History of IWM

Imperial War Museums (IWM) is a group of museums that explore how war affects people’s lives. It was founded in 1917 during the First World War to record the efforts and sacrifices of people from Britain and across the Empire in that conflict.

IWM was founded on 5 March 1917 when the War Cabinet approved a proposal by Sir Alfred Mond MP for the creation of a national war museum to record the events still taking place during the Great War. The intention was to collect and display material as a record of everyone’s experiences during that war - civilian and military - and to commemorate the sacrifices of all sections of society. The interest taken by the Dominion governments led to the renaming of the National War Museum to Imperial War Museum later in 1917. It was formally established by Act of Parliament in 1920 and a governing Board of Trustees appointed.

The museum was opened in the Crystal Palace by King George V on 9 June 1920. From 1924 to 1935 it was housed in two galleries adjoining the former Imperial Institute, South Kensington. On 7 July 1936, the Duke of York, shortly to become King George VI, reopened the museum in its present home on Lambeth Road, South London, formerly the central portion of Bethlem Royal Hospital, or ‘Bedlam’.

When the Second World War began, IWM expanded its focus to include this new global conflict.. While a programme of collecting got underway, vulnerable collections were evacuated to stores outside London, and the museum was closed to the public from September 1940 to November 1946. Most of the exhibits survived the war, but a Short Seaplane which had flown at the Battle of Jutland was shattered when a German bomb fell on the Naval Gallery on 31 January 1941. This was just one of more than 40 incendiary hits on the building throughout the war.

The Korean War led to a further redefinition of the IWM’s terms of reference to include all conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces had been involved since 1914. . IWM has continued to collect every type of evidence documenting its very broad remit. Its collections are vast and rich, and in addition to its role as a museum, IWM is also a major national art gallery, a national archive of written and audio visual recourse, and a centre for research.

From the 1970s, IWM developed into a network of sites across the UK. IWM underwent a period of unprecedented expansion, with the establishment of three new branches – IWM Duxford in 1976, HMS Belfast in 1978 and Churchill War Rooms in 1984. The fifth member of the IWM family, IWM North, opened in Trafford, Greater Manchester, on 5 July 2002. Each site offers a different perspective on wartime history.

Today, IWM holds a vast collection of photographs, film, documents, and oral history recordings. Together, these collections help people understand the impact of war on individuals and societies over time.

Foundation

A view of items being stored at the National War Museum Store at Hesdin, September 1917. The National War Museum was later renamed the Imperial War Museum.

First World War

Creation of IWM during the First World War

On 5 March 1917, the War Cabinet approved a proposal by Sir Alfred Mond, the Commissioner of Works, that a museum be founded to record the events of the First World War. For the first time in Britain, a national museum would be dedicated to a specific conflict and would set out to record the contribution made by all sections of society.

The staff of the Imperial War Museum taken shortly after the Museum first opened to the public at Crystal Palace, London.

First World War

Who set up the Imperial War Museums?

IWM was founded on 5 March 1917, while the First World War was still being fought. The museum was not formed as a monument to military glory, but as a record of the toil and sacrifice of those who had served in uniform or worked on the home front. Find out more about some of the men and women who helped shape the early years of IWM.

The unveiling ceremony of the 15-inch guns from HMS RAMILLIES and HMS RESOLUTION outside the Imperial War Museum, 8 August 1968.

First World War

IWM's early years in photos

IWM was founded on 5 March 1917 when the War Cabinet approved a proposal by Sir Alfred Mond MP for the creation of a national war museum to record the events still taking place during the Great War.

Building our collections

The view over a desolate landscape with shattered trees, the earth a mass of shell holes. The sun hangs high in the sky, beams of light shining down through heavy, earth-coloured clouds.

IWM History

British War Art schemes during the First World War

The war art schemes developed by the British government during the First World War were an unprecedented act of government sponsorship of the arts. As the schemes grew, they ultimately explored every aspect of conflict, from the violence of industrial warfare to hastened social and economic change at home.

Baroness T'Serclaes and Miss Mairi Chisholm outside their sandbagged third "poste" in Pervyse, 9 September 1917.

First World War

The Women's Work Collection

The Women’s Work Collection is a unique resource for anyone interested in the experiences and role of women during the First World War. It was accrued largely between 1917 and 1920 and originally included art, models, documents, uniforms, badges, books, photographs and memorabilia of every variety.

Bundles of memorial cards, including framed portraits of the Heroes, at the Imperial War Museum waiting for sorting and notating.

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.