On Wednesday 29 Jan sportspersons took part in a relay to open the Corps Museum’s newest exhibition on REME sport. Participants from some of the 30 plus teams that train on MOD Lyneham donned their kit and passed the torch designed for the REME 75 Scotland baton relay before proceeding en masse to the Museum. They handed the torch to two representatives of the Corp’s proud sporting past and present: Captain (Retired) Jim Fox, Olympic gold winning modern pentathlete, and Staff Sergeant Becky Hoare, World Military Ironman champ, triathlete and cyclist. The pair formally opened the exhibition after a brief address to the assembled athletes from the Museum’s Director, Major (Retired) Rick Henderson.

The exhibition looks at historical sporting success alongside recent achievements across a range of disciplines. We have unearthed some unique silverware and striking photos from the Museum’s collection and have gratefully received donations and loans. This includes gear used by John Walker, archer and REME veteran, to win two Paralympic gold medals in 2016, stunning trophies from REME Rugby and Staff Sergeant Hoare’s neon orange bike – on show for a limited time only. We have packed a lot into our temporary exhibition space but plan to squeeze more in during the exhibition’s year long run.

We profiled 10 sports for starters but hope to represent all Corps sports by December. If your team is not represented, Contact us to take part. The Museum is also interested in adding to our permanent collection of trophies, kit, photos and documents that relate to Corps sport. If you have material you would like to donate we would love to hear from you.

Admission to the new temporary display is included with admission which is free for Gold Card holders.

Images © Corporal Ben Beckett, Guy Butler.