Oliver Cromwell's funeral banner
Oliver Cromwell died #OnThisDay in 1658. This silk banner or escutcheon is one of 2,006 that were used during his elaborate state funeral, but only 4 still survive today. Decorated with his arms as Lord Protector and the royal crown, half is painted black to signify he had died. More on Cromwell's extraordinary life, and death, on our website: bit.ly/2UtrXRj
Westerplatte and the War of 1939 Museum plans announced
Later this morning, our friends at Muzeum II Wojny Światowej in Gdansk, Poland, will unveil the development plans for a brand-new Westerplatte and the War of 1939 Museum, which will give the battlefield the recognition it deserves.
Please join them for this important event, which will be livestreamed: bit.ly/3j8fiQg
Captain Sir Tom Moore in conversation promo
Take a moment, grab a cuppa ☕️ and catch up with yesterday's screening of @captaintommoore and @pte_hammond in conversation with @PeteAJohnston, as they talk about their wartime service in Burma and their fundraising for Covid-19 efforts this year bit.ly/2Y3qdma #VJDay75
Captain Sir Tom Moore and Private Joseph Hammond in conversation
Tune in on our website at 4pm for a very special screening. Captain Sir Tom Moore and Private Joseph Hammond from Ghana are both Second World War Burma veterans who captured public imagination fundraising for Covid-19 efforts. Dr Peter Johnston leads them in conversation. http://bit.ly/3kKvglb
Curator Emma Mawdsley on Jack Chalker's art
In our final #VJDay75 themed #HighlightsFromHome, Curator Emma Mawdsley highlights the work of Jack Chalker, a Bombadier captured in Singapore by Japanese forces in 1942. His sketches, hidden from guards, detail the brutality of POW camp life. bit.ly/2CsRF5l
Curator Jasdeep Singh on Japanese propaganda leaflets
In today's #VJDay75 #HighlightsFromHome video, CuratorJasdeep Singh shares some context around our collection of WW2 Japanese propaganda leaflets aimed at Indian soldiers and civilians, attempting to convince them to turn against the British: http://bit.ly/2Y0R1Ue
Rob Fleming on the formation badges of the 81st and 82nd (West Africa) Divisions
As we commemorate #VJDay75, staff have been sharing #HighlightsFromHome related to the Far East Campaign. Today, Templer Study Centre Manager Rob Fleming on the formation badges and service, of the 81st and 82nd (West Africa) Divisions. Part of our series: bit.ly/39xNtxh
Levison Wood: My Grandfather's War
Join us on Friday evening as we host a free online screening of a new short film with Levison Wood. Join this emotional journey as he discovers the story of his grandfather's wartime service in Burma through archive material: bit.ly/30zfrpo
Part of our #VJDay75 series.
Curator Kirsty Parson on the 'Wasbies'
As we mark the 75th anniversary of VJ Day, our staff are sharing related #HighlightsFromHome. Here, curator Kirsty Parsons introduces the intrepid wartime service of the 'Wasbies', the Women's Auxiliary Service (Burma).
Explore our #VJDay75 events series: bit.ly/39xNtxh
Curator Jasdeep Singh on a Japanese 'good-luck' flag
Adorned with messages of good luck and encouragement from friends and family, 'good-luck flags' were very personal symbols of fortune for Japanese troops during the Second World War.
Many of these flags were captured by Allied soldiers. In the latest #HighlightsFromHome video, curator Jasdeep Singh explores the story of one of them. Read more about the flags and the Burma Campaign here: bit.ly/30LMVRI
Join us this week as we commemorate #VJDay75: bit.ly/39xNtxh
Templer Study Centre Manager Rob Fleming on An East View of the Great Cataract of Niagara #HighlightsFromHome
At first glance this looks like a simple watercolour landscape, but there's much more to it than meets the eye. In our latest #HighlightsFromHome video, our Templer Study Centre Manager, Rob Fleming, unveils the details that make this 18th Century watercolour of Niagara Falls in our collection particularly special: https://bit.ly/39E3zW
Curator Holly Winter on Lilian Franklin's uniform
Lilian 'Boss' Franklin OBE joined the First Aid Nursing Yeomanry in 1909, serving with distinction during the First World War.
In this video, Curator Holly Winter discusses Franklin's uniform in our collection, and her role in reforming the FANY bit.ly/3hdOQnt
Director Justin Maciejewski welcome video
We reopened today after months in lockdown, and we couldn't be happier to see visitors again! Here's a message from our Director, Justin Maciejewski.
For more information on how to visit us now, see bit.ly/2CKkhGO
Condition checking the Siege of Namur painting
The Siege of Namur, a major event of the Nine Years War, began #OnThisDay in 1695. In December, Senior Painting Conservator Susan M. Moore of Plowden & Smith came to the Museum, to check the condition of Jan Wyck's painting of the siege. The painting was never finished, and inspecting it with a UV light helps show up areas that have been retouched or left unvarnished, and may be more prone to flaking.
This video shows a little glimpse at some of the ways we work with our collections behind the scenes...🔍
More on the painting and the siege itself: bit.ly/3gjbPg9
Assistant Director Ian Maine on Captain George Johnson's tunic
#OhThisDay in 1916, the Battle of the Somme began. It was the bloodiest day in British Army history, with 57,000 casualties sustained.
Captain George Johnson's tunic bears the ravages of that day, as Assistant Director Ian Maine explains in our latest #HighlightsFromHome video. bit.ly/38e6moi
Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment Armed Forces Day video
Ahead of Armed Forces Day tomorrow, the Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment, known as PWRR - The Tigers, talk about the role the battalion has played in their local community this past year including their work as a Covid support force.
