Heritage Open Days - WWI Remembrance Centre

About

The WW1 Remembrance Centre moved into Bastion 6, part of the Hilsea Lines, in 2014. It was built in 1871 and had fallen into an uninhabitable state. Volunteers worked to create somewhere to house the artefacts and open to the public.

The building has bombproof vaulted ceilings and was designed to provide gun emplacements protecting the guns and their crews against the forces of Napoleon III. The guns were arranged in the gallery and the building also provided armament stores and nine accommodation rooms for the men.

The building now contains WW1 artefacts and exhibits from the founder's personal collection, together with donated items. Volunteer guides will walk visitors through the timeline and share exciting and unusual stories from the Great War. There is also a repro trench system.

There's something for all ages and many of the exhibits, though not all, have foreign language translations. A volunteer guide is able to communicate in BSL. With no mains supplies, the Remembrance Centre generates its own power for everything from lighting to running model trains. This makes it an environmentally Green Museum.

The Remembrance Centre will be open as part of Heritage Open Days from 11am to 2pm, on 14, 15, 16, 17 and 20 September.