Imperial War Museum


This article is about the Imperial War Museum in London. For the museum in the Trafford Park, Greater Manchester, see Imperial War Museum North.
Imperial War Museum
Established 1917
Location Lambeth Road, London SE1, England
Visitor figures Imperial War Museum London 865,601
All Museum branches 2,006,765[1].
Director Diane Lees
Nearest tube station(s) Lambeth North, Waterloo, Southwark, Elephant & Castle
Website www.iwm.org.uk
Imperial War Museum network

Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms · HMS Belfast · Imperial War Museum Duxford · Imperial War Museum North

The Imperial War Museum is a museum in Southwark, South London, England which documents British and Commonwealth history since 1914, with an emphasis on the causes, course and consequences of conflict. The museum was founded in 1917 and intended as a record of the national and international war effort of the First World War which was still being fought at the time. The Museum's collections include archives of personal and official documents, photographs, film and video material, and oral history recordings; an extensive library, a large art collection, and examples of weaponry, equipment, military vehicles and aircraft, and other artefacts. The museum serves as headquarters of a 5-branch system of related museums, a number of which are based on historic sites.

The Imperial War Museum is partly funded by government grants as well as individual contributions and revenue generation through retailing, licensing income and other commercial activity. The Museum is an exempt charity under the Charities Act 1993 and a non-departmental public body under the Department for Culture, Media and Sport. The current Chairman of the Trustees is Air Chief Marshal Sir Peter Squire. Since October 2008, the museum's Director General has been Diane Lees. The previous Director General, from 1995 to 2008, was Sir Robert Crawford, CBE.

Contents

History

Establishment

Sir Alfred Mond, photographed between 1910 and 1920.

On 27 February 1917 Sir Alfred Mond, an MP and First Commissioner of Works, wrote to the Prime Minister David Lloyd George to propose the establishment of a National War Museum. This proposal was accepted by the War Cabinet on 5 March 1917 and the decision announced in The Times on 26 March. A committee was established, chaired by Mond, to oversee the collection of material to be exhibited in the new museum.[2][3]

In April 1917 the Canadian Corps fought the Battle of Vimy Ridge. An example of the British Dominions' war service, the battle came shortly after the creation of the National War Museum committee.

This National War Museum Committee set about collecting material to illustrate Britain's war effort by dividing into subcommittees examining such subjects as the Army, Navy, the production of munitions and women's war work.[4] There was an early appreciation of the need for exhibits to reflect personal experience in order to prevent the collections becoming dead relics. Sir Martin Conway, the Museum's first Director General, said that exhibits must "be vitalised by contributions expressive of the action, the experiences, the valour and the endurance of individuals".[5] The museum's first curator and secretary was Charles ffoulkes, who had previously been curator of the Tower of London armouries.[6] In July 1917 Mond made a visit to the Western Front in order to study how best to organise the museum's growing collection. While in France he met French government ministers, and Field Marshal Haig, who reportedly took great interest in his work.[7] In December 1917 the name of the Museum was changed to the Imperial War Museum to reflect the contribution of the Empire to the war effort.

Opening

The museum was opened by the King at the Crystal Palace on 9 June 1920. During the opening ceremony, Sir Alfred Mond addressed the King on the behalf of committee, saying that 'it was hoped to make the museum 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' and that the museum 'was not a monument of military glory, but a record of toil and sacrifice' .[8] Shortly afterwards the Imperial War Museum Act 1920 was passed and established a Board of Trustees to oversee the governance of the museum. To reflect the museum's Imperial remit the board included appointees of the governments of India, South Africa, Canada, Australia and New Zealand.[9] While the Act was being debated, some Parliamentarians felt that that museum would perpetuate an undesirable war spirit and Commander Joseph Kenworthy MP said that he would 'refuse to vote a penny of public money to commemorate such suicidal madness of civilisation as that which was shown in the late War' .[10] By November 1921 the museum had received 2,290,719 visitors.[11]

Relocation

In 1924 the museum moved to the Imperial Institute (now Imperial College London) in South Kensington. While this location was more central and in a prestigious area for museums, the accommodation itself proved cramped and inadequate[12] and in 1936 a new permanent location was found south of the River Thames in Southwark.

