Second World War

British troops practising for D-Day, 1944

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Second World War

The Second World War took place between 1939 and 1945 and was the bloodiest conflict in human history. It split the world's nations into two opposing military alliances, the Allies and the Axis Powers.

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Explore Second World War stories

East African soldiers with a captured Japanese flag, 1944

The Far East campaign

Between December 1941 and August 1945, British Commonwealth troops and their allies fought a bitter war across the vast expanses of Asia and the Pacific Ocean against a tenacious and often brutal enemy.

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Major Herbert 'Blondie' Hasler and a colleague paddling a canoe, c1942

Herbert ‘Blondie’ Hasler: A Cockleshell Hero

Lieutenant-Colonel Herbert ‘Blondie’ Hasler was an inventor, pioneering yachtsman and special forces canoeist. In December 1942, he led the daring ‘Cockleshell Heroes’ raid on Bordeaux harbour.

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Nigel Clogstoun-Willmott: Covert beach surveyor

During the Second World War, Nigel Clogstoun-Willmott founded the Combined Operations Pilotage Parties to undertake covert beach reconnaissance. This proved vital for the success of Allied seaborne invasions.

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Roger Courtney: SBS pioneer

Major Roger ‘Jumbo’ Courtney founded the Special Boat Section during the Second World War. This became one of Britain’s most important Special Forces and was a parent unit of the modern Special Boat Service.

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Lieutenant Colonel Robert 'Paddy' Mayne near Kabrit, Egypt, 1942

‘Paddy’ Mayne: An Irish Lion

Lieutenant-Colonel ‘Paddy’ Mayne played a vital role in the early successes of the Special Air Service (SAS), becoming one of its most important commanders.

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‘Jock’ Lewes: SAS mastermind

As the co-founder of the Special Air Service (SAS), Lieutenant ‘Jock’ Lewes played a vital role in establishing the unit’s ethos and high standards of training and discipline.

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David Stirling: The Phantom Major

Colonel David Stirling was a pioneer of British Special Forces. In 1941, he founded the Special Air Service (SAS) in Egypt to undertake small-scale raids behind enemy lines.

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Gun disguised as a pen for use by SOE agents, 1945

Special Operations Executive

Formed in 1940, the SOE was an underground army that waged a secret war in enemy-occupied Europe and Asia. Its agents demonstrated incredible courage and resourcefulness.

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Sergeant Herbert Chambers with fellow Special Boat Service soldiers in Athens, 1944

Origins of the Special Forces

During the Second World War, Britain created a range of special units who undertook a variety of daring operations against the Axis Powers. The bravery and commitment of these forces has become the stuff of legend.

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Bagnold sun compass used by the LRDG, c1942

Desert innovator: Bagnold's sun-compass

The Long Range Desert Group were masters of navigation. They owed much of their success to the scientific talents of Major Ralph Bagnold, whose sun-compass invention revolutionised desert travel.

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Propaganda poster depicting a commando raid on a German-held port in Norway, 1940

The Commandos

In 1940, the British established a new raiding and reconnaissance force. Well-trained and highly mobile, they were to carry on the war against the Axis after the evacuation from Dunkirk.

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Lieutenant-General Sir Archibald Wavell, 1938

Archibald Wavell: Britain's first wartime victor

Field Marshal Sir Archibald Wavell led an imaginative and flexible campaign against the Italians in North Africa. His triumph over their vastly superior forces was Britain’s first success of the war and paved the way for later victories.

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Explore Second World War events

Foe to Friend: The British Army in Germany since 1945

Exhibition

12 September 2020 - 1 September 2024

FREE

Foe to Friend

More than a million British soldiers have lived and served in Germany over the past 75 years. Follow their evolution from conquerors and occupiers to allies and friends.

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A clergyman and Civil Defence workers helping to clear the debris of a London school, 1940

Primary (virtual)

8 January - 19 July 2024

FREE

London in the Second World War: The Blitz (virtual)

Explore historic artefacts to discover more about the London Blitz and the people who worked to keep civilians safe.

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London in the Second World War: The Blitz

Primary workshop

8 January - 19 July 2024

FREE

London in the Second World War: The Blitz

Explore historic artefacts to discover more about the Blitz and the people who worked to keep civilians safe.

