BELSEN liberator Gilbert King welcomed the Princess Royal as she opened the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Museum yesterday.

In 1945, Gunner King was in the Oxfordshire Yeomanry when he was among the first troops to arrive at Bergen-Belsen Nazi concentration camp.

Oxford Mail:

The Princess Royal meets and talks to Belsen liberator Gilbert King 

He was one of those invited to meet Her Royal Highness at the museum, a £3.2m purpose-built attraction in the grounds of Oxfordshire Museum in Park Street, Woodstock.

It houses collections from the Oxfordshire Yeomanry and Oxfordshire and Buckinghamshire Light Infantry.

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The museum opened to the public in July, but Princess Anne officially opened it for the Soldiers of Oxfordshire Trust.

Museum director Ursula Corcoran said: “There has been huge interest because of the centenary of the First World War.

“We are delighted that Princess Anne agreed to visit.

“It’s fantastic recognition of all the work that the various trusts and volunteers have done to get the museum open.”

Mr King, 96, who lives near High Wycombe, Buckinghamshire, rose from his wheelchair to greet the Princess Royal, and said: “I met your mother at Buckingham Palace and found her to be a very charming lady.”

The father-of-three – who lost his wife Irene, 75, 20 years ago – said afterwards: “I’m very pleased to be here today in the museum. Being a liberator of Belsen, it brings back memories for me.”

Oxford Mail:

Princess Anne takes a tour of the museum, top, and walks with Brigadier Ian Inshaw in the grounds

Brigadier Ian Inshaw, chairman of the SOFO Trust, said the museum was not intended to be a standard military museum displaying “miles and miles of military medals” but would tell the story of soldiers and those who kept the home fires burning.

Unveiling a plaque, Princess Anne said: “I suspect being here with your volunteers you will get more stories brought to you than the ones you have already got.

“The future will be reflecting more memories from the past.”

Collections at the museum cover conflicts including the Boer Wars, the Great War and World War Two.

Six-year-old North Leigh Primary School pupil Toby Cotter – whose mother Jane Cotter is a volunteer at the museum – presented Princess Anne with mementoes, including a Poppy brooch and ginger biscuits.

Following her visit to Woodstock, Princess Anne officially opened Oxford University’s new £36m Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in Headington.

Oxford Mail:

From left, Dr Nathaniel West, Dr Thomas Krausgruber and Prof Fiona Powrie talk to the Princess Royal as she opens the Kennedy Institute of Rheumatology in Headington

She was shown a healthy cartilage from a pig and how it compared with an arthritic cartilage removed from a knee replacement patient at the Nuffield Hospital just days before.

The Princess Royal spoke of her own experience of arthritis in horses, and asked: “Surely there must a lesson to learn?”

Osteoarthritis researcher Dr Fiona Watt said: “She was absolutely right.

“The knuckle bones in horses do develop osteoarthritis just like humans.”

The Kennedy Institute moved from London to the university’s Old Road Campus in 2011. Its new building, housing 180 staff researching arthritis and other inflammatory diseases, was completed in July 2013 and research started last September.

The Princess was greeted by university chancellor Lord Patten and James Davis, chairman of the Kennedy Trust for Rheumatology Research.

About 10 million people in the UK suffer from some form of arthritis.

The cost of the new building and £6m worth of equipment were met by the university and the Kennedy Trust.


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