War & Weapons
Explore objects, stories and blogs that unravel London’s long history of conflict.
Blogs-And-Stories
J Smythe: The WWII navigator & his Windrush story
By any measure, Johnny Smythe led an extraordinary life
Oliver Cromwell: The man who could have been king
Cromwell’s victories in the Civil Wars took him to the very top
First World War and the British Red Cross: War art with a difference
How artists documented the British Red Cross’ WWI relief efforts through powerful artworks
Graham Sutherland’s eerie Blitz drawings
This south London-born artist recorded the carnage of the Second World War
The Havering Hoard
London’s largest ever Bronze Age hoard, bundled up and buried 3,000 years ago
Boudica: Rebel queen of the Iceni
London burned when this warrior queen challenged the Romans
Embroidered memories: The WWI silk postcard industry
How these hand-embroidered WWI silk postcards are beautiful examples of sentimentality and wartime industry
How Florence Nightingale shaped London healthcare
Modern nursing has a lot to thank this 19th-century trailblazer for
Food rationing & wartime trading at Sainsbury’s
From food rationing to setting up emergency shops, here’s how Sainsbury’s operated during First & Second World Wars
The vivid photography of Bill Brandt
An influential photographer whose work spanned documentary images and Surrealist portraits
Silvertown 1917: London’s largest explosion
73 people died when an east London factory making TNT caught fire and exploded
Who was Admiral Nelson?
Nelson's naval victories gave him national hero status and a permanent place in Trafalgar Square
Suffragette teddy bears: WWI and women’s rights
What’s your favourite object connected to women’s history? One of ours is a Bow Bear
An introduction to Christina Broom
The pioneering photographer who captured the Suffragettes in action
The Walbrook Skulls: A Roman murder mystery
Did these 39 skulls belong to gladiators?
London’s Blitz: A city at war
The German bombing campaign which rained down death and destruction on London
Blitz Underground: How war artists saw tube shelters
Bill Brandt and Henry Moore’s war art during the Blitz offer a poignant view of human resilience amid chaos
Mary Seacole: Doctress of the Crimean War
The determined businesswoman and caregiver who looked after troops at war
