Imperial War Museum facts for kids
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Imperial War Museum London
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| Established | 1917 (branches opened 1976, 1978, 1984 and 2002) |
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| Location | IWM London: Lambeth Road, London IWM Duxford: Duxford, Cambridgeshire HMS Belfast: The Queen's Walk, London Churchill War Rooms: Clive Steps, King Charles Street, London IWM North: The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road, Manchester |
| Collection size | 10,700,000 items or collections of items. |
| Visitors | All branches: 2,667,926 IWM London: 1,073,936 IWM Duxford: 401,287 HMS Belfast: 327,206 Churchill War Rooms: 620,933 IWM North: 244,564 |
| Public transit access |  Lambeth North (IWM London) |
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The Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a group of national museums in the United Kingdom. It has its main office in London and five locations across England. The museum was started in 1917 as the Imperial War Museum. Its first goal was to record the efforts and sacrifices of the United Kingdom and its Empire during the First World War.
Over time, the museum's mission grew. Now, it covers all conflicts where British or Commonwealth forces have been involved since 1914. Since 2012, the museum aims to help people study and understand the history of modern war and what it was like to live through wartime.
The museum first opened to the public in 1920 at the Crystal Palace. In 1924, it moved to the Imperial Institute in London. By 1936, it found a permanent home at the former Bethlem Royal Hospital in Southwark, London, which is still its main location. When the Second World War began, the museum collected more items and expanded its focus.
After the war, the museum faced some challenges. However, it started to grow again in the 1970s. In 1976, a branch opened at Duxford Aerodrome in Cambridgeshire, now called IWM Duxford. In 1978, the Royal Navy ship HMS Belfast, which is docked on the River Thames in London, became part of the museum. In 1984, the Cabinet War Rooms, an underground wartime command center, also opened to the public.
From the 1980s, the main London museum building was updated many times, finishing in 2000. In 2002, IWM North opened in Trafford, Greater Manchester. This was the fifth museum branch and the first in northern England. In 2011, the museum changed its name to IWM, which stands for "Imperial War Museums."
The museum has huge collections. These include old documents, photos, films, videos, and recorded interviews with people who lived through wars. It also has a large library, a big art collection, and examples of military vehicles, aircraft, and other items.
The museum gets money from the government, donations, and by selling things like books and souvenirs. Entry to IWM London and IWM North is usually free, but some special exhibitions might cost money. The other branches have an admission fee.
Contents
The Museum's Story
How the Museum Started: 1917–1924
On February 27, 1917, Sir Alfred Mond, a government official, suggested creating a National War Museum to Prime Minister David Lloyd George. The government agreed on March 5, 1917, and the news was shared in The Times newspaper. A committee, led by Mond, was set up to gather items for the new museum.
This committee began collecting things to show Britain's war efforts. They had smaller groups focusing on the Army, Navy, making weapons, and women's war work. They wanted the exhibits to show personal experiences, not just old objects. Sir Martin Conway, the museum's first director, believed exhibits should show the "action, experiences, bravery, and endurance of individuals."
The museum's first curator was Charles ffoulkes. He had worked at the Royal Armouries before. In July 1917, Mond visited the Western Front in France to learn how to best organize the growing collection. In December 1917, the museum's name was changed to the Imperial War Museum. This was to include contributions from India and other parts of the British Empire.
King George V officially opened the museum at the Crystal Palace on June 9, 1920. Sir Alfred Mond said that the museum aimed to be so complete that "every one who took part in the war, however obscurely, would find therein an example or illustration of the sacrifice he or she made." He also said it was "not a monument of military glory, but a record of toil and sacrifice." Soon after, a law called the Imperial War Museum Act 1920 was passed. This law created a board of trustees to manage the museum. The board included people from India, South Africa, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. On the first public holiday after opening, over 94,000 people visited. By November 1921, more than 2.2 million people had seen the museum.
