RBLI and Maidstone Museum take Kent veterans on a trip down memory lane

Eighteen Armed Forces Veterans, residents and staff from the Royal British Legion Village in Aylesford were invited to Maidstone Museum on Saturday 4 November 2012 for a regimental roadshow.

The residents, who are themselves Armed Forces veterans or their descendants, brought along military artefacts and medals to have their origins explained by Museum staff and the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Living History Group.

Museum staff and The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Living History Group members, who attended in full uniform from various time periods and theatres of conflict, answered residents’ questions about the history of the local area, the artefacts on display and the Royal West Kent Regiment.

The event was rounded off with a visit to the Cenotaph War Memorial at Brenchley Gardens. Here the residents, having spent the morning learning and remembering about significant periods of history, were able to pay their respects in the tranquil setting of the Victorian gardens.

Newly appointed Community Health and Wellbeing Officer for RBLI, Nina Montoya, said, “Maidstone Museum put on a fantastic morning for our veterans and residents. The residents greatly appreciated their expert knowledge and loved the enthusiasm and kindness shown by staff. Especially pleasing was that those residents who have limited mobility were very well looked after, as the museum is fully equipped to cater for their needs.

“I look forward to the continued partnership with the Museum and the local living history group throughout the next few years and am excited by the combined ideas from both parties for future events.”

Simon Lace AMA, Museums and Heritage Manager, said of the collaboration, “We were delighted to welcome our visitors from RBLI and to have the opportunity to show them our fantastic new facilities and the full range of activities that we can now offer.

"We are looking forward to developing a partnership with the RBLI which will offer their residents greater access to our shared local heritage and allow the Museum, with the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of the Great War in 2014 on the horizon, to strengthen links with Armed Forces Veterans.”

For more information about RBLI or their accommodation for Veterans and their families call 01622 795900 or visit www.rbli.co.uk/welfare_healthcare/. For more information about events at Maidstone Museum call 01622 602 838 or visit www.museum.maidstone.gov.uk/