102-670: Captain John Niel Randle , VC (22 December 1917 – 6 May 1944) was a British Army officer and a recipient of the Victoria Cross (VC), the highest award for gallantry in the face of the enemy that can be awarded to British and Commonwealth forces. His was one of three Second World War VCs awarded for action in India, the other two being awarded to John Pennington Harman (also at the Battle of Kohima ) and Abdul Hafiz at
204-550: A 6-inch triple turret that would be representative of a number of classes of British cruisers . This would eventually lead to the preservation of the Royal Navy light cruiser HMS Belfast , which became a branch of the museum in 1978. Later in 1968 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
306-714: A Canadian Red Ensign carried at Vimy Ridge in 1917, a Union flag from the 1942 British surrender of Singapore , and another found among the wreckage of the World Trade Center following the September 11 attacks ), as well a piece of the towers; personal mementoes, souvenirs and miscellanea such as trench art ; orders, medals and decorations (including collections of Victoria and George Crosses ); military equipment; firearms and ammunition, ordnance, edged weapons, clubs (such as trench clubs ) and other weapons, and vehicles, aircraft and ships. The museum holds
408-494: 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 to contain 155,000 objects and a further 357 vehicles and aircraft. The museum's library is a national reference collection on modern conflict, and holds works on all aspects of warfare, including regimental or unit histories (such as 789 rare German unit histories from
510-534: A branch of the Imperial War Museum on 1 March 1978, being acknowledged by the then Secretary of State for Education and Science , Shirley Williams , as "a unique demonstration of an important phase of our history and technology". In service for 24 years HMS Belfast was in Frankland's opinion, capable of representing "a whole generation of [historical evidence]". In 2017, the name of the exhibit
612-558: A bus used by British forces in the First World War, and a number of vehicles used by Field Marshal Montgomery during the Second World War. The museum's aircraft collection includes aircraft that are notable for their rarity, such as the only complete and original Royal Aircraft Factory R.E.8 in existence and one of only two surviving TSR-2 strike aircraft, and aircraft associated with particular actions, such as
714-419: A captain had just two stars. The 1902 change gave captains three stars, which continues to be used. In addition to the shoulder badges, officers' ranks were also reflected in the amount and pattern of gold lace worn on the cuffs of the full-dress tunic. From 1902, a complex system of markings with bars and loops in thin drab braid above the cuff (known irreverently as the asparagus bed) was used at first but this
816-728: A cost of £5 million. Two years later, in July 2002, Imperial War Museum North was opened. Between 2004 and 2010 the museum was a partner in a national learning project entitled "Their Past Your Future" (TPYF), part of the Big Lottery Fund 's Veterans Reunited programme to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of the Second World War. A partnership between the IWM, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council , and Scottish, Northern Irish and Welsh museum authorities, phase one included
918-402: 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". The "distinguishing dome" was added by Sydney Smirke in 1846 and housed the hospital's chapel. The museum was reopened by
1020-530: A further 254,000 items of reference material. The museum's Sound Archive holds 33,000 sound recordings, including a large collection of oral history recordings of witnesses to conflicts since 1914. The museum's sound collection originated in 1972 with the creation of the Department of Sound Records and the instigation of an oral history recording programme. The sound collection opened to the public in July 1977. The collection also includes recordings made by
1122-458: A further wing opened in 1949. 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. Despite this expansion of remit, the early postwar period was a period of decline for the museum. Noble Frankland , the museum's director from 1960 to 1982, described
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#17327802101741224-410: A large art collection, and examples of military vehicles and aircraft, equipment, and other artefacts. The museum is funded by government grants, charitable donations, and revenue generation through commercial activity such as retailing, licensing, and publishing. General admission is free to IWM London (although specific exhibitions require the purchase of a ticket) and IWM North, but an admission fee
1326-487: A new rank system was introduced which contained the first complete rank insignia in British Army history. A captain's rank insignia was worn on the collar and displayed a crown and a pip (which is now the rank insignia for a lieutenant-colonel). The rank insignia were returned to the shoulder boards in 1880 for all officers in full dress , when the system of crowns and stars was reorganised. From this time, until 1902,
