Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum

The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment Museum is housed within the Maidstone Museum complex, preserving the history of this county regiment from its formation in 1756 through to its amalgamation with the Buffs in 1961. The collections cover uniforms, weapons, medals, and personal items from the regiment's campaigns across two and a half centuries.

The centrepiece of the collection is the material relating to the Battle of Kohima (1944), considered one of the most significant engagements of the Second World War's Burma Campaign. The regiment played a central role in holding the Kohima position against the Japanese 31st Division — a battle now commemorated at the National Memorial Arboretum. The museum's Kohima exhibits are among the most detailed outside dedicated regimental collections. Admission is free.

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The Queen's Own Royal West Kent Regiment served in almost every major British campaign from the Napoleonic Wars through to the Second World War. The regiment's most celebrated action was the defence of Kohima in 1944, where a small force held a hilltop position in Nagaland against a sustained Japanese assault for two weeks — the battle that ultimately stopped the Japanese advance into India. The museum contains artefacts from Kohima including the famous tennis court around which some of the most intense fighting took place.