Moving to New Homes: 1924–1936
In 1924, the museum moved to the Imperial Institute building in South Kensington. This location was more central and in a famous area for museums. However, the space was too small. In 1936, a new permanent home was found south of the River Thames in Southwark. The building was the former Bethlem Royal Hospital. The hospital had moved to Kent.
The land was owned by Lord Rothermere. He had planned to tear down the building to create a public park. But in the end, the middle part of the hospital building was saved. The two large wings were removed, and the space became Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, named after Lord Rothermere's mother.
Sir Martin Conway described the building as "a fine building, really quite noble building." He said it could hold the museum's collection very well and would save a beautiful building from being destroyed. The museum was reopened by the Duke of York (who later became King George VI) in its new home on July 7, 1936.
Second World War and After: 1939–1966
When the Second World War started in 1939, the museum began collecting items from this new conflict. In November 1939, the museum appeared in a film called The First Days. It showed children playing on German artillery guns captured from the First World War.
During the war, some of the museum's old artillery guns were even returned to military service. This happened after the Dunkirk evacuation in 1940, when the British Army needed more equipment. The museum's trench clubs were used by the Home Guard. Other items like sights and optical instruments were given back to the government. However, the museum refused to give up some important historical items. These included a naval gun from HMS Lance, which fired Britain's first shot of the First World War.
The museum closed to the public in September 1940 when the Blitz began. On January 31, 1941, a German bomb hit the museum's naval gallery. Some ship models were damaged, and a Short Type 184 seaplane, which had flown at the Battle of Jutland, was destroyed. While closed, the museum building was used for war efforts. It became a garage for government vehicles, a training school for firefighters, and a place for Air Raid Precautions lectures.
In October 1945, the museum held a temporary exhibition. It showed new technologies developed during the war, like the underwater fuel pipeline PLUTO and flame weapons. Because of bomb damage, the museum reopened its galleries slowly. A part opened in November 1946, more in 1948, and another wing in 1949.
In 1953, with British forces fighting in Korea and Malaya, the museum started collecting items from all modern conflicts involving British or Commonwealth forces. Despite this, the early post-war period was a difficult time for the museum. Noble Frankland, the museum's director from 1960 to 1982, said the galleries in 1955 looked "dingy and neglected."
Growing and Changing: 1966–2012
In 1966, the museum's London building was expanded. This was the first major expansion since it moved to the site. It added space for collections and a new cinema. In 1967, the museum got two large 15-inch naval guns. These guns had been used in battle during the Second World War. They went on display outside the museum in May 1968. Getting these big guns led the museum to want a 6-inch triple turret from a British cruiser. This eventually led to saving the Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Belfast, which became a museum branch in 1978.
Later in 1968, on October 13, someone tried to set fire to the museum. He claimed he was protesting against showing militarism to children. The fire caused about £200,000 in damage, and some irreplaceable books and documents were lost.
In 1969, RAF Duxford, a Royal Air Force airfield, was no longer needed by the Ministry of Defence. The museum needed more space, so it asked to use part of the site for storage. The entire site was given to the museum in February 1976. Duxford, now called Imperial War Museum Duxford, became the museum's first branch.
Also in the 1970s, the government suggested the museum take over the historic Cabinet War Rooms in Whitehall. The museum was hesitant because of its new responsibilities with Duxford and HMS Belfast. But it agreed in 1982.
By 1983, the museum planned to redevelop its London site again. They hired engineers to plan a project to expand exhibition space, protect collections, and improve visitor facilities. The next year, in April 1984, the Cabinet War Rooms opened to the public as a museum branch.
The first part of the work on the London building started in 1986 and finished in 1989. During this time, the museum was closed. The hospital's old courtyard was turned into a large exhibits gallery. This new gallery had a strong floor to hold very heavy items. It also had a first-floor mezzanine and a second-story viewing balcony. Tanks, artillery, vehicles, weapons, and aircraft from the First World War to the Falklands War were placed in this space. This atrium, with its many military items, has been called "the biggest boys' bedroom in London." This first phase cost £16.7 million, and the museum was reopened by The Queen on June 29, 1989. In 1990, the museum won the National Heritage Museum of the Year award.