Bethlem Royal Hospital in 1828, before the addition of the dome.
A view of Bethlem Hospital, published in 1896.

The building, designed by James Lewis[13] was the former Bethlem Royal Hospital which had been vacated following the hospital's relocation to Beckenham in Kent. The site was owned by Lord Rothermere, who had originally intended to demolish the building entirely in order to provide a public park in what was a severely overcrowded area of London. Eventually the central portion of the hospital building was retained while its two extensive wings were removed and the resulting space named Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, after Lord Rothermere's mother. Sir Martin Conway described the building as '...a fine building, really quite noble building, with a great portico, a distinguishing dome, and two great wings added to it for the accommodation of lunatics no longer required. This particular building can be made to contain our collection admirably, and we shall preserve from destruction quite a fine building which otherwise will disappear' .[14] The 'distinguishing dome' was added by Sydney Smirke in 1846 and housed the hospital's chapel,[15] and is now the museum's reading room. The museum was reopened by the Duke of York (later King George VI) in its new accommodation on 7 July 1936.

With the outbreak of the Second World War in 1939, the museum began to collect material documenting the conflict.[16] The museum initially remained open but was closed for the duration in September 1940. In October 1945 the museum mounted a temporary exhibition, its first since the end of the war, which showcased technologies developed by the Petroleum Warfare Department. These included the submarine fuel pipeline PLUTO, the fog dispersal method FIDO, and flame weapons such as the Churchill Crocodile and Wasp Universal Carrier.[17] However, due to bomb damage to both the building and exhibits, the museum was obliged to reopen its galleries piecemeal. The museum reopened a portion of its galleries in November 1946.[18][19] A third of the galleries were opened in 1948 and a further wing opened in 1949.[20][21]

In 1953, with Commonwealth forces engaged in Korea and Malaya the museum began its current policy of collecting material from all modern conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces were involved.[22] However, despite this expansion of remit, the early postwar period was a period of decline for the museum. Dr Noble Frankland, the museum's Director from 1960 to 1982, described the museum's galleries in 1955 as appearing 'dingy and neglected' and in a 'dismal state of decay' the museum's 'numerous stunning exhibits' notwithstanding.[23]

Redevelopment

The museum building showing the dome, guns, and the absence of the wings.

In 1966 the Museum's Southwark building was extended to provide collections storage and other facilities, the first major expansion since the Museum had moved to the site. The development also included a purpose-built cinema.[24] Two years later in 1968 a pair of 15-inch naval guns were installed in front of the Museum. Both had previously been mounted in Royal Navy warships (one from HMS Ramillies and the other mounted on HMS Resolution and later HMS Roberts) and had been fired in action during the Second World War.[25]

Later that year on 13 October the Museum was attacked by an arsonist, Timothy John Daly, who claimed he was acting in protest against the exhibition of militarism to children. He caused damage valued at approximately £200,000, not counting the loss of irreplaceable books and documents. On his conviction in 1969 he was sentenced to four years in prison.[26][27] In September 1992 the museum was the target of a Provisional Irish Republican Army attack against London tourist attractions. Two incendiary devices were found and caused minor damage.[28][29]

A further major redevelopment programme for the Southwark site, costing £16.7 million, was started in 1986 and opened by the Queen on 29 June 1989.[30] A second stage completed in 1994. Finally, a third stage of redevelopment was completed in 2000, giving the Southwark site its current configuration. This latter redevelopment was partly funded by a £12.6 million grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund[31] and included the installation of the museum's Holocaust Exhibition which was opened by the Queen in June 2000. This was the first permanent exhibition dedicated to the Holocaust in a UK museum, and had taken 5 years at a cost of £5 million.[32]

