Royal Engineers Museum

Royal Engineers Museum

The Royal Engineers Museum covers the long history of Royal Engineers, from the Norman Conquest to the present day.

More than just a collection of military memorabilia, the museum has a wide-ranging display of fascinating historical objects associated with the Corps of Royal Engineers and its historic forebears. Included are such unique items as a set of Chinese embroidery given to General Gordon, Zulu shields taken at Roarke's Drift, even war diaries of WWI engineers.

The museum was established in 1813 and features uniforms, maps, drawings, historic photos, paintings, and weapons as diverse as tanks, chemical weapons, torpedoes, and bridges.

The museum is composed of separate galleries, each covering a distinct time period. The first gallery covers the King's Engineers from 1066 through 1790 and includes displays on the role of engineers in building medieval castles. Another gallery covers the Napoleonic War period. Among the fascinating exhibits in this gallery is a lock of Napoleon's hair and the map of Waterloo used by Wellington at the famous battle.

Further galleries cover Victorian Wars, including the Crimean and Boer Wars, World War I, World War II, post-WWII, and a special Medal Gallery of military medallions. There is a separate outside display area for larger, more modern items, including bridge laying machinery, D-Day locomotives, bomb disposal drilling machine, and tanks.