In September 1992, the museum was targeted by an attack. Two incendiary devices were found in a basement gallery. Staff put them out before the fire brigade arrived, causing only minor damage.
The second part of the London building's redevelopment finished in 1994. During the 1990s, the museum also looked to open a branch in northern England. Many towns offered sites. In January 1999, the government officially started a project to build a new branch, Imperial War Museum North, in Trafford, Greater Manchester.
In 2000, the final part of the London redevelopment was completed. This included the museum's Holocaust Exhibition, which was opened by the Queen on June 6, 2000. This was the first permanent exhibition in a UK museum dedicated to the Holocaust. It took five years to create and cost £5 million. Two years later, in July 2002, Imperial War Museum North opened.
In October 2011, the museum changed its name to Imperial War Museums, using the initials IWM as its new logo.
First World War Centenary: 2014
In August 2009, the museum announced the creation of the Imperial War Museum Foundation. This group was tasked with raising money to update the permanent galleries at Imperial War Museum London. In December 2010, plans were announced to redevelop the First World War gallery in time for the conflict's 100th anniversary in 2014. Prince William, Duke of Cambridge became the foundation's patron.
Prime Minister David Cameron announced an extra £5 million in government funding in October 2012. This money would help the museum's redevelopment as part of the national centenary events. The £40 million redevelopment, designed by Foster and Partners, created new gallery spaces for the First World War. It also added a new central hall and improved visitor facilities. To prepare for the building work, IWM London closed to the public on January 2, 2013. The museum partly reopened on July 29, 2013.
IWM London was officially reopened on July 17, 2014, by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge.
Museum Locations
From the 1970s, the Imperial War Museum began to open more locations. The first branch, Imperial War Museum Duxford, opened in June 1976. HMS Belfast became a museum branch in 1978. The Churchill War Rooms opened in 1984, and Imperial War Museum North in 2002.
Imperial War Museum London
Building Design and Features
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The museum has been in the former Bethlem Royal Hospital on Lambeth Road since 1936. The hospital building was designed by James Lewis and finished in October 1814. It was a long building with a central entrance.
The building was changed a lot in 1835 by architect Sydney Smirke. He added sections at both ends and wings on either side of the middle. He also added a small lodge at the gate, which is still there. Later, between 1844 and 1846, the central dome was replaced with a copper-covered dome to make the chapel bigger. The building also had a theatre at the back.
The building stayed mostly the same until the hospital moved out in 1930. After Lord Rothermere bought the land, the wings were torn down. This left the original central part, with the dome looking very tall. When the museum moved in 1936, the ground floor had the main art gallery. The east wing held the Naval gallery, and the west wing held the Army gallery. The Air Force gallery was in the old theatre. The first floor had more art galleries, including rooms for famous artists, and exhibits about women's war work, transport, and signals. It also held the museum's photo collection. The second floor had the library, map collection, and stored pictures. This way of organizing exhibits by military branch or activity continued until the galleries were redesigned in the 1960s. In September 1972, the building was given Grade II listed building status, meaning it's historically important.
The original hospital building now mostly holds offices. The 1966 extension has the library, art storage, and document archives. The changes in the 1980s created exhibition space over five floors. The first stage added 8,000 square meters of gallery space. The final stage, partly funded by a £12.6 million grant, added 5,860 square meters of gallery space and learning facilities over six floors.
Before the 2013–14 changes, the basement had permanent galleries about the First and Second World Wars and conflicts after 1945. The ground floor had the main hall, cinema, temporary exhibition areas, and visitor facilities. The first floor included education facilities and a gallery called Secret War, which explored special forces, espionage, and covert operations. The second floor had two art galleries and the permanent Crimes against Humanity exhibition. The third floor housed the permanent Holocaust Exhibition. The fourth floor held the Lord Ashcroft Gallery, which opened in November 2010. This gallery shows the museum's Victoria Cross (VC) and George Cross collection, along with Michael Ashcroft's private VC collection, totaling 241 medals.
