The London Imperial War Museum
– Lest We Forget

The London Imperial War Museum has a story to tell, and it is an important one.

Founded in 1917 when the First World War was still being fought, it was decided that collecting and preserving items from the war would be of importance, and so the museum was founded.

It has grown to encompass all military operations in which Britain or the Commonwealth was involved from 1914 to the present.

The Large Exhibits Gallery is a permanent collection of weapons and vehicles of war.

There are artillery pieces from tanks and destroyers, entire fighter planes, and even the casing of a “Little Boy” atomic bomb.

The First World War Gallery is extensive, covering everything from a war fought on numerous fronts to the impact the war had on poetry, literature, and the lives of ordinary and not so ordinary people.

A special interactive exhibit brings you face to face with the ugly realities of trench warfare and the death and suffering that accompanied it.

The gallery of the Second World War details the Battle of Britain and the Blitz, and the impact they made on the home front.

A special exhibit called The Children’s War depicts the war through the eyes of children who lived through it; the air raids, rationing, and evacuations are described through first hand accounts, artefacts, and photographs.

The Secret War Gallery is a fascinating glimpse into the world of espionage and the secret organizations of MI5 and MI6.

Exhibits include an original German Enigma cipher machine, bottles of invisible ink, and secret radios used during the Cold War.

Perhaps the most important and moving gallery at the museum is the Holocaust Exhibition.

It is a permanent collection chronicling the Nazi’s systematic extermination of the Jews and other groups, and it pulls no punches in its chilling tale.

The London Imperial War Museum strives to make an impression on visitors, to honour the sacrifice of the nation, and to make sure we never forget just how terrible it is to be a world at war.