About
The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum, housed within Maidstone Museum and Art Gallery, commemorates the history and honours of one of the most celebrated county regiments in the British Army. The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment — formally known as The Queen's Own (Royal West Kent Regiment) — traced its origins to the late seventeenth century and served with distinction across three centuries of British military history, from the Napoleonic Wars through to the mid-twentieth century.
The regiment's battle honours span the globe: the Peninsular War against Napoleon, the Crimea, India, the South African War (the Boer War), and then the defining conflicts of the twentieth century. In the First World War, the regiment served on the Western Front — including at the Battle of the Somme and the Ypres Salient — and at Gallipoli, suffering enormous casualties alongside the other men of Kitchener's Army. The collections relating to the Great War are among the most emotionally resonant in the museum, including letters, diaries, and personal effects of men who endured the trenches.
In the Second World War, the regiment served in multiple theatres. Among its most celebrated actions was the defence of Malta — the besieged Mediterranean island that endured sustained bombing and blockade from 1940 to 1942. The regiment played a crucial role in that defence, and the Siege of Malta is extensively represented in the museum's collections through artefacts, photographs, and personal testimonies.
The museum's collections include uniforms from various periods of the regiment's history, an impressive array of medals including multiple Victoria Crosses — the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy — weapons, equipment, regimental silver, photographs, letters, diaries, and campaign memorabilia. The regiment amalgamated in 1961 to form The Queen's Regiment, but its heritage is preserved and honoured through this museum.
Admission to the regimental museum is free, as part of the general admission to Maidstone Museum. It is an important resource for military historians, family historians, and all those with an interest in the history of Kent and the British Army.
Categories:
Highlights
Victoria Cross Collection
The regiment's Victoria Cross collection is one of the most significant holdings of the museum, representing the highest decoration awarded to British and Commonwealth forces for valour in the face of the enemy. The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment produced multiple VC winners across its long history, and the museum displays these medals alongside the citations that describe the extraordinary acts of courage for which they were awarded.
Reading the citations — clinical military language barely containing the reality of battlefield heroism — is among the most moving experiences that the museum offers to visitors of any background.
First World War Collections
The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment served extensively in the First World War, including on the Western Front at the Somme, Ypres, and Passchendaele, and in the Gallipoli campaign. The museum's First World War collections are extensive and deeply human: alongside uniforms, weapons, and military equipment are the personal effects of individual soldiers — letters home, diaries recording daily life and the terror of combat, photographs, postcards, and small personal objects carried in the trenches.
These intimate items provide a counterpoint to the larger narratives of strategy and sacrifice, giving individual faces and voices to the men who served.
The Defence of Malta
Among the Second World War collections, those relating to the Siege of Malta (1940–1942) hold a special place. The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment was stationed on Malta during the Italian and German aerial siege, enduring sustained bombing, food shortages, and intense pressure as part of the island's determined defence.
Malta was awarded the George Cross collectively in 1942 — a recognition of the island's extraordinary resistance.
The museum's Malta collections include regimental records, personal testimonies, photographs documenting the siege conditions, and artefacts from this remarkable chapter of the regiment's and the island's history.
Regimental Uniforms Across Three Centuries
The uniform collection at the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum traces the visual history of the regiment from its seventeenth-century origins through to its amalgamation in 1961. The evolution of British military uniform across this period — from the red coats of the Napoleonic era through the khaki of the First and Second World Wars — is illustrated through a sequence of complete and partial uniforms, headgear, and accessories.
Each uniform tells its own story of military culture, technology, and the changing demands of warfare, and together they provide a vivid visual narrative of the regiment's long history.
Collections
The Regiment's History
Permanent displays tracing the history of the Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment from its late seventeenth-century origins to its amalgamation in 1961, with uniforms, weapons, medals, and personal accounts.
The First World War
Extensive permanent display covering the regiment's service in the Great War, including the Western Front, Gallipoli, and the personal stories of individual soldiers.
The Second World War and the Siege of Malta
Permanent displays covering the regiment's Second World War service, with particular focus on the regiment's role in the defence of Malta 1940-1942.
Gallantry and Medals
Permanent display of the regiment's Victoria Crosses, campaign medals, and gallantry decorations.
Current Exhibitions
No current exhibitions. Please check the museum website for updates.