Soldier gallery

Explore the human experience of soldiering - physical, mental and emotional - throughout the Army’s history.

About the gallery

The Soldier gallery examines what it’s like to serve as a soldier, from joining up and training to daily life and returning home.

It looks at the demands of transitioning into the Army, life on campaign, the physical and psychological impact of combat, and the lasting friendships born out of shared service.

It also shows how the human experience of soldiering has remained remarkably unchanged across more than 350 years of Army history.

Duration: Around 45 minutes
Access: Via the main lift
Location: Floor 0

Plan your visit

‘The people in the Army are different. We seem to have a different sense of humour... The comradeship and the camaraderie – that’s why I think some people have problems going home after it all.’

Major Patsy Beesley, Queen Alexandra’s Royal Army Nursing Corps - 2013

c1820

Farrier’s axe

Army farriers used the spike on this axe to put severely injured horses out of their misery as humanely as possible. The blade was used to chop off the deceased horse’s hoof to keep a record of animals lost in action.

c1855

Crimean Tom

Tom was a tabby cat, adopted by soldiers during the Crimean War (1854-56) and then brought home to England. Some accounts say that he helped the British uncover hidden food supplies in Sevastopol, saving many from malnutrition.

1916

Captain Johnson’s tunic

Johnson was wounded in the chest, pelvis and right forearm on the first day of the Battle of the Somme (1916), the bloodiest day in British Army history. You can see where medics cut away his sleeve to tend his wounds.

1918

Hellfire Corner

This signboard marked the infamous ‘Hellfire Corner’, a busy and dangerous road junction near Ypres in Belgium. The damage to the board is evidence of the devastating firepower that swept across this area during the First World War.

1976

Frostbitten toes

Major ‘Bronco’ Lane took part in the first all-military expedition to climb Mount Everest. On the descent, bad weather forced him to spend the night in a snow hole. He lost all his toes and half his fingertips to frostbite.

c1998

Kelly Holmes’s running gear

Olympic gold medallist Dame Kelly Holmes served in the Women's Royal Army Corps, and then as a physical trainer in the Adjutant General's Corps. She combined athletics with her military career, before becoming a full-time athlete in 1997.