Tibetan Peace Garden with the museum behind

This period also saw the use of the surrounding park for purposes of commemoration or the promotion of peace. In 1999 a Soviet War Memorial was unveiled by the then Secretary of State for Defence George Robertson, and the Russian ambassador Yuri Fokine.[33] The date of the unveiling (9 May) was significant as that day is marked as Victory Day in Russia. Also in May 1999 the Dalai Lama opened a Tibetan Peace Garden, commissioned by the Tibet Foundation, in the park. The garden features a bronze cast of the Kalachakra Mandala, contemporary western sculpture, and a pillar inscribed with a message from the Dalai Lama in English, Tibetan, Hindi and Chinese.[34]

Expansion

From the 1970s onwards the museum began to expand onto other sites.

Imperial War Museum Duxford

American Air Museum at Duxford
A Supermarine Spitfire Mk IX of the Old Flying Machine Company at Duxford, July 2005.

The first of these sites was a former RAF and United States Army Air Force airfield at Duxford in Cambridgeshire, which had been a fighter station during the Second World War. A historic airfield, Duxford had been used for military flying since 1916, when the site was used by the Royal Flying Corps, and played a prominent role in the Battle of Britain. The last operational flight at Duxford was made in July 1961. The Ministry of Defence declared it surplus to requirement in 1968 and sought to dispose of it. The museum applied for and received permission to use one of the site's hangars as temporary storage for part of its aircraft collection. By cooperation with private groups such as the Duxford Aviation Society (many of whose members were unpaid volunteers), and Cambridgeshire County Council, the museum was able to mount its first air display in 1973. Further displays followed and in 1976 a Duxford air show attracted an audience of 45,000 people. As a result, the museum sought to acquire the entire site for its use, and permission was granted in February 1976.[35][36]

Imperial War Museum Duxford, as the site is now known, houses the museum’s aircraft and military and naval vehicle collection. The aircraft collection includes types such as a British Aircraft Corporation TSR-2 and the only SR-71 Blackbird on display outside the United States of America. The military vehicle collection includes command caravans used by Field Marshal Montgomery.[37] The naval collection includes an example of an X-craft midget submarine[38] and the Vosper motor torpedo boat MTB-71.[39][40] The site provides accommodation for a number of regimental museums (including those of the Parachute Regiment, named Airborne Assault,[41] and the Royal Anglian Regiment), and also provides additional collections storage. The site remains an active airfield and hosts regular air displays.

HMS Belfast

HMS Belfast at her berth on the River Thames.
HMS Belfast, off the west coast of Korea, bombarding enemy targets in March 1951.

In 1967, the museum sought to preserve a 6-inch naval gun turret to complement its pair of 15-inch guns. After a visit on 14 April 1967 to HMS Gambia, then awaiting disposal in Portsmouth, the possibility was raised of preserving an entire ship. Gambia had already deteriorated beyond preservation, and so attention turned to the possibility of saving HMS Belfast, a Royal Navy Town-class light cruiser. Belfast was a notable vessel. Launched in March 1938 she served throughout the Second World War. In December 1943 she participated in the Royal Navy's last capital ship gun action at the Battle of North Cape, assisting in the sinking of the German battlecruiser Scharnhorst. In June 1944 she supported the Normandy landings, firing some of the first shots of Operation Overlord. She later served in the Far East and during the Korean War. Built in the 1930s under the Washington Naval Treaty and continually refitted to keep pace with the rapid technological advances of her period, Belfast was, in Frankland’s view, capable of representing 'a whole generation of [historical evidence]'.[42] A joint committee was established by the Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum and the Ministry of Defence, which reported in June 1968 that preservation was practical. However, in early 1971 the government decided against preservation.[43]

