HAVE you got family heirloom wedding dresses in your attic?
And did they belong to women whose partners worked in the military?
You might be just the person The Fusilier Museum in Bury is looking for.
This year, its curators plan an exhibition charting military wedding dresses through the ages. And to that end it has planned has launched a nationwide search to find military wedding dresses to feature in a new exhibition next year.
Army Wives: 100 Years of Bridal Fashion will feature a dress from each decade, showcasing the change in style and trends during the century.
Dresses have already been sourced from the 10s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s and 2010s.
But the museum is still looking for dresses worn by army wives for weddings in the 20s, 30s and 40s.
The oldest dress to feature in the display will be the wedding dress of Mrs Kathleen Sutcliffe who married Captain Jack Sutcliffe, an Officer of the 2/6th Battalion, Lancashire Fusiliers in 1915 before he went off to fight in the First World War.
The museum recently secured a grant from the Association of Independent Museums to conserve the 103-year-old dress.
The delicate dress was donated to the museum in 2007 and has never been on public display due to its need for appropriate conservation.
Sarah Stevenson, collections officer at the Fusilier Museum, said: “This new exhibition will enable visitors old and new to take a fascinating look at 100 years of bridal fashion.
The exhibition will also tell the hidden stories of women in the army and the crucial role that the play and continue to play on a daily basis. The majority of the dresses included will be from Fusiliers but we hope to include other dresses of army brides from other regiments within the British Army.”
The exhibition is expected to open in early April and run till the summer. If you have a wedding dress from the 20s, 30s or 40s that you would be willing to loan the museum for the duration of the exhibition please contact: sarah.stevenson@fusiliermuseum.com or ring Sarah on 0161 763 8962.
The Fusilier Museum in Bury, Lancashire, is home to the collections of XX The Lancashire Fusiliers and the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers. Documenting over 300 years of history and heritage through permanent and temporary exhibitions, the Museum tells the rich and fascinating stories of the people who have served and continue to service in the Regiments.
