Britain’s soldiers have deployed to territories on almost every continent.
The Global Role gallery looks at their contribution to the accumulation and defence of Britain's overseas possessions, before examining the withdrawal from empire that began in the wake of the Second World War (1939-45).
The focus then turns to the international crises of the modern era, from the Korean War (1950-53) to the recent deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Many of the objects in this gallery were collected by soldiers deployed overseas and reflect the interactions they had with a wide range of peoples and cultures.
These soldiers came from all corners of the world and the displays reflect the huge diversity in Britain's armies.