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  • 10.00am - 5.30pm
  • FREE
  • Chelsea, London

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Major-General Robert Clive, c1764

Robert Clive: The nabob general

A courageous, resourceful and ruthless military commander, Major-General Robert Clive helped secure India for Britain. But he was also seen as a greedy speculator who used his political and military influence to amass a fortune.

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3rd Battalion The Parachute Regiment searching for snipers in Gaynaeim village, 1951

Suez Canal Zone

Between 1945 and 1956, British soldiers garrisoned bases on the Suez Canal in Egypt. A harsh climate, disease and attacks by local nationalists made Suez one of the most unpopular Army postings.

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Major-General James Wolfe, 1759

James Wolfe: The heroic martyr

Major-General James Wolfe was one of Britain’s most celebrated military heroes. But his death at the moment of his greatest victory at Quebec in 1759 earned him a reputation as a patriotic martyr.

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On patrol in the jungles of North Borneo, c1964

Indonesian Confrontation

Between 1963 and 1966, British Commonwealth forces fought against Indonesia in a conflict that focused on the future of Brunei and North Borneo.

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Signboard from Hellfire Corner, c1918

Hellfire Corner: A sign of the times

One of our most iconic First World War objects is the signboard used to mark the infamous ‘Hellfire Corner’, a busy and dangerous junction near Ypres.

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British Army patrol in Helmand, Afghanistan, 2010

Fit to fight: Women in the Army today

Women were finally allowed to undertake combat roles in 2016. But female soldiers had been serving in war zones around the world before that.

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Entry of the 5th Lancers into Mons, 1918

Soldiers in love: Courtship, engagement and marriage

Despite the difficulties, soldiers' affairs of the heart have flourished; some casual, others ultimately leading to engagement, marriage and a life together.

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Aden Emergency

Aden Emergency

The Aden Emergency (1963-67) was an insurgency against British rule in the south of the Arabian Peninsula. The unrest hastened British plans for withdrawal and marked the end of 20 years of decolonisation.

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British infantry vehicles advancing, Iraq, 1991

Gulf War

The war against Iraq in 1990-91 saw the largest single deployment of British troops since the Second World War. Altogether, about 35,000 British servicemen and women served in the campaign.

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The Battle of El Alamein, 1942

Second Battle of El Alamein

Fought in October-November 1942, this was the climax and turning point of the North African campaign of the Second World War. The armies of Italy and Germany suffered a decisive defeat by the British Eighth Army.

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9th Hodson's Horse in General Chauvel's march through Damascus, 1918

Battle of Megiddo

Fought in September 1918, this was the climactic battle of the Sinai and Palestine campaign of the First World War. Ottoman forces found themselves encircled by British Empire forces under General Edmund Allenby.

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Battle of Prestonpans, 1745

Jacobite Risings

The Jacobites, supporters of King James II and his descendants, sought to restore the House of Stuart to the British throne. In 1715, 1719 and 1745 they tried to overthrow the ruling Hanoverian Royal Family.

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