How the Imperial War Museum was born

In the summer of 1916, the huge sum of £6,000 was paid at auction for a 70-word letter, the handwritten original of Lord Kitchener's appeal for 300,000 men to join the New Armies. It was his fourth draft and the price paid, by shipping magnate and philanthropist Thomas Fenwick Harrison, reflected how conscious people were, even at the time, of its historical significance.

Harrison generously said he would present the letter to the nation, "through what channel he had not yet decided", and shortly afterwards facsimiles were offered for sale in support of the Red Cross.

The lack of an obvious place for the letter may have been one reason why, six months later, a national war museum was proposed. The public were invited to contribute "war souvenirs of all kinds, pictures, photos, models, books, posters, leaflets, cartoons, paper money, stamps, medals, etc".

The museum became the Imperial War Museum, and the benefit of its magpie approach  to collecting can be seen in its extraordinary current exhibition, In Memoriam, commemorating the 90th anniversary of the end of the war.

Click on the links above to read the original Times articles, and you can read a detailed review of the exhibition here, at the 24-Hour Museum, and visit the exhibition at the Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London, SE1.
T: 020 7416 5000
Open daily, 10.00-18.00
Closed 24-26 December
www.iwm.org.uk