Visit the Exhibitions at the Imperial War Museum, London, England

In June 1920, King George V opened the Imperial War Museum in Crystal palace. This was after the Cabinet of the day decided that there should be a museum set up where collections from the Great War could be set up. In July 1936, the Duke of York, who would become King George VI, reopened the museum in its present home.

The museum was closed during the war years of 1940-1946 and valuable collections were evacuated to stores outside of London.

After WWII the museum was enlarged to cover both world wars and then in 1953 was extended again to include all operations that Britain or Commonwealth countries have been involved in since 1914.

The Imperial War Museum has several exhibitions on the go at all times

My Boy Jack

This exhibition tells us of the moving story of John Kipling, the only son of Rudyard Kipling. John was given a commission in the Irish guards in 1941 and sent to France in 1915 where he was killed at the Battle of Loos.

The exhibition tells of the search made by John's parents to find his final resting place and on show are the letters that were exchanged between Father and son.

Also to be seen are the letters of condolence from Conan-Doyle and Theodore Roosevelt who both lost sons in the war.

Weapons of Mass Communication

Here you will see hundreds of posters that were used to influence the wills of soldiers and civilians.

This exhibition explores the relationship between advertising publicity and government propaganda and policy from WWI onwards.

Queen and Country by Steve McQueen

British service personnel who have been killed in the war in Iraq are commemorated in this exhibition.

Each person who has lost his or her life in the war is featured on a postage stamp which also bears a profile of Her Majesty the Queen.

War Artists in the Middle East

Featured here is a collection of art by artists who have used their skills to document the conflicts in the Middle East from WWI to modern day conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Falklands 25^th Anniversary Exhibition

This exhibition allows us to explore the most recent invasion of a British territory. There are many previously unseen items on display including the joystick of the helicopter flown by Lieutenant Richard Nunn and Sergeant Bill Belcher in the battle to capture Goose Green.

The Children's War

This is a major exhibition and lets us look through the eyes of children during WWII Topics included are evacuation, air raids, rationing and the blackout. Within the exhibition is a 1940's house where children and adults alike can learn about everyday life on the home front.

Holocaust Exhibition

This exhibition is a permanent exhibition and uses historical material to tell us the story of the Nazi's persecution of the Jews and other groups during WWII.

Stark evidence of persecution is shown through documents, newspapers, artifacts, posters and film.

This is an extremely sobering exhibition.

The Imperial War Museum can be found in Lambeth Road London, UK.

Admission is free and apart from 24^th, 25^th and 26^th December is open daily between 10.00am and 6.00pm.

Sources:

http://iwm.org.uk