Argylls museum appeal gets the royal seal of approval
THE ARGYLL and Sutherland Highlanders Museum at Stirling Castle has launched an appeal to raise £200,000 under the patronage of HRH Prince William, The Earl of Strathearn.
In a message, His Royal Highness asks the public to donate to the redevelopment fund, to help preserve the memory of one of Scotland’s great Highland regiments which traditionally recruited from throughout Argyll.
The appeal is named the ‘Thin Red Line Appeal’, and refers to the regiment’s most celebrated feat of valour when it defied a Russian cavalry charge at the Battle of Balaklava in 1854.
Volunteers through- out the regimental heartland, from Argyll to Kinross-shire, are already making plans and organising teams and sponsored events for fundraising activities to boost the project. Their efforts will enable the completion of the ground-breaking museum project which honours the achievements and sacrifices of the Argylls in war and peace.
Based in the historic setting of Stirling Castle, one of Scotland’s best-loved heritage sites and the regiment’s spiritual home for more than two centuries, the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum is planning a major re-development and re-interpretation of its nationally recognised collection of militaria, art and archives. Designed by leading museum consultants PLB and architects LDN, the museum aims to set new standards of presentation for UK military museums and boost visitor numbers from the current 215,000 a year.
Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, Historic Environment Scotland and Museums Galleries Scotland, and scheduled to open in the summer of 2019, the £4 million new visitor attraction will also feature enhanced retail and corporate entertainment facilities that will help it secure a sustainable future.
In his appeal letter, HRH The Earl of Strathearn writes: ‘The Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders Museum needs your help. This project has already received substantial donations and pledges but we still need to raise more. We need to ensure that future generations will discover for themselves what we owe to the Argylls’ memory.
‘This ambitious project will ensure this great historical legacy will survive, engaging and educating the visitors of tomorrow.’
The Thin Red Line Appeal is encouraging museum supporters to organise sponsored events and activities to raise funds for the appeal, as well as making personal donations, small or large.
Supporters of the project include former Colour Sergeant Adam McKenzie, 90, who joined the regiment in 1945 and served for 35 years including engagements in Palestine, Korea and Aden. He said: ‘Without the museum, the history will be lost, as The Argylls no longer exist as a regiment in their own right.’
Adam, who features in the newly-released promotional video for the Thin Red Line Appeal, continued: ‘We have to keep the memory alive of what The Argylls have contributed to history. I am proud to support The Thin Red Line Appeal to preserve this great collection for future generations.’
Construction work on the £4m project to transform the regimental museum, supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund, will begin this summer.
It is hoped the re-development will attract an extra 28,000 visitors every year.
A new Thin Red Line Appeal video can be viewed on the museum’s website www.argylls.co.uk and social media pages.