In August 2019, the museum announced plans for new galleries about the Holocaust. These galleries opened in October 2021, replacing the older exhibition.
All Saints Annexe
In 1989, the museum got the All Saints Annexe. This was an old hospital building near West Square. The building, from 1867, was first an orphanage. It now holds the museum's photo, film, and sound archives, as well as offices.
Imperial War Museum Duxford
Imperial War Museum Duxford, near the village of Duxford in Cambridgeshire, is Britain's largest aviation museum. Duxford holds the museum's biggest exhibits. These include almost 200 aircraft, military vehicles, artillery, and small naval vessels in seven main exhibition buildings. The site also stores the museum's collections of film, photos, documents, books, and other items. Several British Army regimental museums are also located here, such as those of the Parachute Regiment.
The site is based on the historic Duxford Aerodrome, which was used by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the First World War. During the Second World War, Duxford was very important during the Battle of Britain. Later, American fighter units used it to support bombing raids on Germany. Duxford remained an active RAF airfield until 1961. Many of Duxford's original buildings, like the hangars used during the Battle of Britain, are still in use. Many of these buildings are historically important. The site also has new exhibition buildings, like the American Air Museum, designed by Sir Norman Foster. Duxford is still an active airfield and hosts regular air shows.
HMS Belfast (1938)
HMS Belfast, a Town class cruiser, was launched in 1938. She served throughout the Second World War. She fought in the December 1943 Battle of North Cape and fired some of the first shots of Operation Overlord, the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. She also saw combat in the Korean War.
After she was taken out of service in 1963, it was expected she would be scrapped. But in 1967, efforts began to save Belfast as a museum ship. A committee decided in June 1968 that saving her was possible. In 1971, the government decided not to save her. This led to a private group, the HMS Belfast Trust, forming to campaign for her to be saved. The Trust succeeded, and the government gave the ship to the Trust in July 1971.
She was brought to London and docked on the River Thames near Tower Bridge. Belfast opened to the public in October 1971. She became a branch of the Imperial War Museum on March 1, 1978. She was seen as "a unique demonstration of an important phase of our history and technology." HMS Belfast was in service for 24 years.
In 2017, the exhibit's name changed to "HMS Belfast 1938." This was because one of the Royal Navy's new ships was also named HMS Belfast.
Churchill War Rooms
The Cabinet War Rooms are an underground complex. They served as a British government command center during the Second World War. Located under the Treasury building in Whitehall, London, they were used from 1939 until August 1945.
Their historical importance was recognized early on. The public could visit by appointment. However, it was hard to let many people into a site under an active government office. Only about 4,500 of 30,000 to 40,000 yearly applicants could visit. The museum agreed to manage the site in 1982. This was strongly supported by Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, who admired Winston Churchill. Thatcher opened the War Rooms in April 1984.
In 2003, more rooms were added to the museum. These rooms were used by Churchill, his wife, and close friends. Restoring these rooms cost £7.5 million. In 2005, the War Rooms were renamed the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms. A large part of the site was redeveloped into a museum about Churchill's life. This cost another £6 million. A main feature is a 15-meter interactive table where visitors can explore digital materials about Churchill. The museum was renamed the Churchill War Rooms in 2010.
Imperial War Museum North
The Imperial War Museum North opened in Trafford, Greater Manchester, in 2002. It was the first museum branch outside southeast England. It was also the first to be built specifically as a museum. Architect Daniel Libeskind designed the building. It was his first building in Britain.
