AN AMATEUR historian has created a museum dedicated to the Dukes from his long-time collection of military memorabilia.
John Garside, 57, a former TA serviceman with the Lincoln- based 16th Paras, has transformed the old drill hall in Milnsbridge into a tribute to the men of the Duke of Wellington's Regiment, dating from the Napoleonic era through the Boer War conflict and two world wars.
Thousands of items he has collected over 40 years will soon be on show at the former Territorial HQ of the Dukes' 7th Battalion in Rufford Road, off Scar Lane. The museum - due to be ready in September - will have special significance if the 302-year-old regiment is scrapped under Government cutbacks to the armed forces.
It is feared the Dukes will be axed along with other Yorkshire regiments the Green Howards and The Prince of Wales's Own, to form one regiment. A decision is expected in October.
The new museum will be open to the public at weekends. School parties will be able to visit during the week in term time.
A US Army Jeep and an Anderson air raid shelter form two eye- catching centrepieces. They are surrounded by glass cases crammed with relics of warfare, including battledress, guns, bombs and life-saving curios, such as a baby's gas mask.
Mr Garside also plans to open a cafe at the building, in which he has also set up his home with partner Catherine Clay, 49 and their Staffordshire bull terrier, Duke.
The museum, which the couple believe to be haunted, pays homage to servicemen who lost their lives at Bullecourt in 1917, a French village near Cambrai.
"It's just a little village and the Dukes lost all their men fighting for it," said Mr Garside.
