A hands-on military museum in Yorkshire (UK)

When someone says Yorkshire here most people will think of the old town York and maybe James Herriot if they are 40+ or the famous landscapes of the moors and the Yorkshire dales. But Doncaster? What is there to see in Doncaster asked border control me full of astonishment when I stepped off the ferry years ago.

Over five years ago a local from Doncaster who was very interested in history and the military discovered that someone who was awarded the Victoria Cross, the highest award for bravery in the sight of the enemy, was buried in the area. But when he looked up the grave he discovered it in disarray. The local council explained they had no funds to give it a bit of a restoration. It turned out that some gravestones of other VCs were also crumbling away while during their lives these people had been lauded as heroes. That was how the Victoria Cross Trust was born. As a way of fundraising to restore graves and to educate the VCT initiated a museum in Doncaster called Ashworth Barracks, named after a recent soldier who had been awarded the VC posthumously.

Ashworth Barracks is not a stuffy museum full with priceless artefacts hidden away behind glass. You are guided around by volunteers who used to be in the military. They will walk you through the conflicts related with the VC. Objects, donated by for instance the Dutch and Belgian army, are sometimes just old shells and and defused mines. But when have you as a civilian ever seen a anti personnel mine? When have you been able to shoulder a rifle and felt how heavy it is?

The volunteers will tell you the stories of the men rewarded the VC as well. Like that of young James the museum is named after and whose family donated his kit to the museum. Or you can see how in the Second World War people lived and how an operations room looked like.

The guides take all the time you need and afterwards you can enjoy a nice meal or a cup of tea at the cafeteria.