Regiment’s showcase to reopen after refit

A MUSEUM which commemorates soldiers who served in the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry (KOYLI) Museum will be officially re-opened tomorrow after a major refurbishment.

Brigadier Roger Preston, chairman of the KOYLI trustees will unveil the £230,000 revamp alongside the Mayor of Doncaster Peter Davies at 11.30am.

The museum, which is based in Doncaster Museum and Art Gallery on Chequer Road, charts the history of the famous Yorkshire regiment whose success at the decisive Battle of Minden in 1759 is honoured on Yorkshire Day each year.

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Visitors can follow the origin of the Regiment to its amalgamation with the Rifles, find out why people joined the Regiment, what life was like for the families of the soldiers and just what the First World War Tommy had to endure in the reconstructed trench section.

New features of the museum include interactive displays and audio listening posts, where visitors can listen to diary extracts from the Officers and soldiers of the KOYLI, as well as new displays including items from the World Cultures collection, such as silks and other objects from India, to give visitors more insight into the experiences of the regiment.

Mr Davies said: “I am proud that Doncaster is home to a museum which honours such a significant chapter in Yorkshire’s military history.

“I am fiercely supportive of the modern day servicemen and women from the borough who make such a remarkable contribution to this country, and feel that it is important that we also reflect upon those who served our region so bravely in the past.”

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The recently completed re-design was paid for with a grant of £204,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund, and donations from the King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Trustees and the Friends of Doncaster Museums.

The KOYLI Museum has free admission and is open Monday to Saturday 10am until 5pm.