Royal Engineers Museum — Attraction in England

The real benefit comes from reading the boards that accompany the many, many exhibits, although that could make it a little tedious for children. A lot to see and appreciate.

I visited along with two old friends all over 60yrs. Myself and one other friend are miitary vets and as my fmaily have over 50yrs with the Engineers I wanted to revisit some memories. The day was a gift to my friends and I.

Unfotunatley however, whilst taking a closer look at a bridge laying vehicle situated on the edge of the car park a young portly liitle fella approached my vet friend and I. He was skulking around for approximately 5mins before he approached us.

This little fella then asked us to step back outside the small rope guide which is approximetaly 8" off the ground. We were not climbing on the vehicle and not trying to take anything off it. There were no signs saying we couldn't step inside the rope marker only signs prohibiting climbing on the vehicle.

Thing is he definitely needs to learn some manners in his approach, because my friends and I found him to be a bit of a little bully jobs worth but as the visit was a gift from another friend we did not want to spoil the experience. We told him we were taking a closer look because we could not work out where a supposed 7.62mm gun mount was on the vehicle, and showed him the board where this was stated. He had not a clue what we were talking about, but said he would find someone and come back to us. 2 1/2 hrs later and he hadn't bothered to get back to us even though he was still on site.

So the museum perhaps need to take some advice from your legal, H&S advisor. If it helps it's this. If the museum does not want people to take a closer look at it's 30ton plus exhibits then 1. It must say so in clearly written signage. 2. It must erect a suitable physical barrier that is a clear indication that it does not want the public to get too near the vehicle (a 4 foot high fence, or rope etc. not 8" off the deck) Neither of those things were present so I was at a loss at the little fellas objection. He was making up his own rules. Other than that, we regretabbly had to leave as the museum was shutting up, but we will go back to finish our visit, and hopefully the little fella will have sorted himeself out. The rest of the staff were excellent and we thank you for a great...

Tldr: Worth stopping by if you have a car, harder to reach by foot but still great. Plenty of displays and interesting sections about the unique section of British military history.

I went mid-late September, when the weather was pretty good. To get to the museum from the train station its a bit of a walk and adventure so wear good shoes. If you are driving its going to much easier just look out for the tank by the turning entrance.

There is a large number of tanks on display around and in the car park so take a good look at them, as some are really rare. My favourite picks would be the challenger 2 engineering vehicles, Titan and Trojan. Another interesting vehicle would be the Centurion AVRE that is popularised by the video game War thunder.

To enter the museum you pay for a years pass that is common in British museums such as the Tank Museum in Bovington (I reviewed).

The first section is about the much older more medieval engineers and their construction of castles.

Second section is much larger and contains a lot more detail and displays. Probably my favourite as it shows of some unexpected aspects to the corps. I would recommend reading lot of the displays as it contains a lot of information.

The third and fourth sections have the first and second world war. The corp takes more shape, to what you would expect, at this time.

The final sections are in the court yard, a large open area in the centre. It holds a variety of different vehicles and displays up to present day. However, it can be a maze to navigate around! Check out the second floor where the café and modern displays are. Take your time to walk around as its not as clear cut as the rest of the museum.

Overall I would take your time as the museum paints a pretty good picture of the groups history. It all very well put together with man rare items on display.

Its a unique group not often talked about with the other sections of the military so the whole experience was eye opening to what else is going on the background. If you have previous knowledge of military history, there is guaranteed to be something new! Anyone with no prior historical information will also learn a lot.

Stop by if you are in...

For a local history seminar/presentation. Extremely good content, well delivered and the bonus of a really good museum to peruse. Cafe and chat among the other visitors and delegates. Museum itself is excellent. Great displays of Royal Engineer artefacts and equipments, right up to the modern day forces.

Another "event" occasion. This time under the initiative of Medway Council for Literary celebration week. Two lecture/author presentations. The first unfortunately had to be postponed as the author took ill the day before. However, a regular museum staff member and researcher gave a talk about military medals which was informative, interesting and well received.

Afternoon was by author Nick Collins, journalist, sports correspondent and unfortunately a lifelong Gills fan. His novel is an account of the RE's legendary 1870's football team based in Brompton. Nick researches and writes both historical accounts and historical fact based novels (where some fiction fills in the gaps).

Anyway, another good event at the RE's museum and introduction to local authors and displays of military diaries, maps, regimental histories and the like.

Definitely worth joing "Friends of the RE's" for the year's entry season ticket and notice of future events. Check it out if you like history and...