ww2

Exhibition: London in the Second World War

14/04/2025 donbrown 0

To The London Archives in Clerkenwell for the small but (genuinely) perfectly formed ‘London in the Second World War’ exhibition. It runs until the end […]

Mk1a Spitfire at IWM London

The Rolls Royce Merlin – the engine that won WW2

21/01/2025 donbrown 0

For men of a certain age (a demographic that to which I very squarely belong), those brought up with war comics, Airfix models and the […]

30 Years of Warfare: from the Nery Gun to the V2

10/07/2024 donbrown 0

Go down into the central atrium of the Imperial War Museum in Lambeth, and one of the first things you see is the ‘Nery Gun’. […]

elizabeth frink eagle sculpture

The Eagle Squadrons Memorial in Grosvenor Square

09/07/2024 donbrown 0

Before decamping to Nine Elms, Grosvenor Square was the home of the US Embassy for the best part of a century, first at No. 1, […]

LCT7074 at d day museum southsea

Days Out: The D Day Story and the Overlord Embroidery

09/06/2024 donbrown 0

Portsmouth’s D Day Story is a small museum on the seafront a literal stone’s throw from the Tudor castle at Southsea (where Henry VIII watched […]

composite - victoria cross and george cross

The Ashcroft Gallery at the Imperial War Museum

08/06/2024 donbrown 0

One of the lesser-visited galleries in the IWM is on Level 5 (the top floor), the Lord Ashcroft collection of Victoria Crosses and George Crosses […]

bomber command memorial green park

The Bomber Command Memorial, Green Park

04/05/2024 donbrown 0

Over 55,000 Bomber Command crew lost their lives during the second world war – a death rate of over 44% from those who served. Thousands […]

violet szabo bust london

“Carve their names with pride”: the SOE Memorial

29/02/2024 donbrown 0

Many of the stories of those who served in WW2 are capable of inducing in those of us who have never had to face such […]

hms belfast in the thames

The Last of the WW2 Big Ships – HMS Belfast

30/01/2024 donbrown 0

A visit to HMS Belfast on a chilly, late January Tuesday gave me the ship almost to myself, the first time I’d visited this floating […]

Days Out – Bletchley Park, Home of the WW2 Codebreakers

26/01/2024 donbrown 0

Less than 40 minutes on the fast service from Euston gets you to Bletchley (now part of Milton Keynes). It is a journey that would […]