1428-515: A pair of 15-inch naval guns . One had been mounted on the Royal Navy 's HMS Ramillies and the other on both HMS Resolution and HMS Roberts . Both had been fired in action during the Second World War. They went on permanent display outside the museum in May 1968. The acquisition of these guns, representative of the dreadnought era of British battleships , led the museum to seek to acquire
1530-556: A permanent gallery, Secret War , exploring special forces , espionage and covert operations . The second floor included the atrium viewing balcony, two art galleries, a temporary exhibition area and the permanent Crimes against Humanity exhibition. The third floor housed the permanent Holocaust Exhibition , and the fourth floor, a vaulted roof space, accommodated the Lord Ashcroft Gallery. Opened in November 2010
1632-585: A prestigious area for museums, the accommodation itself proved cramped and inadequate and in 1936 a new permanent location was found south of the River Thames in Southwark. The building, designed by James Lewis 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
1734-485: A programme of temporary exhibitions, mounted in a separate gallery. The Imperial War Museum's original collections date back to the material amassed by the National War Museum Committee. The present departmental organisation came into being during the 1960s as part of Frankland's reorganisation of the museum. The 1970s saw oral history gain increasing prominence and in 1972 the museum created
1836-442: A touring exhibition seen by more than two million people, overseas educational visits and further activities run by local authorities. A second phase took a wider 20th century historical remit; it comprised a learning programme using overseas visits and social media , and a professional development scheme for educators. A digital archive of the project, online exhibitions and learning resources were also produced. In October 2011
1938-678: Is headquartered in London, with five branches in England. Founded as the Imperial War Museum in 1917, it was intended to record the civil and military war effort and sacrifice of the United Kingdom and its Empire during the First World War . The museum's remit has since expanded to include all conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces have been involved since 1914. As of 2012, the museum aims "to provide for, and to encourage,
2040-602: Is in St Peter's Church , Petersham . Captain (British Army and Royal Marines) Captain ( Capt ) is a junior officer rank of the British Army and Royal Marines and in both services it ranks above lieutenant and below major with a NATO ranking code of OF-2. The rank is equivalent to a lieutenant in the Royal Navy and to a flight lieutenant in the Royal Air Force . The rank of captain in
2142-540: Is levied at the other branches. 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 . As of April 2024, the chairman of the trustees is Guy Weston . Since May 2023, Caro Howell has served as the museum's director-general On 27 February 1917 Sir Alfred Mond , a Liberal MP and First Commissioner of Works, wrote to
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#17327802101742244-487: Is now largely occupied by corporate offices. The 1966 extension houses the library, art store, and document archives while the 1980s redevelopments created exhibition space over five floors. The first stage created 8,000 m of gallery space of which 4,600 m was new, and the second provided a further 1,600 m . The final phase, the Southwest Infill, was partly funded by a £12.6 million grant from
2346-636: Is operated in partnership with Cambridgeshire County Council and the Duxford Aviation Society, a charity formed in 1975 to preserve civil aircraft and promote appreciation of British civil aviation history. HMS Belfast , a Town class cruiser , was launched in 1938 and served throughout the Second World War , participating in the December 1943 Battle of North Cape and firing some of the first shots of Operation Overlord ,
2448-454: The BBC during the Second World War, actuality sound effects, broadcasts, speeches and poetry. As part of the museum's First World War centenary programme, the museum is producing Voices of the First World War , a podcast series drawing upon the museum's oral history recordings. In 2012 the museum reported the size of its sound collection as 37,000 hours. The IWM has an online database, listing
2550-652: The Battle of Imphal . John Niel Randle was born in India , the son of Edith Joan, daughter of William Chaffey Whitby, and Dr. Herbert Niel Randle , Librarian of the India Office Library, who was also Professor of Philosophy at Queen's College, Benares and a writer on Indian philosophy. Randle was educated at the Dragon School , Marlborough College , and Merton College, Oxford . At Oxford he qualified in law. His best friend there, Leonard Cheshire ,
2652-556: The Heritage Lottery Fund and provided 5,860m of gallery space and educational facilities over six floors. Before the 2013–14 redevelopment, the basement was occupied by permanent galleries on the First and Second World Wars, and of conflicts after 1945. The ground floor comprised the atrium, cinema, temporary exhibition spaces, and visitor facilities. The first floor included the atrium mezzanine, education facilities, and