Libeskind's design, overlooking the Manchester Ship Canal, was based on the idea of a globe shattered by conflict and then put back together. These "shards," representing earth, air, and water, give the building its unique shape. The museum cost £28.5 million to build. It was funded by local, national, and European groups, private donations, and a local company.
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The museum's main gallery on the first floor holds the permanent exhibitions. These include a timeline display around the gallery's 200-meter edge. There are also six themed displays in "silos" within the space. The gallery walls are used as screens for an hourly audiovisual show called the Big Picture. The main gallery is large and dramatic. It includes objects like a Russian T-34 tank, a United States Marine Corps AV-8A Harrier jet, and a British 13-pounder field gun. This gun fired the British Army's first shot of the First World War. The museum also hosts temporary exhibitions in a separate gallery.
Museum Collections
The Imperial War Museum's collections began with items gathered by the National War Museum Committee. The museum's current departments were created in the 1960s. In the 1970s, oral history became more important. In 1972, the museum created the Department of Sound Records (now the Sound Archive). This department recorded interviews with people who had lived through the First World War. The museum has an online database of its collections.
Documents
The museum's documents archive collects and keeps the personal papers of people who have experienced modern warfare. The archive holds papers from high-ranking British and Commonwealth army, navy, and air officers. It also has letters, diaries, and memories from lower-ranked service members and civilians. The collection includes papers from famous leaders like Field Marshals Bernard Montgomery and Sir John French.
The archive also has many foreign documents. These include captured German Second World War documents. The collection also has files on people who won the Victoria and George Cross medals. In 2012, the museum reported that its documents collection had 24,800 collections of papers.
Art
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The museum's art collection includes paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, and works in film, photography, and sound. The collection started during the First World War. The museum bought works it had asked artists to create, as well as works commissioned by the government. By 1920, the art collection had over 3,000 works. These included pieces by famous artists like John Singer Sargent, Wyndham Lewis, John Nash, and Christopher Nevinson.
Important First World War works include Sargent's Gassed. The collection grew again after the Second World War, with thousands of works sponsored by the government.
Since 1972, the museum has asked artists to create works about modern conflicts. Artists have covered conflicts in Northern Ireland, the Falklands, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Iraq, and Afghanistan. The collection also has over twenty thousand items of publicity material. These include posters, postcards, and announcements from both world wars. It also has more recent items like posters from anti-war groups. In 2012, the museum reported its art collection had 84,980 items.
Film
The museum's Film and Video Archive is one of the oldest film archives in the world. It keeps many important historical films and videos. This includes the official British film record of the First World War. A famous film from this time is The Battle of the Somme, a groundbreaking 1916 documentary. This film was added to the UNESCO Memory of the World register in 2005.
The archive also holds films from the Second World War. These include unedited footage shot by British military cameramen. They show battles like the D-Day landings in June 1944 and the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945.
The archive also has government information films and propaganda films. These include Target for Tonight (1941) and Desert Victory (1943). After the Second World War, the archive collected material from the Korean War, the Cold War, and films from NATO and the United Nations. The archive also collects amateur films taken by service personnel and civilians. Films from the collection were used in TV documentaries like The Great War and The World at War. In 2012, the museum reported its film archive had over 23,000 hours of film, video, and digital footage.
Photographs
The museum's Photograph Archive keeps photos by official, amateur, and professional photographers. The collection includes the official British photographic record of the two world wars. The First World War collection has work by photographers like Ernest Brooks. The archive also holds 150,000 British aerial photographs from the First World War, which is the largest collection of its kind.
The Second World War collection includes work by photographers like Bill Brandt and Cecil Beaton. Like the Film Archive, the Photograph Archive continues to receive material from the Ministry of Defence. In 2012, the museum reported its photo collection had about 11 million images in 17,263 collections.
Exhibits
The museum's exhibits collection has a wide range of objects. These are organized into many smaller collections. They include uniforms, badges, and flags. One flag is a Canadian Red Ensign carried at Vimy Ridge in 1917. Another is a Union flag from the 1942 British surrender of Singapore. There is also a piece of the World Trade Center from the September 11 attacks.
