On 16 May 2017, one hundred years after the Battle of Arras, the National Army Museum is publishing the drawings and watercolours of Lieutenant Richard Barrett Talbot Kelly, who, as a Forward Observation Officer, had a front row seat of the Arras offensive.
Today the National Army Museum is publishing key items of correspondence collected by Dame Florence Simpson, Chief Controller of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, demonstrating the important role women played in supporting the war effort in 1917.
The National Army Museum is publishing the papers of Major Allen Halford-Walker, a Scottish infantry soldier born in Essex. Allen’s papers, which include photos, diaries and letters, give a first-hand account of the earliest days of tank warfare, as the British struggled to make the most of their new weapon.
During 1944-45, the Allies endured months of fighting against a determined enemy. This bloody struggle eventually ended in the final defeat of Nazi Germany.
In July 1945, Allied leaders assembled at Potsdam to finalise their plans for postwar Europe. The discussions were held as news emerged that the United States had successfully tested a new superweapon.
Between 2003 and 2009, British troops in Iraq were engaged in a counter-insurgency war. They also helped train local security units, assisted with reconstruction and provided humanitarian aid.
Formed in 1938, the Auxiliary Territorial Service tasked women with a range of vital roles during the Second World War. In 1949, its remaining troops transferred to the newly formed Women’s Royal Army Corps.
In the fourth instalment, we explore the wartime exploits of the 3rd County of London Yeomanry in 1941. During this time, the men of the unit underwent a baptism of fire in the Libyan desert.