2754-745: The Parachute Regiment and the Royal Anglian Regiment . Based on the historic Duxford Aerodrome , the site was originally operated by the Royal Air Force (RAF) during the First World War . During the Second World War Duxford played a prominent role during the Battle of Britain and was later used by United States Army Air Forces fighter units in support of the daylight bombing of Germany. Duxford remained an active RAF airfield until 1961. Many of Duxford's original buildings, such as hangars used during
2856-568: 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 . Due to bomb damage to the building and exhibits, the museum was obliged to reopen its galleries piecemeal and opened a portion of its galleries in November 1946. A third of the galleries were opened in 1948 and
2958-620: The Second World War saw the museum expand both its collections and its terms of reference, but in the post-war period it entered a period of decline. In 1976 the museum opened IWM Duxford at Duxford airfield in Cambridgeshire , and in 1978 the Royal Navy cruiser HMS Belfast , which is permanently berthed on the River Thames in central London, became a branch of the museum. In 1984, Churchill War Rooms , an underground wartime command centre in Westminster , were opened to
3060-601: The United Nations UNTV service in Bosnia. As an official repository under the 1958 Public Records Act, the archive continues to receive material from the Ministry of Defence. The archive also seeks to acquire amateur film taken by both service personnel and civilian cameramen. Material from the collection was used in the production of TV documentary series such as The Great War and The World at War . In 2012
3162-483: The Visual Arts Data Service (VADS), and Google Art Project . In 2012 the museum reported the total size of its art collection as 84,980 items. The museum's Film and Video Archive is one of the oldest film archives in the world. The archive preserves a range of historically significant film and video material, including the official British film record of the First World War . Notable among
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3264-413: The chapel beneath. The building also featured a theatre in a building to the rear of the site. The building remained substantially unchanged until vacated by the hospital in 1930. After the freehold was purchased by Lord Rothermere , the wings were demolished to leave the original central portion (with the dome now appearing disproportionately tall) and Smirke's later wings. When the museum moved into
3366-481: The conflict's centenary in 2014, and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge became the foundation's patron. In a speech at IWM London on 11 October 2012, Prime Minister David Cameron announced an additional £5 million of government funding to support the museum's redevelopment, as part of funding arrangements to facilitate national centenary commemorations. The £40 million redevelopment, designed by Foster and Partners , provides new gallery spaces dedicated to
3468-482: The surrender of Japan . Their historical value was recognised early on, and the public were able to visit 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 annual applicants to visit the War Rooms could be admitted. The museum agreed to take over the administration of the site in 1982, a development keenly supported by
3570-399: The 1958 Public Records Act, and as such continues to receive material from the Ministry of Defence. In 2012 the museum reported the size of its photographic holdings as approximately 11 million images in 17,263 collections. The museum's exhibits collection includes a wide range of objects, organised into numerous smaller collections such as uniforms, badges, insignia and flags (including
3672-695: The Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944. She saw further combat in the Korean War . Expected to be disposed of as scrap after she was decommissioned in 1963, in 1967 efforts were initiated to preserve Belfast as a museum ship. A joint committee of the Imperial War Museum, the National Maritime Museum and the Ministry of Defence was established, and reported in June 1968 that preservation
3774-622: The Army, the Navy, the production of munitions , and women's war work . 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". The museum's first curator and secretary
3876-570: The Battle of Britain, are still in use. A number of these buildings are of architectural or historic significance and over thirty have listed building status. The site also features a number of purpose-built exhibition buildings, such as the Stirling Prize -winning American Air Museum, designed by Sir Norman Foster . The site remains an active airfield and is used by a number of civilian flying companies, and hosts regular air shows . The site
3978-603: The British landings on D-Day in June 1944, and the liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945. The archive also holds government information films and propaganda features such as Target for Tonight (1941) and Desert Victory (1943). The archive's post-Second World War collections include material from the Korean War , Cold War material, the former film library of NATO , and material produced by
