London’s Imperial War Museum on Season 2

For our fifth shoot for our upcoming season on History Television Canada, we went to London’s multi-branch Imperial War Museum to discover some unknown stories of war. Luckily for us, we had a little help from a few people who lived through various wars, and we discovered some artifacts that reveal what war is really like.

The Imperial War Museum was founded in 1917, during the First World War, intended as a record of the war effort and sacrifice of Britain and her Empire. Today, the Museum’s collection has expanded to include war and wartime life from the First World War, through the Second World War, to the present day. The five buildings that make up the Imperial War Museum house several vast collections which include aircraft, tanks and artillery as well as thousands of personal items that showcase the experiences of both the solider and the civilian in times or war. The Museum also holds a massive archive of moving footage, photographs and historical sound recordings.

Mary Anne Alton, Director of our Museum Secrets episode said, “What’s most impressive is the museum’s ability to tell the stories of war through the people who experienced it. They lay out the history of modern war without glorifying it, instead trying to help people understand the entire war-time experience. It’s a tall order but they’re working very hard to make the museum relevant and active and engaging to new generations who have lived in more peaceful times. They give context to war which is so needed whenever we talk about war and the consequences of conflict throughout the world.”

View some of our production stills from this Museum Secrets episode at the Imperial War Museum. Then, check back to this site for videos from this shoot, in the months to come.