A man holds a large camera towards the a photographer taking his photo.
IWM (CH 1247)
The Royal Air Force used photography in the Second World War, including aerial cameras like the one in this photograph.

IWM holds approximately 11 million photographs of modern conflict from the First World War to present day.

The collection covers the activities of British and Commonwealth forces and international perspectives. Photographs from official, press, and private perspectives such as soldiers, nurses and civilians who participated in or witnessed conflict reveal the human impact of war. The collection includes notable photographers such as Olive Edis, Bill Brandt and Tim Hetherington.

The photographs can be viewed alongside original documents which help us understand how and why these photographs were taken.

IWM still actively collects material. For more information on offering photographs to the museum, find out how to offer material to IWM .

Find out how to order and licence images, or order artistic prints. Please see our policy on colourisation.

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Search highlights from nearly 11 million photographs

Explore the photographs

Discover a selection of work from IWM's photography collections, featuring images from the front lines of conflict to clandestine photographs taken during the Cold War.


 

  • First Aid Nursing Yeomanry (FANY) drivers with their snow-covered motor ambulances at Commercy.
    © IWM (Q 8074)

    Olive Edis

    Olive Edis (1876-1955) was a professional photographer commissioned by the Imperial War Museum’s Women’s Work Committee in 1918.

    She photographed British women serving in France, documenting their involvement in different roles - from nursing on hospital ships to manual work in engine repair shops. 

  • US Army soldier, Afghanistan. A distressed young soldier sat on mountain-side dirt walls. He holds his hand over his head and has an open mouth.
    © IWM (DC 047915_A)

    Tim Hetherington

    Tim Hetherington (1970-2011) was a photographer and filmmaker best known for his innovative and multimedia approach to exploring conflict.

    This photograph of a US Army soldier in Afghanistan won the World Press Photo award in 2008. 

    Hetherington died in April 2011 from injuries sustained when photographing unrest in Libya during a wave of uprisings in the region known as ‘the Arab Spring’.

  • Commandos wading through the sea as they walk away from a landing craft on a beach. They are carrying weapons and equipment. Other commandos are visible in the background, as are other landing craft.
    IWM (BU 1184)

    No. 5 AFPU North West Europe

    In 1941, the British Army formed a corps of trained photographers and cameramen called the Army Film and Photographic Unit (AFPU).

    Photographers and cameramen were recruited from the ranks of the Army - many had been press photographers or cameramen in peacetime. They documented key events including D-Day, when ten AFPU men from newly formed No. 5 section accompanied the first wave of troops ashore.
     

  • Two paratroops with practice parachutes watching their colleagues descend after their own training drop.
    IWM (TR 67)

    Ministry of Information Colour transparency collection

    Although the majority of British official photographs for the Second World War were produced in black and white format, the Ministry of Information was able to obtain a limited supply of Kodak's Kodachrome film from America after their entry into the war in 1941. 

    Official MOI, War Office and Air Ministry photographers generated this collection of colour transparencies to supply the few British wartime publications which occasionally ran colour photographs. 

  • A soldier sits outside holding binoculars to his eyes. A gun is attached to anti-aircraft mounting in front of him.
    © Crown copyright reproduced under delegated authority from The Keeper of Public Records. Image: IWM (FKD 249)

    Paul Haley and the Falklands Conflict

    Paul Haley was a civilian photographer working for the Ministry of Defence magazine Soldier when the Falklands Conflict started in 1982.

    He landed in San Carlos with 5th Infantry Brigade after the Battle of Goose Green and covered activities around Darwin, Fitzroy, Goat Ridge/Tumbledown and Port Stanley.

  • A young female welder looking straight into the camera. In the background a ship under construction in a slipway can be seen.
    IWM (DB 67)

    Cecil Beaton

    Cecil Beaton (1904-1980) was known for being the leading British portrait and fashion photographer of his day. During the Second World War, he became an official photographer for the British Ministry of Information and travelled widely to document the impact of war on people and places in his own unique style.

    His wartime photographs were transferred to the permanent care of IWM in 1948.

Related stories

The grave of Betty Stevenson of the Young Men’s Christian Association (YMCA) tended by a member of the QMAAC at a graveyard in Étaples, France, 10 March 1919.
© IWM Q_008028
First World War

War Photographers

The IWM Photograph Archive covers over 100 years of war and conflict. The five photographers featured in War Photographers - IWM Photo Collection represent professional war photography and reveal how photographs have shaped the way we visually understand the events of the twentieth century. 

Five officers of the Women Police Service led by Inspector Mary Allen, a former suffragette, stand in uniform.
© IWM Q 66159
Home Front

British Women Photographers Of The First World War

The contribution of British women to First World War photography has received little attention in comparison to that of later conflicts. 

Nightly blackouts at Piccadilly Circus in 1940 during the Blitz.
© IWM D (000712)
Second World War

The Blitz in photographs

The Blitz and its vivid collection of photographs is the sixth title in the new series showcasing the best of IWM’s photography collection and is available to buy from the IWM Shop. 

These striking photographs tell the stories of those who experienced the Blitz and highlight the bravery and determination of civilians in wartime Britain.

Sgt George Laws, cameraman and photographer with No 5 Army Film and Photographic Unit, poses with camera for final picture in June 1945.
IWM
D-Day

AFPU on D-Day

The official film and photographic record of the D-Day landings was taken by No. 5 AFPU (Army Film and Photographic Unit) under the command of Major Hugh Stewart. Members of the unit were ‘embedded’ with formations preparing for the invasion. Find out more about the AFPU on D-Day.

Bundles of memorial cards, including framed portraits of the Heroes, at the Imperial War Museum waiting for sorting and notating.
© IWM (Q 24093)
First World War

Bond of Sacrifice Collection

The so-called Bond of Sacrifice collection contains more than 16,000 biographies and portraits of men who served in the First World War. Take a closer look of the collection from the First World War.

Male and female German civilians spot a member of BRIXMIS photographing them through a car window. The reflection of the couple is in a wing mirror.
© IWM BRX 90-2275-1
Cold War

BRIXMIS: Intelligence gathering at the end of the Cold War

In the undercover world of spies, lies and deception, nothing is what it seems; everyone has something to hide. The clandestine operations of BRIXMIS liaison spying missions were crucial in gathering vital intelligence at the end of the Cold War.