4080-687: The Cabinet Office. The collection also includes files on Victoria and George Cross recipients, and correspondence relating to the BBC documentary The Great War . The documents collection also includes the UK National Inventory of War Memorials . In 2012 the museum reported its documents collection to contain 24,800 collections of papers. The museum's art collection includes paintings, prints, drawings, sculpture, and works in film, photography and sound . The collection originated during
4182-506: The Department of Sound Records (now the Sound Archive) to record interviews with individuals who had experienced the First World War. The museum maintains an online database of its collections . The museum's documents archive seeks to collect and preserve the private papers of individuals who have experienced modern warfare. The archive's holdings range from the papers of senior British and Commonwealth army, navy and air officers, to
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4284-554: 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. In November 1939, during the " Phoney War ", the museum appeared in the opening sequence of the GPO Film Unit production The First Days , in which children are seen playing on some of the museum's German artillery pieces captured during
4386-723: The Falklands, the Persian Gulf, Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. The collection also includes over twenty thousand items of publicity material such as posters, postcards, and proclamations from both world wars, and more recent material such as posters issued by anti-war organisations such as the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament and the Stop the War Coalition . The museum's collection is represented in digital resources such as
4488-472: The First World War to the Falklands War . For some years the museum was marketed as "The new Imperial War Museum". This atrium, with its concentration of military hardware, has been described as "the biggest boys' bedroom in London". This first phase cost £16.7 million (of which £12 million was provided by the government) and the museum was reopened by The Queen on 29 June 1989. In 1990,
4590-591: The First World War) or a gun served by Victoria Cross -winning boy seaman Jack Cornwell . The museum was closed for the duration of the war in September 1940 with the onset of the Blitz . On 31 January 1941 the museum was struck by a Luftwaffe bomb which fell on the naval gallery. A number of ship models were damaged by the blast and a Short Type 184 seaplane, which had flown at the Battle of Jutland ,
4692-606: The First World War), technical manuals, biographical material and works on war's social, cultural, economic, political and military aspects. The library also holds printed ephemera such as the Imperial War Museum Stamp Collection , leaflets and ration books, printed proclamations, newspapers, trench magazines (such The Wipers Times ) and trench maps . In 2012 the museum reported its library collection to contain over 80,000 items of historic importance (such as maps, proclamations and rare books) and
4794-510: The First World War, when the museum acquired works that it had itself commissioned, as well as works commissioned by the Ministry of Information's British War Memorials Committee . As early as 1920 the art collection held over 3,000 works and included pieces by John Singer Sargent , Wyndham Lewis , John Nash and Christopher Nevinson . Notable First World War works include Sargent's Gassed and other works commissioned for an, unbuilt, Hall of Remembrance . The collection expanded again after
4896-637: The First World War. With the Dunkirk evacuation in May–June 1940, the British Army's shortage of equipment saw eighteen of the museum's artillery pieces return to military service. The museum's trench clubs were used by the Home Guard , while other items such as sights and optical instruments were returned to the Ministry of Supply. The museum refused to return some historic items such as a naval gun from HMS Lance (which had fired Britain's first shot of
4998-740: The Japanese positions on a nearby ridge. Captain Randle took over command of the Company which was leading the attack when the Company Commander was severely wounded. His handling of a difficult situation in the face of heavy fire was masterly and although wounded himself in the knee by grenade splinters he continued to inspire his men by his initiative, courage and outstanding leadership until the Company had captured its objective and consolidated its position. He then went forward and brought in all
5100-699: 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. This National War Museum Committee set about collecting material to illustrate Britain's war effort by dividing into subcommittees examining such subjects as
5202-526: The Royal Air Force maintained the junior officer rank of captain. RAF captains had a rank insignia based on the two bands of a naval lieutenant with the addition of an eagle and crown above the bands. It was superseded by the rank of flight lieutenant on the following day. Badges of rank for captains were introduced on 30 January 1855 and were worn on shoulder epaulettes. After the Crimean War
