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Category: World War I

  1. Behind the Scenes Tour of Alexandra Palace

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    The Theatre

    Recently I was lucky enough to attend one of the rare behind the scenes history tours of Alexandra Palace. Named after Alexandra, Edward VII's wife, and affectionally known as Ally Pally.  The original building sadly burnt down just sixteen days after it opened.

  2. Unknown Warrior Commemoration at Victoria Station 2014

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    Next to Platform 8, in Victoria Train Station, there is a small plaque to the Unknown Warrior. His final resting place is in the nave of Westminster Abbey. Although we do not know his name or his rank in the army, his tomb is a very poignant remember of all those who died during World War One but whose bodies have never been identified.

    Each year on 10th November the London branch of The Western Front Association holds a ceremony to remember the arrival of the body of the Unknown Warrior at Victoria Station.

  3. The New Heritage Gallery at the Guildhall Art Gallery

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    Today sees the long anticipated re-opening of the Guildhall Art Gallery which included a new Heritage Gallery. Last night I attended the special reception of the launch which inclued Dame Helen Ghosh, the Director General of the National Trust and the Lord Chief Justice, Baron Thomas of Cwmgiedd, and I was lucky to see the new fabulous display before it opens to the general public today. The centrepiece of the new display is a copy of the 1297 Magana Carta.*

  5. Lights Out in Piccadilly Circus and Whitehall Marks the Centenary of the Start of WWI in Britain

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    On 4th August 2014, Piccadilly Circus advertising screens were replaced with a roll of honour to remember Westminster people who died in World War I. This was part of Lights Out, a UK wide campaign organised by 14-18 Now, which saw lights being switched off all over Britain between 10 and 11pm to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War in the UK.

  6. The Newly Re-opened Imperial War Museum London - Atrium and First World War Galleries

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    On Saturday 19th July 2014 the Imperial War Museum London re-opened to the public following a £40 million refurbishment and yesterday I visited with @LondonSE4. Here are some photos of the impressive new atrium and its very poignant First World War Galleries. 

  7. Royal London Hospital Museum - Explore Whitechapel's Amazing Medical History

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     Some of the display cabinets in this well laid out medical history museum – All photos courtesy of The Royal London Hospital Archives

    The Royal London Hospital Museum is a wonderful small, medical museum located in the crypt of a beautiful former church, St Augustine with St Philip's, in the hospital grounds. Whitechapel is an area best known for its associations with the infamous Jack the Ripper and this is just one of the displays at the museum.

    However, there is so much more to offer and for me, my visit there was to find out more about Nurse Edith Cavell and the hospital’s most famous patient/ inmate Joseph Merrick, who is also known as The Elephant Man, while I was researching a new walk for Centre of The Cell.

  8. Exploring the RAF Museum London

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     Blériot XI in the Milestones of Flight Gallery - named after Louis Blériot, the first person to cross the English Channel in an aeroplane

    Although I have often travelled past it I had to admit that until recently I had never visited the RAF Museum in Hendon. The first thing that hit me when I arrived was the sheer scale of the place, it is massive housing over 100 aircraft housed within five galleries. The display is impressive and varied, there really is something for everyone and you don't need to be an enthusiast to spend a few enjoyable hours there.