War & Weapons
Explore objects, stories and blogs that unravel London’s long history of conflict.
Blogs-And-Stories
J Smythe: The Second World War 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
Graham Sutherland’s eerie Blitz drawings
This south London-born artist recorded the carnage of the Second World War
First World War & the British Red Cross: War art with a difference
How artists documented the British Red Cross’ First World War relief efforts through powerful artworks
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 First World War silk postcard industry
How these hand-embroidered First World War 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: First World War & 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?
From the PLA Archive: Men who served in the First World War
How cataloguing the Port of London Authority Archive led to unearthing fascinating connections to the First World War
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