Find out more about the history of the regiment: bit.ly/2VjSUd8
You can explore the history and collections of The Princess of Wales's Royal Regiment by visiting the PWRR & Queen's Museum at Dover Castle, due to reopen 4 July.
Curator Sophie Anderson on Lord Raglan's miniature sword
From Napoleon's horse to the Siborne's battle model, we have some pretty well known Waterloo related collections. On the 205th anniversary of the battle, we present curator Sophie Anderton, as she introduces you to one of the smaller and stranger of these objects... a miniature sword: bit.ly/3hCKkQs
Female veterans portrait timelapse
Over the lockdown period we've uploaded over 1,000 new records to our online collection, including a series of portraits painted live at the Museum last year by artists from London Fine Arts, of female veterans. Read their stories: bit.ly/3eNmUp4
The Bombay Plague
In the 1850s, bubonic plague broke out in Yunnan, China. Spreading worldwide over decades, the pandemic was considered active until 1960. In September 1896, the first cases were diagnosed in Bombay (Mumbai). The British and Indian Armies were tasked with provided medical care and enforcing the strict containment measures.
As British Army's current role in supporting civilian authorities in health emergencies has been brought to light by the Covid-19 crisis, curator Justin Saddington explores the echoes in this episode of history through the lens of a fascinating photo album in our collection: bit.ly/2XgpsWT
Dr Peter Johnston on T E Lawrence's robes
Few British soldiers have a greater legend attached to them than Colonel T E Lawrence, better known as Lawrence of Arabia, who died #OnThisDay in 1935.
Lawrence's famous robes and dagger are on display at the Museum. Join our head of Collections Research and Academic Access, Dr Peter Johnston, as he explains why they're some of his favourite objects in our collection.
More on T E Lawrence: bit.ly/2Zj1dsE
Dr Peter Johnston introduces the Home Guard
#OnThisDay 80 years ago, the Local Defence Volunteers was formed. Later renamed the Home Guard, they were immortalised after the War in British imaginations by 'Dad's Army'. Here, Curator Peter Johnston examines some items in our collections relating to the Home Guard: bit.ly/3fQtoEY
Do you have any family stories relating to the Home Guard? Please do share them if so!
Archivist Tasha Swainston reads Lance Corporal Booth's VE Day letter
What was VE Day like in 1945? How do you, or should you, feel when a period of trial comes to an end, with a hopeful but uncertain future? This contemplative letter was written by Lance Corporal Booth to his father #OnThisDay in 1945. Read here by archivist Tasha Swainston, from her garden. #VEDay75
Explore our collections: bit.ly/2LgW10e
Vying for Victory Debate
➡️Head to Youtube NOW to watch the debate between curators from the tri-service museums, Vying for Victory: Britain's Army, Navy and Air Force in Myth and Memory, led by @James Holland: bit.ly/2WyvDnN
✍️Sign up for tonight's live Q&A, 7pm: https://www.crowdcast.io/e/vyingforvictory/register
#VEDay75
Robin Horsfall on the Iranian Embassy siege
"The media...were a threat...we had to make sure they weren't filming us"
Robin Horsfall, ex-SAS operative, on the media and the storming of the Iranian Embassy in London. The Iranian Embassy siege, one of the most famous counter-terrorism operations in British history, took place #OnThisDay in 1980: https://bit.ly/2W3iXGe
Virtual #VEDay75 Festival
From service and duty to dancing and beauty: the full programme for our Virtual #VEDay75 Festival is now available! Join us, The Royal Air Force Museum, London, & National Museum of the Royal Navy for three days of talks, tales and tutorials as we commemorate the end of the War in Europe: bit.ly/2Y1RoP3
#StandWithYourServices
Anzac Day 2020
This #AnzacDay, many of the usual ceremonies commemorating the service and deaths of soldiers from Australia and New Zealand have been cancelled or curtailed.
You can find videos and other resources relating to this year's #AnzacDay activities on the Australian War Memorial's page and website: bit.ly/2QK4Hwz and Ministry for Culture and Heritage's page and website: bit.ly/356Q27m
Here, Robert Fleming, Manager of our Templer Study Centre, outlines the significance of the day as this year, we remember, online:
National Army Museum turns 60🎂
We turned 60 years old this month! To mark the occasion, let us introduce you to our history with an old-fashioned newsreel 🎞 Sound on!🔊
See the full video, which explains the build up to the opening of the original museum, check out our timeline, and find out how we've made our Institutional Archive accessible with Archives Hub here: bit.ly/2z17U7q
#NAM60
Curators in conversation: 75 years since the liberation of Bergen-Belsen
The Nazi concentration camp Bergen-Belsen was liberated by the British Army #OnThisDay 75 years ago; it would be their largest humanitarian effort in a warzone. The full story can be read at: www.nam.ac.uk/explore/liberation-belsen
Join us today, Wednesday 15 April from 2pm-4pm for a Live Q&A on Twitter, with Dr Peter Johnston and Kirsty Parsons. Follow #Belsen75 and tag @NAM_London to ask a question with #AskACurator, ask we discuss this significant anniversary and the Army's role in the liberation of the camp.
Foe to Friend: The British Army in Germany since 1945 will open at the National Army Museum later this year. Please forgive any sound or lag issues. It is important for us to mark this anniversary and discuss it. Unfortunately, we don’t have the ideal AV recording systems at home, so bear with us!
(Recorded from home via Zoom, during Covid-19 Lockdown in the UK)
Easter holidays have officially begun- have the kids already turned your living room into a jungle during #lockdown? Help keep them occupied by making masks with our camouflage-inspired mini-tutorial 🌿🎭
The National Army Museum is open to visitors once more, with measures in place to ensure your visit is safe and enjoyable. More info: bit.ly/2CKkhGO