Despite this, a private charitable trust was formed to continue preservation efforts. The HMS Belfast Trust was established with Rear-Admiral Sir Morgan Morgan-Giles, a former captain of Belfast and Member of Parliament, as chairman and Frankland as his deputy. Following their efforts the government agreed to release the ship. Having been brought through Tower Bridge and moored in the Pool of London she was opened to the public on Trafalgar Day, 21 October 1971. By the late 1970s, however, the trust's financial position was marginal and permission was sought to merge the trust with the museum. On 19 January 1978 the then Secretary of State for Education and Science, Miss Shirley Williams, accepted the proposal stating that 'HMS Belfast is a unique demonstration of an important phase of our history and technology' .[44] The ship was transferred to the museum on 1 March 1978.[45]

Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms

Cabinet War Rooms
Sir Winston Churchill

In 1984 the Cabinet War Rooms were opened to the public as a branch of the museum. The War Rooms are an underground complex that had been used as a command centre by the British government throughout the Second World War. Located beneath the Treasury building in the Whitehall area of Westminster, the facilities were constructed before the war in anticipation of extremely destructive aerial bombing of London. They became operational in 1939 and were in constant operation for the duration of the war. The complex was abandoned in August 1945 after the surrender of Japan. The historical value of the Rooms was recognised early on, and the public were able to visit the War Rooms by appointment. However, the practicalities of allowing public access to a site beneath a working government office meant that only 4,500 of 30-40,000 applicants to visit the War Rooms could be admitted.[46]

During the 1970s the Cabinet Office and the Department for the Environment, which was responsible for the Rooms after 1975, raised the possibility of the museum taking over the War Rooms. The museum was reluctant due to its new commitments related to Duxford and HMS Belfast, but agreed in 1982.[46] The scheme was keenly supported by the then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, an admirer of Churchill, and she opened the War Rooms in April 1984. Following a major expansion in 2003, the War Rooms were reopened in 2005 as the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, with the additional space developed as a biographical museum exploring the life of British statesman Winston Churchill.

Imperial War Museum North

Imperial War Museum North

Finally, in 2002 Imperial War Museum North was opened in Trafford, Greater Manchester. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind, the building was the first of the museum’s branches to be purpose-built as a museum, and the first to be located outside of south east England.

Collections

The collections include this photograph[47] of Montgomery in his command tank, the tank itself, as well as Montgomery's papers and command caravan from the European campaign.[48]

The Imperial War Museum maintains an online database of its collections named Collections Online.[49]

Department of Documents

The Department of Documents holds private papers such as letters and diaries from both individual soldiers and civilians to high-ranking officers such as Field Marshals Bernard Montgomery,[50] Sir John French[51] and Henry Maitland Wilson. Also of note are manuscripts by war poets Isaac Rosenberg and Siegfried Sassoon. The Department holds the official British records of the Nuremberg and Tokyo War Crimes Tribunals and a variety of other official records.

Department of Art

The Art department holds much of the work of official war artists from both world wars, and contemporary art from after 1945. As early as 1920 the art collection held over 3,000 works[52] and included pieces by John Singer Sargent, Wyndham Lewis, John Nash and Christopher Nevinson. The collection expanded again after the Second World War, holding around 70% of the 6,000 works produced by the Ministry of Information's War Artists Advisory Committee.[53] The collection also includes a large number of propaganda posters from many countries and periods.[a] In 1972 the museum's Artistic Records Committee was established to commission artists to cover contemporary conflicts.[54][55]

Film and Video Archive

A still from The Battle of the Somme

The Film and Video Archive is one of the oldest film archives in Britain[56] and preserves a range of historically significant film and video material. The collection includes the official British film record of the First World War and the 1916 feature film The Battle of the Somme, which is inscribed on UNESCO's Memory of the World register. The collection also includes the official British film record of the Second World War, amateur film and film of other conflicts since 1945.[57] Material from the collection was used to make a number of well-known TV documentary series including The Great War and The World at War.

