During the Second World War, workers digging peat for the construction of the RAF Valley airfield on Anglesey/Ynys Mon came across a hoard of over 150 Iron Age objects, including weapons, jewellery and tools. The find offers us a glimpse into the trade networks and craftsmanship of ancient Welsh …
At the start of the Second World War, Poland was divided up, not for the first time. The Nazi and Soviet sectors are shown on this map, marked in pencil and signed in red (Ribbentrop) and blue (Stalin) with the date of the German-Soviet Boundary and Friendship Treaty …
French King Louis XIV had hundreds of scale models made, showing key defensive landscapes across France made. These strategic tools at 1/600 scale, are accurate representations of the towns and surrounding countryside, making it possible to plan …
Special Operations Executive agents operating in South-East Asia during the Second World War used overshoes like these to cover their tracks. Strapped under the wearer’s shoes …
Very few pieces of civic street furniture in Britain survived the Second World War. Many metal poles and railings were taken away to be recycled into weapons for fighting the war. But many people didn’t realise that iron …
A few months after the end of the Second World War, HMS London sailed from Colombo back to the UK. Members of the ship’s company who were not due for release or repatriation were replaced by people due for return to Britain, including this …
This porcelain bowl was found among the ruins of the city after the atomic bomb explosion on 6 August 1945. As a result of the heat of the explosion, the glaze melted and sand and stones became embedded in it. The bomb killed …
The collection of badges on this hat may look like something a student might gather on their travels, but they were actually compiled by singer and actor Gracie Fields. During the Second World War, Fields signed up for the Entertainments National Service Association …
The huts where British codebreakers worked during the Second World War aren’t much to look at from the outside. And inside isn’t much more impressive. Just huts, really …
Between 1940 and 1944, the annual Bastille Day (14 July) military parade to mark France’s national holiday wasn’t able to take place in Paris …
