## **The Second Division Museum and Memorial Trust** 

## **Trustees’ Annual Report for 2022** 

The year has seen a welcome increase in the number of visitors to the site, plus 3.5K followers on social media.  Whilst not yet quite up to pre-covid levels, the upward trend is encouraging.  Once again the city’s civic party was welcomed on site, as well as a visit by the national vice chair of the British Legion. 

During the year the Museum became financially independent of the Garrison, having opened its own account with a commercial bank, and also continued its ongoing refurbishment of the displays.  The offer made by Army Museums Ogilby Trust AMOT to put the archives on its own platform was taken up, allowing external digital access to the collection and although it is early days, signs are that such access is slowly but surely on the increase, which may at some point in the future eclipse the importance of this kind of access over physical visitors. 

The year also saw the arrival of a new volunteer curator, the long-term plan being for him to take over from the current incumbent in a few years’ time.  He has used much of his time in the Museum so far learning about the history of the campaign and also taking on board more technical aspects of curatorship.  Meanwhile the current curator managed to fit in a visit to Kohima, during which time he was able to liaise with his opposite numbers in the Kohima WW2 Museum and the Imphal Peace Museum.  Planning also began for how the Museum might commemorate the 80[th] anniversary of the Battle of Kohima in 2024.