Photograph Archive

The Photograph Archive preserves the official British photographic record of both World Wars and conflicts since 1945. It currently holds more than 6,000,000 images and the Second World War collection includes the work of photographers such as Bill Brandt, Cecil Beaton[58] and Bert Hardy.

Both the Film and Photograph Archives are official repositories for material produced by the Ministry of Defence and so include material from contemporary operations in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Department of Exhibits and Firearms

The Department of Exhibits and Firearms is responsible for the care of the Museum's collection of three-dimensional objects. The cores of the collection are the firearms collection, collections of artillery, ordnance and vehicles, and medals and decorations such as the Victoria Cross and George Cross. In addition to the Museum's own collection of these medals, in 2008 it was announced that Lord Ashcroft's private collection of 152 VCs will go on public display at the Museum.[59] Many of the department's larger exhibits are on display and can be seen in the photographs below. Other exhibits include artillery pieces whose crew won the Victoria Cross,[60] a Lee Enfield rifle used by T. E. Lawrence,[61] and a Colt 1911 automatic pistol owned by Winston Churchill.

Department of Printed Books

The Department of Printed Books is responsible for the Museum’s collection of printed materials including books, maps and ephemera. When the Museum was established the distinguished historian Sir Charles Oman was given responsibility for the library.[62] In 1922 the library collection contained a reported 20,000 items[63] and 60,000 items in 1953.[64] Today the Museum gives the size of its library collection as 270,000 items.[65]

Sound Archive

The Sound Archive, originally named the Department of Sound Records, administers a collection of over 56,000 hours of historical recordings and was opened to the public in July 1977.[66] The core of this collection are oral history interviews with people who were affected by war in the 20th century. This collection has been used for a series of radio programmes and books, called Forgotten Voices, about war in the 20th century. The collection also includes historic broadcasts, and actuality sound effects recorded during conflicts.

Directors

Directors of the Imperial War Museum
Sir Martin Conway 1917–1937
Leslie Bradley 1937–1960
Dr Noble Frankland 1960–1982
Dr Alan Borg 1982–1995
Sir Robert Crawford 1995–2008
Diane Lees 2008-present


Selected exhibits at Imperial War Museum London

Large Exhibits Gallery

The Large Exhibits Gallery was formerly the courtyard of the Bethlem Royal Hospital.

P-51D Mustang

M4A4 Sherman V tank

Heinkel He 162A-1

Jagdpanther tank destroyer, frontal view

Focke-Wulf Fw 190

V-2 rocket

Supermarine Spitfire Mark IA

"Ole Bill", a LGOC B-type bus

An M3 Grant tank, used by Bernard Montgomery as a command vehicle

QF 25-pounder Mk II

The gun at which Jack Cornwell won his Victoria Cross

The Néry Gun, a 13-pounder used in a VC-winning action in September 1914

A Sopwith Camel biplane fighter

An Ordnance QF 18-pounder field gun

An 88mm Flak 18 anti-aircraft gun

A British 9.2-inch heavy howitzer

Other exhibits

An exhibit on espionage

A Korean war exhibit

A replica of the Colditz "Cock" Glider

External exhibits

A fragment of the Berlin Wall (west face)

Two 15-inch (381 mm) guns from HMS Ramillies (left) and HMS Resolution and HMS Roberts (right)

Visiting the museum

Admission is free to both Imperial War Museum London and Imperial War Museum North, while an admission fee is payable at HMS Belfast, Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, and Imperial War Museum Duxford. Admission for children under 16 is free at all sites. Full details can be found at the external links below.

