1900s

Explore 1900s stories

Units of the Dutch Brigade moving up to the attack, 1944

Victory in Europe

During 1944-45, the Allies endured months of fighting against a determined enemy. This bloody struggle eventually ended in the final defeat of Nazi Germany.

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A Jewish refugee ship in Palestine, 1947

In the 1940s, the British Army found itself stuck in the middle of a growing conflict between Arabs and Jews in Palestine. The momentous events that followed led to the creation of the State of Israel.

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German soldiers raise the swastika at the Acropolis, Athens, April 1941

War in the Balkans

In 1941, the Axis powers invaded Yugoslavia and Greece. British and Commonwealth intervention and evacuation followed, before a vicious partisan conflict broke out.

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Home Front

Following the fall of France in the summer of 1940, Britain was faced with the threat of invasion. Soldiers played a vital role in defending the shores and skies.

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Defeat in the West

In the summer of 1940, the Germans defeated France and drove the British out of Western Europe. Following their evacuation from Dunkirk, the British found themselves facing the threat of invasion.

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Kenya Emergency

The Kenya Emergency, or Mau Mau Revolt, was one of the British Army's bloodiest and most controversial post-war conflicts.

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Cyprus

In the early 1950s, a revolt in favour of union with Greece began in British-controlled Cyprus. British troops remain on the island to this day as part of a United Nations peacekeeping force.

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The last British troops to leave India, 1948

Independence and Partition, 1947

The birth of India and Pakistan as independent states in 1947 was a key moment in the history of Britain’s empire and its army. But the process of partition was attended by mass migration and ethnic violence that has left a bitter legacy to this day.

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Stepping into line

As the entire nation mobilised for the First World War, women took up new challenges. Many of these opportunities had previously been off limits, including military service.

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Weapons of the Western Front

During the First World War, armies were forced to adapt their tactics and pursue new technologies as a way of breaking the deadlock. Here, we explore some of the weapons used by the British Army on the Western Front.

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Drawn on the spot: War artists and the illustrated press

In Victorian Britain, it was the news of war rather than celebrity scandal that boosted the sale of newspapers.

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A bomb disposal officer and infantry officer patrol West Belfast, 1992

The Troubles

Troops were sent to Northern Ireland in 1969. They ended up staying there for nearly 40 years in what became the British Army's longest ever deployment.

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Explore 1900s events

School students getting to grips with the handling collection

Secondary workshop

1 June 2024 - 18 July 2025

FREE

The Cold War: Mission reconnaissance

Find out about key events during the Cold War and discover Brixmis, the secret reconnaissance arm of the British Army in occupied Germany.

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Mission accomplished? Comparing First World War battles

Secondary workshop

1 June 2024 - 18 July 2025

FREE

Mission accomplished? Examining First World War battles

Investigate four key battles through primary sources and decide whether they can be considered victories or defeats.

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Part of a First World War propaganda poster showing a soldier and a munitions worker

Primary (virtual)

1 June 2024 - 18 July 2025

FREE

Your Country Needs You! Propaganda and recruitment (virtual)

Explore how advertising and propaganda work, particularly focusing on recruitment campaigns of the First World War.

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Secondary workshop

1 June 2024 - 18 July 2025

FREE

World at War: Soldiers of Empire

Discover more about the contributions of soldiers from the British Empire in the First and Second World Wars.

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Secondary workshop

1 June 2024 - 18 July 2025

FREE

Recruitment and conscription

Analyse recruitment posters from the Museum's collection and multimedia recreations of First World War parliamentary debates to explore the history of Army recruitment and conscription.

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A British medical orderly treats a wounded German soldier, c1916

Secondary (virtual)

1 June 2024 - 18 July 2025

FREE

Trench medicine: Illnesses, injuries and their treatment (virtual)

Explore artefacts and sources on the causes and treatment of injuries and illnesses on the Western Front during the First World War, and assess the impact of these innovations.

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Your Country Needs You! Propaganda and recruitment

Primary workshop

1 June 2024 - 18 July 2025

FREE

Your Country Needs You! Propaganda and recruitment

Explore how advertising and propaganda work, particularly focusing on recruitment campaigns of the First World War.

find out more

Secondary workshop

1 June 2024 - 18 July 2025

FREE

Trench medicine: Illnesses, injuries and their treatment

Explore artefacts and sources on the causes and treatment of injuries and illnesses on the Western Front during the First World War, and assess the impact of these innovations.

find out more