Imperial War Museum
A warm evening on 2nd July saw fifteen of us assembling outside the Imperial War Museum (IWM) for an out-of-hours guided tour of their First World War exhibition.
The First World War gallery proved to be both fascinating and thought provoking, looking at not only the way warfare evolved during the first ever global conflict, but also how the conflict affected both the civilian and military populations of the Allies and Germany. It was the latter that the group found most fascinating.
The IWM guide proved to be both knowledgeable and a superb communicator, giving the group great insight into the importance and rarity of some of the exhibits. He told the stories of both 16 years old Jack Cornwell VC, who was a member of the forward 5.5 inch gun team on HMS Chester at the battle of Jutland one of the youngest people ever to be awarded the nation’s highest gallantry award, the hundreds of women who worked in the nations munition factories, and the strictures that were experienced by the German public as a result of the war with great eloquence.
The photograph shows the group after the guided tour, when they assembled in the main hall of the museum for a glass of wine. Some then went on to a local hostelry for further refreshment.
Our thanks must go to Liveryman Cheryl Moreton, who organised the event, and to the staff of the Imperial War Museum, without whose support we would not have been able to enjoy such an interesting and informative evening.
