Rare chance to visit Larkhill's Royal Artillery Museum today
The venue's taking part in the Heritage Open Days scheme
There's a rare chance to learn about the history of the Royal Artillery in Larkhill today (Thursday 12th September).
The regiment's Museum in Wood Road is taking part in the national Heritage Open Days scheme, and offering guided tours.
Visitors will be able to view some of the historic collection as well as find out about the unique history of the building that houses it.
That'll include 20 historic field guns, dating from the seventeenth century to the start of the Second World War.
This part of the collection is currently housed in the oldest surviving aircraft hangars in Europe, built in 1910 and Grade II* listed.
When it first opened, pilots flying from these sheds took part in a major military exercise that finally convinced the Army there might be a use for aircraft in war.
Larkhill became Britain's first military airfield, but was only operational until 1914.
The Royal Artillery Museum’s collection was established in 1778 for training purposes and is one of the oldest and most significant of all military collections.
It opened to the public in 1820 at the Rotunda on Woolwich Common, moving to the nearby Firepower museum in 2001.
That closed in 2016, pending the creation of a new museum near Larkhill, the modern home of the Royal Artillery.
That project is ongoing, so most of the collection remains in various storage locations, and is not generally accessible to the public.