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#17327802101745304-529: The Royal Navy is considerably more senior (equivalent to the Army/RM rank of colonel) and the two ranks should not be confused. In the 21st-century British Army, captains are often appointed to be second-in-command (2IC) of a company or equivalent sized unit of up to 120 soldiers. A rank of second captain existed in the Ordnance at the time of the Battle of Waterloo . From 1 April 1918 to 31 July 1919,
5406-501: The Second World War, receiving thousands of works sponsored by the Ministry of Information's War Artists' Advisory Committee . In 1972 the museum established the Artistic Records Committee (since renamed the Art Commissions Committee) to commission artists to cover contemporary conflicts. Commissioned artists include Ken Howard , Linda Kitson , John Keane , Peter Howson , Steve McQueen (see Queen and Country ) and Langlands & Bell , responding to conflicts in Northern Ireland,
5508-402: The Second World War, which opened in April 2012. In August 2009 the museum announced the creation of the Imperial War Museum Foundation. Chaired by Jonathan Harmsworth the foundation was charged with raising funds to support the redevelopment of Imperial War Museum London's permanent galleries. In December 2010 plans were announced to redevelop IWM London's First World War gallery in time for
5610-402: The Southwark building, during which the museum remained open to the public, was completed in 1994. During the 1990s, while these works were going on, the museum was also seeking to open a branch in the north of England. 71 sites were offered for consideration by 36 local councils and in January 1999 the then Culture Secretary Chris Smith formally launched a project to construct a new branch of
5712-477: The Southwark site and approached engineering firm Arup to plan a phased programme of works that would expand the building's exhibition space, provide appropriate environmental controls to protect collections, and improve facilities for visitors. The following year, in April 1984, the Cabinet War Rooms were opened to the public as a branch of the museum. The first phase of the works to the Southwark building started in 1986 and were completed in 1989, during which time
5814-439: The War Rooms were rebranded as the Churchill Museum and Cabinet War Rooms, with 850 m of the site redeveloped as a biographical museum exploring Churchill's life. The development of the Churchill Museum cost a further £6 million. The centrepiece is a 15 m interactive table which enables visitors to access digitised material, particularly from the Churchill Archives Centre , via an "electronic filing cabinet". The museum
5916-399: The Western Front, who reportedly took great interest in his work. In December 1917 the name was changed to the Imperial War Museum after a resolution from the India and Dominions Committee of the museum. The museum was opened by King George V at the Crystal Palace on 9 June 1920. During the opening ceremony, Sir Alfred Mond addressed the King on behalf of the committee, saying that "it
6018-407: The archive's First World War holdings is The Battle of the Somme , a pioneering 1916 documentary film (which was inscribed on the UNESCO Memory of the World register in 2005), and Der Magische Gürtel , a German 1917 propaganda film about the submarine U-35 . The archive's Second World War holdings include unedited film shot by British military cameramen, which document combat actions such as
6120-471: The building in 1936 the ground floor of the central portion was occupied by the principal art gallery, with the east wing housing the Naval gallery and the west wing the Army gallery. The Air Force gallery was housed in the former theatre. The first floor comprised further art galleries (including rooms dedicated to Sir William Orpen and Sir John Lavery ), a gallery on women's war work , and exhibits relating to transport and signals. The first floor also housed
6222-410: The building to provide a public park in what was a severely overcrowded area of London. Eventually the central portion of the hospital building was retained. The 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,
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#17327802101746324-408: The crest of the hill held by the Japanese. Another platoon, however, ran into heavy medium machine gun fire from a bunker on the reverse slope of the feature. Captain Randle immediately appreciated that this particular bunker covered not only the rear of his new position but also the line of communication of the battalion and therefore the destruction of the enemy post was imperative if the operation
6426-448: The existing permanent exhibition. In 1989 the museum acquired the All Saints Annexe, a former hospital building in Austral Street off West Square . The 1867 building, which backs onto Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park , was originally an orphanage opened by local philanthropist Charlotte Sharman , then later used as a hospital. It housed the museum's photographic, film and sound archives, and offices. Imperial War Museum Duxford, near
6528-423: The former Bethlem Royal Hospital on Lambeth Road since 1936. The hospital building was designed by the hospital surveyor, James Lewis, from plans submitted by John Gandy and other architects, and construction completed in October 1814. The hospital consisted of a range of buildings 580 feet long with a basement and three storeys, parallel to Lambeth Road , with a central entrance under a portico . The building
