to be established as an official Class A Museum.

  The Museum was opened by HM the Queen on 7^th April 1968. In order to safeguard the historical material held by the Department the RAChD Museum Trust was established in 1969. In 1979 The RAChD Museum Trust was registered with the Charity Commission under the Charity No 276924. The lease on the Bagshot Park ran out in 1996 and the Museum collection had to go into storage, until a new home for the Museum was ready at the Armed Forces Chaplaincy Centre at Amport House in Hampshire. The Museum opened under the new working name of ‘Museum of Army Chaplaincy’ on 10 September 2001. In April 2003, the first full time curator was appointed. In 2016, the disposal of Amport House was announced by the Secretary of State for Defence. Project Jordan saw the reprovisioning of the Museum on a new site adjacent to the Defence Academy of the UK. In April 2020 a new Charitable Incorporated Organisation foundation was set up under the name of the Museum of the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department. The opportunity was taken by the trustees to refine and widen the objectives of the Museum. The old charity was wound up its assets transferred to the new CIO; which is registered with the Charity Commission under No. 1189072.

  The new Museum was opened on 18 May 2022 with the new title of ‘Royal Army Chaplains’ Museum : Faith in the Forces’.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date: Not known

  Licence: CC BY-NC

• Collection overview (Collection development policy)

  The collection consists of medals, uniforms, equipment, furniture, church silver, paintings, photographs, models, books and documents. The archive consists of both personal and Departmental papers. Items have been acquired via the Royal Army Chaplains’ Department since the inception of the Museum and by donation by individuals or organisations to the Museum Trust.

  The collection has global connections as British Army chaplains have served in every corner of the World. The collection contains very rare examples of Army chaplains uniforms from the Victorian and Edwardian periods. The Museum holds a wide-ranging collection of gallantry awards to chaplains. The stories behind the men who won these awards are contained in the important collection of archive material held by the Museum. The archives contain unique documents from the First and Second War Wars. The Museum holds a unique collection of oral history recordings of chaplains who served in Afghanistan, in digital format. These recordings are currently in the process of being transcribed and indexed.

  Source: Collection development policy

  Date:

  Licence: CC BY-NC