Imperial War Museum - London

[BrodieBartfast]

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of taking a trip up to London to visit the Imperial War Museum in Southwark. Recently, the museum opened two new galleries: The Second World War, and The Holocaust, each one extremely expansive. In July 2014, the museum reopened after a much-vaunted refurbishment. Anyone who remembers the 'old' museum and has visited since then will no how much of a disappointment it was in comparison. I visited in 2015, and with the exception of the rather excellent WWI gallery, left feeling disappointed. However, after yesterday's visit, I am pleased to say that this museum is well worth visiting again, and not only because admission is free!

The exterior of the museum, and the section of the Berlin wall displayed outside.

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I took very few photographs in the WWI gallery, having seen it before, though I made an exception for this stunning Sturmtruppen display, including a flamethrower and camouflage-painted MG 08/15.

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Onto the Second World War gallery now. I missed out on photographing the first part of it, as I was very excited to get in and have a look around. The first section contains a display of large German and British naval ensigns, as well as many uniforms from the Home Front. Each item is put into the context of a personal story, with a photograph and short biography of the original wearer alongside it.

I regained enough sense to take some more photos by the time I reached this display of German (and one Romanian) uniforms.

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Also on display was this USMC uniform, complete with camouflage-covered helmet and flamethrower, worn and carried by a Sidney Hagerling during the battle of Okinawa.

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A Luftwaffe field division uniform, alongside a Volkssturm uniform, Panzerfaust, last-ditch rifle and some propaganda leaflets.

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And some Soviet gear! M30 howitzer, various weapons, uniforms and medals. They also had a pair of Stalin's shoulder boards in this case, but for some reason the photo disappeared from my phone.

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A USAAF bomber jacket, and some nose art cut from a Halifax bomber.

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A V1 'Doodlebug', moved from the atrium into this new gallery, and a Nebelwerfer.

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A Waffen-SS field uniform, complete with MP 43, and an eagle salvaged from the destroyed Reichs Chancellery after the war.

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There are some things to look at in the atrium, too. BMW motorcycle with MG 34 on the sidecar, 8.8cm Flak 36, as well as a Harrier and Battle of Britain-era Spitfire.

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The new Holocaust gallery was excellent as well. A well thought-out and emotive experience, beginning with the pre-war lives and culture of Europe's Jews, and running through the rise of the Nazis, and to the gradual implementation of industrialised mass-murder. This exhibition was respectfully quiet, quite a marked difference to the rest of the museum, and the array of objects and information on display was extremely comprehensive. Some other visitors left this gallery in tears. I do not have any photographs of it, as I did not feel it would be respectful.

If anyone has visited this museum since the refurbishment and has no desire to go again, I would strongly encourage another visit. These two new galleries have elevated the IWM to the level it once stood at, perhaps even higher than that. There is much that I did not photograph, and enough information on plaques and boards in the various galleries to keep a visitor busy for hours. Add to that the free admission, and this really isn't one to pass up.

B.B.

[Granatwerfer]

Thank you for the update and pictures.

I visited the museum before the disappointing refurb., which I heard was not good, but after your pictures and review I think a visit will go on my list of places to see.

[BrodieBartfast]

Thank you for the update and pictures.

I visited the museum before the disappointing refurb., which I heard was not good, but after your pictures and review I think a visit will go on my list of places to see.

I admit, I wasn’t expecting much. To have my expectations not only exceeded but smashed was a very pleasant surprise. Hopefully you’ll find it just as impressive when you visit again.

B.B.

[ivanjoaquin]

I visited this museum in 1994, awesome !

[HARRY THE MOLE]

I hope they do the same with IWM North, it really is quite pathetic the way it is laid out. My own WW1 collection of weapons was greater than theirs at one point!

Cheers,
Steve

[BrodieBartfast]

I hope they do the same with IWM North, it really is quite pathetic the way it is laid out. My own WW1 collection of weapons was greater than theirs at one point!

Cheers,
Steve

There's definitely a trend towards an excess of unused space in modern museums, in favour of screens and 'interactive' elements. These new galleries seem to have bucked the trend, at least. Not as crowded with stuff as it all used to be, but plenty to look at, and the presentation is excellent.

B.B.

[HARRY THE MOLE]

They have 'silo' systems in IWM North, and a stupid sign on a T34.... 'Do not touch'.

[BrodieBartfast]

They have 'silo' systems in IWM North, and a stupid sign on a T34.... 'Do not touch'.

You can touch the T34 in IWM London as much as you like! At least I think that's the case, as I didn't see a sign. The Chancellery eagle has a 'do not touch' sign on it, not that it does it much good. I witnessed a gentleman drop his phone on it whilst he was trying to take a picture. The resultant clang made me flinch!

B.B.

[Pauls1970]

I first visited the IWM in the mid to late 70s, probably hadn't changed much since the 50s ! It was re-jigged in 1989, loved it...visited many times, then in 2015/16 ish, visited again & experienced the downsize of the collection, overall, a real shame in comparison to how it used to be....what happened to Ole Bill ?
Cheers
Paul

[BrodieBartfast]

I first visited the IWM in the mid to late 70s, probably hadn't changed much since the 50s ! It was re-jigged in 1989, loved it...visited many times, then in 2015/16 ish, visited again & experienced the downsize of the collection, overall, a real shame in comparison to how it used to be....what happened to Ole Bill ?
Cheers
Paul

I have fond memories of visiting this museum as a child in the early 2000s, well before the refurbishment. The WWI trench experience and simulated air raid are memories that have stuck with me since then. It's a shame that those things are gone, but I'm happy with how the museum has ended up, even if it took some time to get there. My only criticism would be the lack of heavy armour on display in the atrium, compared to the 'good old days'. I understand most of it has been shunted up to Duxford, including Monty's Grant tank. At least it hasn't been shut up in some dark warehouse, never to see the light of day again.

B.B.