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The Queen's Lancashire Regiment Headquarters is based in Fulwood Barracks in Preston and is soon to be merged with 2 other North West Regiments to create a new super-regiment , the amalgamation of which is to be finalised by about 2007 . The Museum , and Barracks , which are still in use today , tells the stories of some of the lads of Lancashire from the local areas who have served and still do serve their county and country around the globe . The Archives , Library and Collections form the biggest military Heritage Centre in the North West ; its research and education centre are housed in Fulwood Barracks in Preston ( an excellent example of Victorian military architecture which forms Preston's biggest collection of listed buildings ) . The Regimental Museum is a part of 2 Heritage Trails :- 1) The Lancashire Lad which traces the progress of the Lancashire soldier through th East Lancs . and the South Lancs . Regiments and 2) The Preston Museums Heritage Trail which combines the new ( The Football Museum at Preston North End's football stadium ) with the old ( The Museum of Lancashire in the old Court House ) and the Harris Art Gallery and Museum in the city centre . Upon visiting the Regimental Museum , the visitor can always expect a warm welcome but check first to see when the Museum is open .

The first story comes from Lt. Angus Chown , who after spending several days acclimatising and moving around the area for safe cover , recalls :-

" On 20 June our transport was shelled , fortunately without casualties . On 21st two enemy fighters machine-gunned the harbour area causing casualties to the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry , one of our sister regiments . This was followed on the 22nd by light intermittent shelling again causing casualties to the 1st Northamptonshire Yeomanry and we also had one man wounded . On the 23rd we received orders to move to a harbour less intriguing to the enemy . During this unpleasant period we had been briefed for another operation which , as usual , was cancelled . We had also reconnoitred positions from a prominent viewpoint on the edge of the woods from which to meet a possible counter-attack . It was on top of a steep escarpment giving a wide outlook over the land to the south . We were shown a dead German sniper up a tree wrapped in a camouflage net . He had killed officers in a group using this spot to reconnoitre a day or two before . Up to this time it was the nearest we had been to enemy lines " .

Ater being injured by shrapnel under his tank , he remembers :-

" In the field hospital they x-rayed me and located the shrapnel . One piece was in the left buttock and one in the left lung . Both were small , but the piece in the left lung was only an inch from my heart . I was propped up in bed to allow the lung to drain and a doctor drew blood from the lung with a syringe through my back . He said it would not hurt and I did not need an anaesthetic , but he had brought me a glass of whisky . When I said I did not drink , he said he did and drank it instead of me " .

" In our marquee there was a wounded German prisoner and everybody was kind to him - our wounds united us . A British Intelligence Officer came to interrogate him . He was of course smartly dressed , which in iself , in our state , seemed like a hostile act and an intrusion into our small world . Although the officer was only doing his duty and was very correct , there were none too quiet murmurings from the surrounding beds about leaving the poor devil alone . After the officer left , those of us who were near and fit enough to do so , lobbed cigarettes and sweets onto the German's bed " .

During Operation Goodwood in 1944 ex R.S.M Joe Garner fondly recollects :-

" I am reminded , talking of medium artillery , of a story concerning heavy artillery and involving Billy Burke . Towards the end of our fighting in the Bocage , we found ourselves for a brief spell in an unspoilt area of farm-land . Billy Burke had commandeered an old but attractive thatched-roof cottage for the ' rear echelon ' and he was so delighted with his unaccustomed luxury that he took me along to share his temporary billet . There , in the bedooom under the thatch , Billy's batman had unrolled his bed-roll on the farm-house bed , filled the wash-jug and basin with clean water and laid out Billy's hairbrushes , etc . on the dressing table . In the middle of the night , disaster struck . There was a tremendous explosion . Billy thought we were being bombed and rushed downstairs to find a slit trench . Then there was another explosion and a blinding flash and Billy realised that a battery of heavy artillery had moved into the cottage garden during the night and the barrel of one of these monsters was practically resting on Billy's thatched roof . When he got back to his bedroom there was chaos . All his belongings were covered with twigs , old nests and dead birds and the accumulated filth and vermin of centuries , dislodged by the muzzle-blast from the field piece ! " .

Upon encountering the U.S. Cavalry , he recalls :-

" We found them however dressed in khaki and riding light armoured cars and jeeps mounted with heavy Browning machine guns . One of the latter stopped alongside our M14 and a very young Lieutenant Colonel came across to greet us and exchanged information about the enemy ahead . At one point I must have mentioned that we would dearly like to know what the German strength was in Tuichebray . To which he replied ' Yep . We felt that too ; so we went to have a look-see . But there was too many Germans there , so we came out again ! ' " .

After a spot of leave and recent promotion , Major R.J. Manners , found it was time to get back to the grind and rejoin the advance to victory and Rangoon :-

" Rations during this period were pretty monotonous . Dried egg , tinned bacon or soya links with sometimes baked beans or tinned tomatoes . Porridge , bread and maramalade for breakfast - and of course the hot sweet tea - for breakfast . Hard biscuits with perhaps some cheese together with a pack of raisins at midday , and then usually some sort of stew with perhaps some tinned fruit in the evening - once again with the hot sweet tea . Very occasionally , we might get a ration of beer . The only supplement to this was when we threw a few grenades into one of the rivers we passed , and had a goodly haul of very reasonable fish . Just about Christmas time we also shot up a goodly sized python ! Gerry Oborn and I and our batmen were mooching about in the jungle seeing what we could find - we were to find more than we bargained for - when Gerry Oborn suddenly leapt into the air and landed several yards to the right . He had almost trodden on a twelve foot monster . Fortunately it must have been very well fed , and was in a very sleepy mood . We put several shots into it and eventually dragged it back to camp . It was a marvellous specimen , some twelve foot long and at least 24 inches in circumference . Snarling in its death throes , it could have easily swallowed a football with its jaws wide open . We had a butcher in the company so he skinned it - hung the skin up to dry - and we all enjoyed python steaks for supper . Very tough but at least a change from the usual " .

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