Notes

a. ^  The Visual Arts Data Service (VADS), hosted by the University for the Creative Arts, provides online access to a large number of images from the Imperial War Museum's collections. The images are copyright cleared and free for use in UK education and personal research. This includes over 7000 images from the museum's poster collection, digitised and catalogued as part of a project in partnership with Manchester Metropolitan University, and funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. See: Posters of Conflict, Concise Art Collectionand Spanish Civil War Poster Collection


References

  1. ^ Department for Culture, Media and Sport: Monthly museum and gallery visitor figuresFigures for 2008/09 financial year. Accessed 21 May 2009.
  2. ^ Kavanagh, Gaynor 'Museum as Memorial: The Origins of the Imperial War Museum', Journal of Contemporary History Vol. 23 No. 1 (January 1988) pp.81
  3. ^ 'National War Museum. The Collection Of Relics And Souvenirs', The Times, March 26, 1917 Issue 41436; pg. 5; col C
  4. ^ Kavanagh, pp.82
  5. ^ Kavanagh, pp.83
  6. ^ James Mann, ‘ffoulkes, Charles John (1868–1947)’, rev. William Reid, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004; online edn, Oct 2006 accessed 22 June 2009
  7. ^ 'The War Museum. Sir Alfred Mond's visit to the front', The Times, July 24, 1917 Issue 41538; pg. 3; col C
  8. ^ 'The Greatest War Memorial. Opening By The King. Human Interest At The Crystal Palace'. The Times, 10 June 1920, Issue 42433, page 11 column D
  9. ^ Office of Public Sector Information: UK Statute Law Database Imperial War Museum Act 1920. Accessed 15 March 2009.
  10. ^ Hansard, 12 April 1920 Imperial War Museum Bill HC Deb 12 April 1920 vol 127 cc1465-9 Hansard 1803-2005 Accessed 22 March 2009.
  11. ^ 'Public And Crystal Palace. Full Benefit Later', The Times, 15 November 1921, Issue 42878, page 5, column D
  12. ^ 'The Imperial War Museum: Lack of Accommodation',The Times 25 August 1933 Issue no. 46532, page 13 column E
  13. ^ Peter Leach, ‘Lewis, James (1750/51–1820)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004 Accessed 12 March 2009
  14. ^ Conway was addressing the House of Lords and his words recorded in Hansard. Quoted in Cooke & Jenkins, 'Discourses of Regeneration in Early Twentieth-Century Britain: From Bedlam to the Imperial War Museum', Area, Vol. 33, No. 4 (Dec., 2001), Blackwell Publishing for The Royal Geographical Society, pp. 387
  15. ^ Imperial War Museum London (guidebook), (London: Imperial War Museum, 2009) pp. 5
  16. ^ ’Imperial War Museum: Collection of war relics’, The Times 14 May 1940 Issue 48615 Page 4 Column F
  17. ^ 'Petroleum Warfare Exhibition: Secrets Of Crocodile And Wasp', The Times, 5 October 1945, Issue 50265, Page 7 Column D
  18. ^ Imperial War Museum London (guidebook), (London: Imperial War Museum, 2009) pp. 2
  19. ^ 'Imperial War Museum: Memorial and Record Of Deeds In Two World Wars', The Times 31 January 1953 issue 52534, page 7 column E
  20. ^ 'New Exhibits In War Museum Galleries Reopened',The Times, 31 August 1948; Issue 51164; pg. 6; col E
  21. ^ ‘Relics Of Two World Wars Museum Wing Reopened’, The Times, 23 February 1949, Issue 51313, Col E
  22. ^ Imperial War Museum London (guidebook), (London: Imperial War Museum, 2009) pp. 2
  23. ^ Frankland, Noble (1998) History at War: The Campaigns of an Historian (London: Giles de la Mare) pp.160
  24. ^ 'Cinema For War Films Opens', The Times, 2 November 1966, Issue no. 56778, page 16, column B
  25. ^ 'Picture Gallery', The Times, 7 May 1968, Issue no. 57245, page 3 column G
  26. ^ Marshall, Rita 'War museum damaged by arson', The Times 14 October 1968, Issue no. 57381, page 1
  27. ^ 'Museum fire youth gets four years', The Times, 23 January 1969, Issue 57466, page 3 column G
  28. ^ Kirby, Terry (18 September 1992). "Firebombs found at three tourist venues in London". The Independent. http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/firebombs-found-at-three-tourist-venues-in-london-1552052.html. Retrieved on 6 April 2009. 
  29. ^ Hansard, 4 March 1996 Terrorist Incidents - HC Deb 04 March 1996 vol 273 cc51-62W Hansard 1803-2005. Accessed 6 April 2009.
  30. ^ Hansard, 17 July 1989 Imperial War Museum - HC Deb 17 July 1989 vol 157 cc13-4 Hansard 1803-2005. Accessed 16 March 2009.
  31. ^ Heritage Lottery Fund - Second World War 60 Years On: remembering, learning, commemorating Accessed 10 March 2009.