6630-410: The gallery exhibits the museum's Victoria Cross (VC) and George Cross collection, alongside the private VC collection amassed by Michael Ashcroft , 241 medals in total. In August 2019, the museum announced plans to spend over £30m on a new set of galleries over two floors at its London site covering the Holocaust and its importance in World War II. The galleries opened in October 2021 to replace
6732-401: The history of the First World War, a new central hall, easier navigation and improved visitor facilities, access and circulation. In preparation for building work, a number of galleries were closed during September 2012, and by December 2012 over sixty large objects had been removed from the IWM London atrium for conservation at Duxford. To allow building work to go ahead, IWM London closed to
6834-492: The letters, diaries and memoirs of lower-ranked servicemen and of civilians. The collection includes the papers of Field Marshals Bernard Montgomery , and Sir John French . The archive also includes large collections of foreign documents, such as captured German Second World War documents previously held by the Cabinet Office Historical Section, Air Historical Branch and other British government bodies. The foreign collection also includes captured Japanese material transferred from
6936-538: The lives of many of his men and enabled not only his own Company but the whole Battalion to gain its objective and win a decisive victory over the enemy. His Victoria Cross is on loan to the Imperial War Museum by his son John. It is displayed alongside that of his friend Leonard Cheshire . Randle was portrayed by Tom Hiddleston in the 2006 television docudrama Victoria Cross Heroes , which included archive footage, dramatisations of his actions and an interview with his son and grandson. A memorial to Captain Randle
7038-410: The loss of irreplaceable books and documents. On his conviction in 1969 he was sentenced to four years in prison. In 1969 RAF Duxford, a Royal Air Force fighter airfield in Cambridgeshire was declared surplus to requirements by the Ministry of Defence . Needing further space, the museum duly requested permission to use part of the site as temporary storage. The entire site was later transferred to
7140-419: The men, with the rank badges on the shoulder, as the cuff badges made them conspicuous to snipers. This practice was frowned on outside the trenches but was given official sanction in 1917 as an alternative, being made permanent in 1920 when the cuff badges were abolished. Imperial War Museum The Imperial War Museum ( IWM ), currently branded " Imperial War Museums ", is a British national museum . It
7242-498: The museum rebranded itself as Imperial War Museums, the initials IWM forming the basis of a new corporate logo. In September 2011 the museum secured funding from NESTA , the Arts and Humanities Research Council and Arts Council England to develop "social interpretation" systems to allow visitors to comment on, collect, and share museum objects via social media. These systems were incorporated in "A Family in Wartime", an exhibition at IWM London depicting British family life during
7344-534: The museum in February 1976 and Duxford, now referred to as Imperial War Museum Duxford became the museum's first branch. Also during the 1970s the government raised the possibility of the museum taking over the historic Cabinet War Rooms in Whitehall . The museum was reluctant due to its new commitments related to Duxford and HMS Belfast , but agreed in 1982. By 1983 the museum was again looking to redevelop
7446-436: The museum reported the size of its film archive as being in excess of 23,000 hours of film, video and digital footage. IWM participated in the national digitising project Unlocking Film Heritage . The museum's Photograph Archive preserves photographs by official, amateur and professional photographers. The collection includes the official British photographic record of the two world wars; the First World War collection includes
7548-451: The museum was awarded National Heritage Museum of the Year . In September 1992 the museum was the target of a Provisional Irish Republican Army attack against London tourist attractions. Two incendiary devices were found in a basement gallery, but were extinguished by staff before the arrival of the fire brigade , and caused only minor damage. The second stage of the redevelopment of
7650-409: The museum was closed to the public. The work included the conversion of what was previously the hospital's courtyard into a centrepiece Large Exhibits Gallery. This gallery featured a strengthened ground floor (to support the weight of very heavy exhibits), a first floor mezzanine and second storey viewing balcony. Into this space were placed tanks, artillery pieces, vehicles, ordnance and aircraft from
7752-415: 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. 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. In 1967 the museum acquired
7854-439: The museum's photograph collection. The second floor housed the museum's library in its west wing, and in the east wing the map collection and stored pictures and drawings. This division of exhibits by service, and by civil or military activity, persisted until a wide-ranging redisplay of the galleries from the 1960s onwards. In September 1972 the building received Grade II listed building status. The original hospital building
