We Need to Honour our Heritage
We urge all Riflemen to become friends of the museum
New recruits with uncle Ron
The Royal Green Jackets (Rifles) Museum
Discover and Learn
Main Gate of the Ancestral Home of
The Royal Green Jackets
Romsey Road, Winchester
S023 8TS
BACKGROUND
The story of the creation of The Royal Green Jackets Museum on lst December 1989 is recorded in detail in the 1989 Regimental Chronicle. It was a remarkable achievement involving many people, with the excellence of the Museum standing testimony to their efforts.
At the time of its opening, it was one of the best, if not the best regimental museum in the Country. Since then, new museums have opened, ofien funded by Lottery money and using recent advances in technology to educate and excite their visitors.
These museums are creating serious competition for the longer established museums, which must engage in programmes of continuous improvement if they are to attract sufficient visitors to generate the revenue they require to survive.
The Royal Green Jackets Museum has previously been the subject of two appeals: in 1987 to find the capital costs of creating the Museum and in 1991 to establish an Endowment Fund for the occasional purchase of items of historical importance Deeds of covenant arising from these appeals expired in 1995.
The Museum receives around 10,000 visitors each year, with MOD funding a substantial element of the Museum’s running costs. The remaining costs are funded primarily through generation of income from admission charges and shop sales, and with financial support from the Regimental Administrative Trustees.
This support ensures that the Museum breaks even, but little more. As a result, the Museum Trustees have had to rely heavily upon the generosity of organisations and individuals outside the Regiment to fund improvements such as the Recent History Section and VC Display.
The Heritage Lottery Fund has also been tapped, for example, to assist in the costs of creating the new Visitor
Centre in the old Guardroom at the entrance to Peninsula Barracks (opened in November 2003).
Such sources of funding, however, cannot be relied upon. Moreover, those that give grants increasingly expect matching contributions from recipients.
It is against this background that the Museum Trustees urgently need to increase the Museum’s annual cash flow:
To create the financial headroom to pursue a programme of continuous
improvement of the Museum;
To sustain and enhance the Museum’s displays through greater use of interactive audio-visual and computer-based technology;
To underwrite a marketing strategy to attract greater visitor numbers.
The Museum Trustees therefore decided, afler consultation with and support from both the Regimental Colonel Commandant and Administrative Trustees, to take advantage of the Inland Revenue’s Charity Gift Aid Scheme to launch a campaign to seek regular donations
to the Museum from potential Friends. This campaign is ongoing.
FRIENDS OF THE ROYAL GREEN JACKETS MUSEUM
INDIVIDUAL MEMBERSHIP
HOW TO BECOME A FRIEND
If you would like to become a Friend of The Royal Green Jackets Museum, there are two categories of Membership that apply to individuals (separate terms apply for Corporate Membership).
Life Membership: A single Gift Aid donation of£500 or more will entitle the donor to Life Membership of the Friends of The Royal Green Jackets Museum.
A donation may be in the form of payment by cheque or gifting a “qualifying investment”, for example, shares and/or securities listed on the UK Stock Exchange.
Annual Membership: A Gifl Aid donation of £24 or more paid by annual, quarterly or monthly banker’s standing order will entitle the donor to Annual Membership of the Friends of The Royal Green Jackets Museum. Exceptionally, payment may be made in cash or by cheque.
To become a Friend, please complete and return the enclosed form(s).
PRIVILEGES
Friends of The Royal Green Jackets Museum will be entitled to receive:
Free entrance to the Museum throughout the year for themselves and either one accompanying adult or two accompanying children.
A 10% discount on all Museum shop purchases valued at £5 and above.
A biannual Newsletter (Spring and Autumn).
Discounts on ticket prices for special Museum events.
As a charity, The Royal Green Jackets Museum Trust will be able to recover a substantial additional sum from the Inland Revenue in respect of each Life and Annual membership donation – currently 28p for each £1 donated by Friends who are taxpayers and who sign the appropriate Gifi Aid Declaration. Friends who pay tax at the higher rate will be able to claim higher rate tax relief.
Donors of “qualifying investments” may qualify for income and capital gains tax relief. If unsure, professional advice should be sought.
ADMINISTRATION
Receipt of initial donations/banker’s standing orders will be acknowledged. Thereafter, a list of current Friends, updated monthly, will be maintained at the front desk to the Museum. Those visiting the Museum will be granted free admission after verification that their name is recorded on the list. Cancellation of a standing order or a failure to renew payment will result in cessation of membership.
Other ways to help The Royal Green Jackets Museum:
LEGACIES
If you would like to remember The Royal Green Jackets Museum in your Will, the Museum Trustees would be extremely grateful. The following wording is suggested:
1 give to The Royal Green Jackets Museum Trust (Registered Charity Number 1009691)
for its charitable purposes the sum of… …(or description of bequest) free of tax and I request that the receipt of the Theasurer or other proper Oflicerfor the time being of the said Charity shall be suflicient discharge to my executors.
Note: Any donations made to charity during your lifetime and upon death are currently exempt from Inheritance Tax.
CHATTELS
The Museum Trustees are always extremely grateful to receive from former members of the Regiment and/or their relatives any items of regimental or military property, dress,accoutrements, books etc, for which you or your relatives have no further use.
Nearly all items, whatever their condition and if not required by the Museum, can be sold and the money used to benefit the Museum.
To donate items, or for further information, please contact the Curator (Tel: 01962 828549).
Email curator@rgjmuseum.co.uk
The Tribute Chair
The Memory Chair
Footnote
Please do not send any monies to Memorial at Peninsula Ltd for joining the Friends of the museum.
we are only advertising the museum