Worth another try...

The public galleries at the Royal Marines Museum, Eastney, closed on April 1, 2017.

In February 2017 the promise was that after a £14m revamp of the National Museum of the Royal Navy’s galleries, the Royal Marines Museum would re-materialise there in 2020.

Yes, £14m just to move the contents of the historic site lock, stock and barrel from a perfectly good site to an incongruous part of the dockyard.

After two failed National Heritage Lottery Funding applications, to move the museum to the dockyard, it has remained closed for more than three years.

Furthermore, the plan was to sell this Grade II listed building, described by Historic England as ‘the most architecturally distinguished officers’ barracks in England’, to developers for a mere £2m to help fund the move. Apparently, developers are not showing interest. Lest we forget: Where is the museum's military collection – the artefacts, the uniforms, the medals donated by families? Remembering the 10 Victoria Crosses awarded to those men who showed valour ‘in the presence of the enemy’. Apparently, stuffed away in boxes somewhere in the dockyard. In 2008, the museum purchased a rare medal for £41,000 (thanks to a contribution of £28,000 from the National Heritage Memorial Fund). The Naval General Service Medal with Trafalgar clasp was awarded to Lt Lewis Buckle Reeve, who, following serious injury at the

Battle of Trafalgar, was laid next to the mortally wounded Nelson on board HMS Victory.

This medal was displayed at Eastney Barracks alongside Lt Reeve's entry in the Royal Marines Muster List for HMS Victory at Trafalgar.

Where is it now? Public money stuffed away in a box in the dockyard, forgotten?

So, stalemate. There's no seafront development, no museum, an historic building dilapidating, the possibility of artefacts moving to another part of the country. A Wilkins Micawber outcome; a relentlessly optimistic guiding principle of ‘something will turn up’.

Surely, the answer is to put back the museum back where it