  32. ^ For details of the development process of the Holocaust Exhibition see Bardgett, Suzanne Exhibiting Hatred Accessed 10 March 2009. Originally published in History Today (June 2000).
  33. ^ Society for Cooperation in Russian and Soviet Studies Soviet War Memorial Accessed 11 March 2009.
  34. ^ Tibet Foundation Art and Culture: Tibetan Peace Garden. Accessed 11 March 2009.
  35. ^ Imperial War Museum Duxford History of Duxford Accessed 21 February 2009
  36. ^ Frankland, Noble (1998) History at War: The Campaigns of an Historian (London: Giles de la Mare) pp.205-208
  37. ^ Imperial War Museum Duxford: The Land Warfare Hall Monty Accessed 22 June 2009
  38. ^ Imperial War Museum Duxford: The Maritime Collection X-craft Exhibition Accessed 22 June 2009
  39. ^ British Military Powerboat Trust MTB-71: 60ft Vosper Motor Torpedo Boat Accessed 22 June 2009
  40. ^ For a list of aircraft, vehicles and boats at Duxford, see IWM Duxford: Aircraft and Vehicles. Accessed 26 June 2009
  41. ^ See Airborne Assault homepage. Accessed 26 June 2009.
  42. ^ Frankland, Noble (1998) History at War: The Campaigns of an Historian (London: Giles de la Mare) pp.204
  43. ^ Wingate, John (2004). In Trust for the Nation: HMS Belfast 1939-1972. London: Imperial War Museum. p. 101. ISBN 1-901623-72-6. 
  44. ^ Hansard, HC Deb 19 January 1978 vol 942 c301W Hansard 1803-2005Accessed 13 April 2009.
  45. ^ Wingate, John (2004). In Trust for the Nation: HMS Belfast 1939-1972. London: Imperial War Museum. p. Postscript. ISBN 1-901623-72-6. 
  46. ^ a b Holmes, Richard (2009) ‘’Churchill’s Bunker: The Secret Headquarters at the Heart of Britain’s Victory’’ (London: Profile Books Ltd) pp 193
  47. ^ See IWM Collections Online Photograph Search Reference No. E 18980
  48. ^ See [1] under 'Land Warfare Hall'.
  49. ^ For an overview of the Museum's collections, see Bardgett, Suzanne 'Imperial War Museum and the history of war' at 'Making History' maintained by the Institute of Historical Research accessed 17 December 2008
  50. ^ 'Montgomery documents',The Times 8 July 1982, Issue 61280, page 2 column A
  51. ^ 'Field marshal's indiscreet love letters fetch £4,800',The Times, 18 December 1975 Issue 59581, page 7 column C
  52. ^ Malvern, Sue 'War, Memory and Museums: Art and Artefact in the Imperial War Museum', History Workshop Journal No. 49 (Spring 2000) pp.177-203, page 188
  53. ^ Foss, Brian 'Message and Medium: Government Patronage, National Identity and National Culture in Britain 1939-1945', Oxford Art Journal Vol 14 No.2 (1991) pp 52-72, pp. 70
  54. ^ The Art Collection at the Imperial War Museum: Contemporary War Artists: Introduction Accessed 28 February 2009
  55. ^ A number of artists commissioned by the committee, and a number of others, are described at University of the west of England: School of Creative Arts: Vortex - The Home Page of Paul Gough Accessed 28 February 2009
  56. ^ For the early history of the Imperial War Museum film archive, see Smither and Walsh 'Unknown Pioneer: Edward Foxen Cooper and the Imperial War Museum Film Archive 1919-1934', Film History Vol 12 No. 2 pp 187-203
  57. ^ For a detailed summary of the Film and Video Archive's holdings, see Moving History: A guide to UK film and television archive in the public sector. Accessed 14 March 2009.
  58. ^ 'Beaton's record of war revived', The Times, 7 October 1981 Issue 61049, page 7 column C
  59. ^ Pierce, Andrew 'World's largest VC collection to go on show, The Daily Telegraph at telegraph.co.uk, 8 July 2008. Accessed 29 November 2008
  60. ^ See Jack_Cornwell and L Battery RHA
  61. ^ 'A Rifle with a Story', The Times, 18 March 1937 Issue no. 47636, page 18 column E
  62. ^ Paddy Griffith, (2004) ‘Oman, Sir Charles William Chadwick (1860–1946)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, online edn, Oct 2007 Oxford DNB Online Edition, accessed 3 Feb 2009
  63. ^ 'News in Brief: Sir Ian Hamilton’s Gift to War Museum', The Times, 25 February 1922 issue 42965, page 6 column F
  64. ^ 'Imperial War Museum: Memorial and Record Of Deeds In Two World Wars', The Times 31 January 1953 issue 52534, page 7 column E
  65. ^ Imperial War Museum Collections homepage, accessed 1 December 2008
  66. ^ Lance, D G 'Sound Archive of Recordings Opens to the Public', Social History Volume 2 No.6 (October 1977) pp 803-804

