About BMMT

The Buckinghamshire Military Museum Trust preserves the heritage of the local military units raised in the historic county of Buckinghamshire in England from the 1500s onwards, including the Militia, Yeomanry, Volunteers, Territorials, and Home Guard. The Trust was established in December 1985.

Opening times:

Old Gaol Museum, Buckingham is currently closed

Claydon exhibits currently in store

How to find us

Old Gaol

MK18 1JX

Claydon House

MK18 2EY

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Features & Events

As part of the Centenary Commemoration of the Great War, we at BMMT hosted a number of County wide events, and supported wide and diverse projects, between 2014 and 2018. We are now hosting events for the 80th anniversary of the Second World War, as well as celebrating other aspects of the County’s military past.

Find out what’s going. Here

Our Collections

The Trust preserves uniforms, flags, weapons, equipment, documents, paintings, and photographs relating to the amateur military forces raised in Bucks since the 1500s.

Intended mainly for home defence against foreign invasion – from the Spanish Armada to Napoleon and Hitler – these citizen soldiers were just as significant for their high visibility in the local community, involving a far wider section of society in military affairs than the small regular army, which was often out of sight and out of mind serving overseas. The Trust’s collections reflect this dual military and social function.

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Sound & Film

Bucks Yeomanry Guidon Conservation by Katherine Barker BA (Hons) BSc AMA ACR

Click here to view more films and listen to more audio.

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Who we are?

Visit our ‘Who we are?’ page to find out more about the Buckinghamshire Military Museum

What you can do

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Object of the Month

The silver topped stick is is inscribed W. H. Bull, FRCS, 1^st Bucks RV Corps, Stony Stratford, 10 June 1894. The Bearer Company was formed in 1880, an earlier one at Stony Stratford having been attached to the Northamptonshire volunteers.

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Born on 16 June 1852, William Henry Bull was originally from Oswestry, qualifying at St George’s Hospital in 1874, and taking over the medical practice at Stony Stratford, where he resided at St Oswald’s House, in 1876. He formed the Bearer Company at Stony Stratford in 1880, becoming FRCS in 1882. Subsequently, he commanded the Home Counties Volunteer Brigade Bearer Company – still effectively that of Stony Stratford – in 1888 and, on the formation of the Territorial Force, the 2nd South Midland Mounted Brigade Field Ambulance in 1908. Bull served as Assistant Director of Medical Services for 48th (South Midland) Division from August 1914 until the division moved to France in March 1915, and then acted briefly in the same capacity for 61st (2nd South Midland) Division until it moved to Chelmsford from Northampton in April 1915. Subsequently, he became medical officer of six counties in the Southern Division before moving to the Ministry of Pensions as Commissioner of Services for the West Midlands. One his sons, Lieutenant Godfrey Bull of the 2nd (East Lancashire) Field Company, Royal Engineers, was killed at Gallipoli in July 1915. Two others – Captain H. C. H. Bull of the 8th King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry, and Captain Edwin Bull, RAMC – both won the Military Cross.

Bull, who was twice widowed, reached the rank of Surgeon-Colonel and held both the Volunteer and Territorial Decorations. In 1913, he became both a Knight of the Order of St John, and also an honorary surgeon to the King. Having been a long-time magistrate, he was appointed a deputy lieutenant for Bucks in 1919. After the Great War, he was county director of the Bucks County Territorial Association Voluntary Aid Detachments (VADs). A keen freemason, he was also president of the Stony Stratford Library and Debating Society, and of the Stony Stratford Town Band. He died on 14 August 1921, receiving a military funeral attended by large numbers of mourners.

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This website of The Buckinghamshire Military Museum Trust ('BMMT') is copyright of BMMT. If any items on the site are republished or copied for research private study or for use within educational establishments the source and copyright status must be acknowledged and any reference quoted. Commercial users wishing to reproduce any item must seek prior written permission from the Trustees.

BMMT has taken all reasonable steps to ascertain any known copyrights. Any infringement is inadvertent and will be rectified on notification.

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Registered with the Charity
Commission No: 1189645
Registered Museum No: 1550

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