FAMILIES had a taste of Gurkha culture as a museum in Winchester opened its doors during half-term.
The Gurkha Museum, in Peninsula Barracks, put on a series of special events for families that gave visitors a lesson in the history and culture of Gurkha soldiers as well as the chance to sample traditional Nepalese curry.
The barracks in Romsey Road also organised craft activities for children, which included making their own medal and kukri as well as exploring the trail around the museum.
The Gurkha museum symbolises celebration and promotion of the history and culture of Gurkha soldiers, who have served Britain for more than 200 years. Their aim is to take guests on a journey through Gurkha history, starting with their origins in Nepal.
Museum director Dr Daren Bowyer, who left the army 13 years ago, said: "Events like today are a very important part of what we do. The museum has to be for everyone and we want this to be a place that's visited by serving and retired soldiers, but we want it to also be an accessible place for families. If a museum isn't inspiring children to take an interest in culture and heritage then it's not really meeting it's objective."
Dr Bowyer, 58, from Test Valley, has been working at the museum for 16 months.
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He said: "Two-hundred years of sacrifice for this country and a relationship that started in conflict and the respect that grew up between opponents is quite an inspirational story. Gurkhas are rightly held in very high regard by their British colleagues for their qualities as soldiers but I don't think anyone writes about them without talking about their human qualities."
Driving instructor, Hollie O'Brian from Basingstoke travelled with her mother, Cherry Barney and her two sons Ashton and Jaiden, who go to St. Mark's Primary School.
She said: "We have come out today as a family. We've been speaking to staff about the different events that they have here. We're quite local to the area so we're interested in finding out facts about what's happened in our history. We're also excited to try out the food they have here."
Joe Brown, who worked in the logistics regiment, visited the museum with his two children Rose and Johnny.
He said: "I was lucky enough to visit Nepal two years ago and do some trekking in the hills. We met some retired Gurkha soldiers. They had a charity raising money in the UK.
"We checked in to make sure they were OK. They were quite old guys but their health was really good. They do loads of exercise and they're in the hills so there's hardly any pollution so there's great air, they grow their own vegetables. It was amazing to see. So we came over here to show the children the stuff that's in the museum."
Inside the museum, you will find medals, stories on display, photos of soldiers, as well as archives that cover battles and campaigns, from standing guard in India’s North West and North East, before being sent to the trenches of the Western Front in 1914 and The Falkland Islands in the early 1980s.
Doors are open from 11am to 3pm with no charge, with donations welcome to support the work of the Gurkha Museum Trust.
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