7956-583: The museum, Imperial War Museum North , in Trafford , Greater Manchester . The following year, 2000, the final phase of the Southwark redevelopment was completed. The development included the installation of the museum's Holocaust Exhibition which was opened by the Queen on 6 June 2000. This was the first permanent exhibition dedicated to the Holocaust in a UK museum; its development had taken five years at
8058-512: 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 . While the Act was being debated, some Parliamentarians felt that the museum would perpetuate an undesirable war spirit and Lieutenant-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
8160-489: The national collection of modern firearms. The firearms collection includes a rifle used by T. E. Lawrence , and an automatic pistol owned by Winston Churchill . The ordnance collection includes artillery pieces that participated in notable battles, such as the Néry gun, a field gun that was used during the 1914 action at Néry , and equipment captured from enemy forces. The museum's vehicles collection includes Ole Bill ,
8262-528: The public on 2 January 2013. The museum partially reopened on 29 July 2013. IWM London was formally reopened on 17 July 2014 by Prince William, Duke of Cambridge . From the 1970s onwards the Imperial War Museum began to expand onto other sites. The first branch, Imperial War Museum Duxford opened to the public on a regular basis in June 1976. HMS Belfast became a branch of the museum in 1978. The Churchill War Rooms opened in 1984, and Imperial War Museum North in 2002. The museum has occupied
8364-483: The public. In 2002 IWM North opened in Trafford , Greater Manchester , the fifth branch of the museum and the first in the north of England. From the 1980s onwards, the museum's Southwark building underwent a series of multimillion-pound redevelopments, the latest of which was completed in 2022. The museum's collections include archives of personal and official documents, photographs , film and video material, and oral history recordings, an extensive library ,
8466-481: The space. The walls of the gallery space are used as screens for the projection of an hourly audiovisual presentation, the Big Picture. The main gallery, described as cavernous and dramatic, includes objects such as a Russian T-34 tank, a United States Marine Corps AV-8A Harrier jet, and a British 13-pounder field gun which fired the British Army 's first shot of the First World War. The museum also hosts
8568-666: The study and understanding of the history of modern war and 'wartime experience'." Originally housed in the Crystal Palace at Sydenham Hill , the museum opened to the public in 1920. In 1924, it moved to space in the Imperial Institute in South Kensington and in 1936 it acquired a permanent home at the former Bethlem Royal Hospital in Southwark , which serves as its headquarters. The outbreak of
8670-413: The then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher , an admirer of Britain's wartime Prime Minister Winston Churchill . Thatcher opened the War Rooms in April 1984. In 2003 a further suite of rooms, used as accommodation by Churchill, his wife and close associates, were added to the museum. The restoration of these rooms, which since the war had been stripped out and used for storage, cost £7.5 million. In 2005
8772-462: The village of Duxford in Cambridgeshire , is Britain's largest aviation museum . Duxford houses the museum's large exhibits, including nearly 200 aircraft , military vehicles, artillery and minor naval vessels in seven main exhibitions buildings. The site also provides storage space for the museum's collections of film, photographs, documents, books and artefacts. The site accommodates a number of British Army regimental museums, including those of
8874-535: The work of photographers such as Ernest Brooks and John Warwick Brooke . The archive also holds 150,000 British aerial photographs from the First World War, the largest collection of its kind. The Second World War collection includes the work of photographers such as Bill Brandt , Cecil Beaton and Bert Hardy . Like the Film Archive, the Photograph Archive is an official repository under
8976-418: The wounded men who were lying outside the perimeter. In spite of his painful wound Captain Randle refused to be evacuated and insisted on carrying out a personal reconnaissance with great daring in bright moonlight prior to a further attack by his Company on the position to which the enemy had withdrawn. At dawn on 6th May the attack opened, led by Captain Randle, and one of the platoons succeeded in reaching
9078-716: Was Charles ffoulkes , who had previously been curator of the Royal Armouries at the Tower of London . 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, along with Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig , Commander-in-Chief (C-in-C) of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) on