External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Imperial War Museum
v • d • e
Department for Culture, Media and Sport of the United Kingdom
Headquarters: 2–4 Cockspur Street
Ministers
Executive agencies
Executive non-departmental public bodies
Arts Council of England · Big Lottery Fund · British Film Institute · British Library · British Museum · Commission for Architecture and the Built Environment · English Sports Council · Football Licensing Authority · Geffrye Museum · English Heritage · Historic Royal Palaces · Horniman Museum · Horserace Betting Levy Board · Imperial War Museum · Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester · Museums, Libraries and Archives Council · National Gallery · National Heritage Memorial Fund · National Lottery Commission · National Maritime Museum · National Museums and Galleries on Merseyside · National Museum of Science and Industry · National Portrait Gallery · Natural History Museum · Olympic Delivery Authority · Olympic Lottery Distributor · Registrar of Public Lending Right · Royal Armouries Museum · Sir John Soane's Museum · Sport England · Tate · UK Film Council · UK Sport · Victoria and Albert Museum · VisitBritain · Wallace Collection
Advisory non-departmental public bodies
Advisory Committee on Historic Wreck Sites · Advisory Committee on National Historic Ships · Advisory Committee on the Government Art Collection · Advisory Council on Libraries · English Marketing Advisory Board · Legal Deposit Advisory Panel · Public Lending Right Advisory Committee · Reviewing Committee on the Export of Works of Art and Objects of Cultural Interest · Spoliation Advisory Panel · Theatres Trust · Treasure Valuation Committee
Tribunal non-departmental public bodies
Horserace Betting Levy Tribunal
Statutory corporations
Public broadcasting authorities


Coordinates: 51°29′45″N 0°06′30″W / 51.49583°N 0.10833°W / 51.49583; -0.10833

gay





stock | retire | vm
Why are we here?
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License
This page is cache of Wikipedia. History