Imperial War Museums

IWM (Imperial War Museums) is the world’s leading authority on conflict and its impact, focusing on Britain, its former Empire and the Commonwealth, from the First World War to the present. A family of five museums, IWM illustrates and records all aspects of modern war and of the individual’s experience of it, whether allied or enemy, service or civilian, military or political, social or cultural. IWM was founded on 5 March 1917 (…). It was formally established by Act of Parliament in 1920 and a governing Board of Trustees appointed. With the onset of war in 1939 IWM’s remit was extended to include the Second World War. (…) During the 1970s and 1980s 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.

IWM’s collections cover all aspects of twentieth and twenty-first century conflict involving Britain, the Commonwealth and other former empire countries. Created to record the toil and sacrifice of every individual affected by war, the collections include a wide range of material, from film and oral history to works of art, large objects, and personal letters and diaries.IWM is a national repository and is accredited under the Museums Libraries and Archives Accreditation scheme.

http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/search