The collection also has personal souvenirs, medals (including Victoria and George Crosses), military equipment, firearms, and other weapons. It also has vehicles, aircraft, and ships. The museum holds the national collection of modern firearms. This includes a rifle used by T. E. Lawrence and a pistol owned by Winston Churchill.
The weapons collection includes artillery guns that were used in famous battles. The museum's vehicles collection includes Ole Bill, a bus used by British forces in the First World War. It also has vehicles used by Field Marshal Montgomery in the Second World War. The museum's aircraft collection includes rare planes, like the only complete Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8. It also has planes famous for their actions, like a Supermarine Spitfire flown during the Battle of Britain. The museum's naval collection includes HM Coastal Motor Boat 4 and a midget submarine HMS XE8. In 2012, the museum reported its exhibits collection had 155,000 objects and 357 vehicles and aircraft.
Library
The museum's library is a national collection about modern conflict. It has books on all parts of warfare. This includes histories of military units, technical manuals, and books about the social, cultural, and political effects of war. The library also has printed items like leaflets, ration books, newspapers, and trench maps. In 2012, the museum reported its library collection had over 80,000 important historical items and 254,000 reference items.
Sound
The museum's Sound Archive holds 33,000 sound recordings. This includes a large collection of oral history recordings. These are interviews with people who witnessed conflicts since 1914. The sound collection started in 1972 and opened to the public in July 1977.
The collection also has recordings made by the BBC during the Second World War. It includes sound effects, broadcasts, speeches, and poetry. As part of the First World War centenary, the museum is making Voices of the First World War, a podcast series using its oral history recordings. In 2012, the museum reported its sound collection had 37,000 hours of recordings.
Online Databases
The IWM has an online database that lists its collections. Some items have images that can be shared and reused under a Creative Commons Licence.
The War Memorials Register is a database of known war memorials in the United Kingdom. It records information like the material used, the condition, address, and location on a map for each memorial. While many memorials remember those who died in the First World War, the project covers all conflicts. As of 2022, there are over 90,000 memorials on the register.
In 2014, IWM and a family history website called Findmypast launched "Lives of the First World War." During the centenary period, people could sign up for an account. Those who paid could add records from Findmypast's collections.
The goal was to encourage people to help build up details in the database. This would create a "permanent digital memorial" for future generations. The IWM said that the data from the platform would become part of its archive in 2019 and would be free to access online for research.
Size of the Collection
The museum holds about half a petabyte of digital data (as of 2017). This data is stored in Duxford on two large tape libraries.
Selected Collection Highlights
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Gassed by John Singer Sargent.
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Wire by Paul Nash.
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Paths Of Glory by C.R.W. Nevinson.
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How the Museum is Run
The Imperial War Museum is a public body that gets money from the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport. A Board of Trustees is in charge of running the museum. This board was created by a law in 1920. The board has a president (currently Prince Edward, Duke of Kent) who is chosen by the King or Queen. It also has fourteen members chosen by the Prime Minister and other government ministers. Seven more members are Commonwealth High Commissioners from their own governments. As of January 2012, the Chairman of the Trustees is Sir Francis Richards.
The museum's director-general reports to the trustees. Since 1917, the museum has had six directors. The first was Sir Martin Conway, a famous art historian and explorer. He was knighted in 1895. Conway was director until he died in 1937. He was followed by Leslie Bradley, who had served in the First World War. Bradley retired in 1960 and was replaced by Dr Noble Frankland. Frankland had been a navigator in RAF Bomber Command. He retired in 1982 and was followed by Dr Alan Borg. In 1995, Borg moved to another museum. He was replaced by Sir Robert Crawford. When Crawford retired in 2008, Diane Lees became director. She was the first woman to lead a British national museum.
Museum Symbols
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See also
In Spanish: Museo Imperial de la Guerra para niños
