The King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry Museum is housed within Doncaster Museum and its redisplay formed the major part of a £204,000 Heritage Lottery funded project. It tells the story of the KOYLI, starting in 1755 when the Regiment was first raised, through its amalgamation into the Light Infantry and then the Rifles.
The gallery mixes personal anecdotes and oral history with original photos and quotes, objects from the Doncaster Museum Service’s World Cultures, Social History collections, and the Regimental collections. The aim was to put the KOYLI story into context, as well as personalising it. The comments book for the gallery since it has opened reflects the very positive, even emotional, reception of visitors.
A contemporary, pragmatic approach was adopted throughout the design of the exhibition, to complement its styling, its interpretive method, and its practicality, so that it functioned effectively as part of a working museum.
