LONDON,
IMPERIAL WAR MUSEUM
WORLD WAR I - EXHIBITION
«SEP. 2014»

Photos © Ruud Leeuw

 

Imperial War MuseumThe entrance of the Imperial War Museum offers a spectacular display, including the famous Spitfire.

The Imperial War Museum was founded in 1917 and was intended to commemorate those who died in the First World War.
It was originally located in the Crystal Palace - built for the Great Exhibition of 1851 - and remained there until that building was destoyed by fire in 1936.

The present location in Lambeth Road was originally the site of Bethlem Royal Hospital - a psychiatric hospital infamously known as 'Bedlam'. In spite this the building, with its spacious gardens dominated by a pair of fifteen inch naval guns from the battlecruisers Rodney and Ramilles, makes a fitting home for this most impressive military museum.

 

Imperial War Museum
We came for the World War I exhibition.

Imperial War Museum
What seemed 'a distant crisis' set the world afire: The Great War became a fact.

Imperial War Museum

 

Imperial War Museum
'If war was once a chivalrous duel, it is now a dastardly slaughter.'

Imperial War Museum
The great tragedy and loss of life was very well portrayed.

Imperial War Museum
The shortage of munitions adressed.

Imperial War Museum

 
Imperial War Museum
World War I, seeing 60.000 British soldiers suffered head or eye injuries, brought us the start of cosmetic surgery.

 

London Imperial War Museum
Sopwith Camel: for me that name will always be connected with the books by W.E.Johns, about James 'Biggles' Bigglesworth! I in particular devoured the books set in WW1 & WWII. Biggles flew the Sopwith Camel, of course.

Imperial War Museum
A few World War II relics: the remains of complete nose section of an Avro Lancaster bomber.
We had only a brief glance at this section, time was limited, hopefully a revisit lurks in the not too distant future.

Imperial War Museum
I rather liked the bubble shaped attachment at the side of the cockpit. Would that be standard on a Lancaster?

Imperial War Museum
Wreck of a Mitsubishi A6M Zero. This website showed there were more aeroplanes on display here at some point.