9180-545: Was Libeskind's first building in Britain. Libeskind's building, overlooking the Manchester Ship Canal at Salford Quays , was based on the concept of a globe shattered by conflict into shards and reassembled. These shards, representing earth, air and water, give the building its shape. Originally budgeted at £40 million, the museum was eventually completed for £28.5 million after anticipated funding
9282-566: Was awarded the VC in the Second World War. Randle married Mavis Ellen Manser of Holywell , Oxford , sister of Leslie Thomas Manser who was awarded the VC posthumously in 1942 after a bombing raid on Cologne. Randle was commissioned a second lieutenant in the Royal Norfolk Regiment in May 1940. At the age of 26, he was promoted to temporary captain whilst serving with the 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment. Captain Randle
9384-574: Was changed to "HMS Belfast 1938" to reflect that one of the Royal Navy's new Type 26 frigates had been given the name HMS Belfast . The Cabinet War Rooms is an underground complex that served as a British government command centre throughout the Second World War. Located beneath the Treasury building in the Whitehall area of Westminster , the facilities became operational in 1939 and were in constant use until their abandonment in August 1945 after
9486-600: Was commander of 'B' Company, 2nd Battalion, Royal Norfolk Regiment. On 4 May 1944 during the Battle of Kohima in northeast India , he was ordered to attack the Japanese flank on General Purpose Transport (GPT) Ridge during the relief and clearance of Kohima. The citation from the London Gazette reads: On the 4th May, 1944, at Kohima in Assam , a Battalion of the Royal Norfolk Regiment attacked
9588-427: Was destroyed. While closed to the public the museum's building was used for a variety of purposes connected to the war effort, such as a repair garage for government motor vehicles, a centre for Air Raid Precautions civil defence lectures and a fire fighting training school. In October 1945 the museum mounted a temporary exhibition, the first since the end of the war in August, which showcased technologies developed by
9690-480: 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". Shortly afterwards the Imperial War Museum Act 1920 was passed and established a board of trustees to oversee the governance of
9792-432: Was not forthcoming. The museum was funded by local, national and European development agencies, by private donations and by Peel Holdings , a local transport and property company which contributed £12.5 million. The museum's first floor main gallery space houses the permanent exhibitions. These consist of a chronological display which runs around the gallery's 200m perimeter and six thematic displays in "silos" within
9894-594: Was practical. In 1971 the government decided against preservation, prompting the formation of the private HMS Belfast Trust to campaign for her to be saved for the nation. The Trust was successful in its efforts, and the government transferred the ship to the Trust in July 1971. Brought to London, she was moored on the River Thames near Tower Bridge in the Pool of London . Opened to the public in October 1971 Belfast became
9996-479: Was renamed the Churchill War Rooms in 2010. The Imperial War Museum North was opened in Trafford , Greater Manchester , in 2002. It was the first branch of the museum outside southeast England, and the first to be purpose-built as a museum. Designed by architect Daniel Libeskind , with Manchester-based architects Leach Rhodes Walker providing implementation services, The Imperial War Museum North
10098-432: Was replaced in the same year by a combination of narrow rings of worsted braid around the cuff, with the full-dress style shoulder badges on a three-pointed cuff flap. Based on equivalent naval ranks, captains had two rings of braid. In the case of Scottish regiments, the rings were around the top of the gauntlet-style cuff and the badges on the cuff itself. During World War I, some officers took to wearing similar jackets to
10200-542: Was shown in the late War". On the August Bank Holiday 1920, the first public holiday since the museum's opening, 94,179 visitors were received, and by November 1921, 2,290,719 had visited the museum. In 1924 the museum moved to the Imperial Institute building (demolished in the 1950s and 1960s to make way for Imperial College ) in South Kensington. While this location was more central and in
10302-459: Was substantially altered in 1835 by architect Sydney Smirke . In order to provide more space, he added blocks at either end of the frontage, and galleried wings on either side of the central portion. He also added a small single-storey lodge, still in existence, at the Lambeth Road gate. Later, between 1844 and 1846, the central cupola was replaced with a copper-clad dome in order to expand
10404-528: Was to succeed. With utter disregard of the obvious danger to himself Captain Randle charged the Japanese machine gun post single-handed with rifle and bayonet. Although bleeding in the face and mortally wounded by numerous bursts of machine gun fire he reached the bunker and silenced the gun with a grenade thrown through the bunker slit. He then flung his body across the slit so that the aperture should be completely sealed. The bravery shown by this officer could not have been surpassed and by his self-sacrifice he saved
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