"No more:" Doncaster military museum closes its doors and quits town

Ashworth Barracks in Balby announced earlier this year it was closing and the bulk of its collection moving to Sheffield.

Earlier today, a post on the museum’s Facebook page confirmed the museum had now shut for good.

It said: “Sadly, Ashworth Barracks is no more and the site has returned to its previous format of an empty school. It is a loss to Doncaster and one that will never be replaced; its format of guided tours and education was unique in the area.

“This group will continue a little longer but in September it will be closed. If you wish to stay in touch with the Barracks team who will be out and about at events once Covid dies back, why not follow The Victoria Cross Trust on Facebook. We look forward to you all staying in touch.”

The museum, set up in 2014 by the Victoria Cross Trust to show its collection of militiary memorabilia, will continue to own its collection of items largely dating back from World War One and World War Two, but they will be loaned out to visitor attactions in Sheffield and the North East of England.

Earlier this year, trustee Guy Aston said: “The museum will be closing and the collection moving away from Doncaster. There has been great interest shown in Sheffield and Stockton on Tees, and the bulk of the collection will be going to Sheffield.

“The museum will leave Doncaster, which I think is a tragedy – people came here and loved it.

“But from the trust’s point of view, we were set up with two objectives. They were restoring, cleaning and maintaining the graves of Victoria Cross winners, and to educate people about the Victoria Cross and its history. So running a museum was not the mainstay of the trust.”

The trust will still be based in Doncaster, and will move to a business park at West Moor Park, in Armthorpe.