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School students getting to grips with the handling collection

Secondary workshop

8 January - 19 July 2024

FREE

World at War: Soldiers of Empire

Discover more about the contributions of soldiers from the British Empire in the First and Second World Wars.

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Talk At Museum

2 May 2024, 6.30pm

£10.00

Sky Warriors

Bestselling historian Saul David presents a riveting new account of the British airborne experience during the Second World War.

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Handwritten extract from Ted Senior's diary, c1943

Talk At Museum / Online

10 May 2024, 12.00pm

FREE

In Their Own Words: A Diary of the Death Railway

Attend a talk by research curator Justin Saddington, author of the 'In Their Own Words' series, as he examines the diary of Ted Senior, a soldier and prisoner of war who survived the building of the Thai-Burma ‘railway of death'.

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D-Day display in the Conflict in Europe gallery

Tour At Museum

11 May 2024, 11.00am

£2.00

Second World War: BSL Tour

Follow expert guide Edward Richards on a British Sign Language (BSL) tour of the galleries examining the Second World War.

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Performance At Museum

12 May 2024

FREE

Soldier Stories: Tommy Roper

Meet characters, both real and imagined, from the Army’s past and hear their amazing stories in our galleries.

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Performance At Museum

19 May 2024

FREE

Soldier Stories: Sister Evelyn Morgan

Meet characters, both real and imagined, from the Army’s past and hear their amazing stories in our galleries.

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A Churchill tank in a ruined Normandy village, 1944

In Conversation At Museum / Online

7 June 2024, 12.00pm

FREE

The Days After D-Day

Dr Glyn Prysor discusses the Battle for Normandy with Professor Jonathan Fennell, examining the Allied advance that followed on from the historic D-Day landings.

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People dressed in 1940s style dancing at the National Army Museum

Museum Late At Museum

15 June 2024, 6.00pm

£25.00

D-Day Dance

Put on your dancing shoes and jive back in time to the 1940s at this special after-hours event.

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Talk At Museum / Online

28 June 2024, 12.00pm

FREE

World Heritage and War: The Bombing of Pompeii

Professor Nigel Pollard uses the little-known story of the bombing of Pompeii during the Second World War to reflect on the risk that conflict poses to cultural heritage sites.

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Explore Second World War learning resources

Trail

KS3-KS5 (Ages 11 to 16+)

History of Warfare: Gallery Trail

Follow the trail to find ten gallery objects that explore the nature of warfare and the British Army through time.

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Trail

KS3-KS4 (Ages 11 to 16)

Second World War: Gallery Trail

Follow this gallery trail to find out more about the role of the British Army during the Second World War.

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Trail

KS2 (Ages 7 to 11)

The Blitz: Gallery Trail

Follow this gallery trail, accompanied by ATS servicewoman Shirley Hamilton, to find out more about the Blitz.

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Auxiliary Territorial Service personnel operating anti-aircraft defences, c1940

Quiz

KS2 (Ages 7 to 11)

Britain and the Blitz in the Second World War: Quiz

Put your knowledge of the Blitz to the test in this interactive quiz.

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'The Divided Dominion', poster, published 21 June 1947

Video

KS3-KS4 (Ages 11 to 16)

The Partition of India: A Poetic Retelling

Discover more about the Partition of India and the events leading up to it through this poetry film, featuring archival images and original epic poetry.

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British soldiers and locals watch the burning of Belsen, May 1945

Video

KS3-KS4 (Ages 11 to 16)

The Liberation of Bergen-Belsen

Uncover the story of the Army’s liberation of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp at the tail end of the Second World War in Europe.

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Recruiting leaflet, Army Cadet Force, 1991

Timeline

KS3-KS5 (Ages 11+)

Army Cadets: Interactive Timeline

Explore the history of the British Army Cadet Force and the Combined Cadet Force through this interactive timeline.

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Outside an advanced dressing station at Tilloy-les-Mofflaines, Western Front, April 1917

Timeline

KS4-KS5 (Ages 14+)

Health and Medicine in the Army: Interactive Timeline

Uncover the history of medical developments in the British Army through this interactive timeline packed with nearly 200 sources.

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Indian Army troops travelling upstream on a barge, Mesopotamia, c1916

Timeline

KS3-KS5 (Ages 11+)

India, Empire and the Army: Interactive Timeline

Explore the history of the British Army in India and the British Empire's Indian armies through this interactive timeline packed with over 200 sources.

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