24 Hour Museum - official guide to UK museums, galleries, exhibitions and heritage
Gateway to Over 3,000 UK museums, galleries and heritage attractions
Skip to navigation
Remembrance Day - Museums Pay Tribute To The Fallen
By David Prudames
09/11/2004
Image: Shows a photograph of a clump of poppies in a field at Gallipoli.
Picture courtesy of The Royal British Legion.
With military and support personnel currently on active service in Iraq, annual acts of remembrance will have a particular resonance this year.
Traditionally held in November to mark the moment when at 11.00am on November 11 1918, the guns finally fell silent on what became known as 'the war to end all wars'.
Each year since, two minutes of silence has been observed to remember those from Britain and the Commonwealth who died not only in the First and Second World Wars, but in subsequent conflicts in Korea, the Falklands, Northern Ireland and, of course, Iraq.
All over the country, at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month people will be taking a moment to honour the sacrifice made by hundreds of thousands of young men and women in all theatres of war.
Museums will also be marking the occasion, offering the perfect opportunity to learn about what happened and providing a suitable place to reflect and remember.
In the capital, following the two-minutes silence, the Imperial War Museum will echo with the sound of a particularly poignant tribute.
Image: Shows a photograph of a violin made out of wood taken from First World War battlefields.
Constructed by late member of the BBC Symphony and Royal Philharmonic Orchestras, Kenneth Popplewell, this violin is made out of wood from the battlefields of the Somme and Ypres. © Imperial War Museum, London.
Jennifer Pike, 15 and the youngest ever winner of the BBC Musician of the Year award will play a short recital on a violin crafted using wood from trees growing on the First World War battlefields at Ypres and the Somme.
She will be joined by Henry Allington, 108, who served in the Royal Naval Air Services and fought at both sites in 1917.
At the Royal Armouries’ Fort Nelson site, an original First World War 18-pound gun will be fired in remembrance at 11.00am
The commemorations will continue on November 14, with traditional Remembrance Sunday ceremonies in churches and at war memorials, as well as museums all over the UK.
There will be free entry for all at Imperial War Museum Duxford as well as the observation of a two-minutes silence at 11.00am and wreath-laying services.
Picture courtesy of The Royal British Legion.
The museum is also planning remembrance-themed activities for children in the American Air Museum on site, where explainers will be on hand to help them understand the event.
"We very much hope that people will take this opportunity to come and explore IWM Duxford on the day when the British and Commonwealth dead of both world wars and subsequent conflicts, including Iraq, are remembered," explained Duxford’s Frank Crosby.
"Whole generations of men were lost during two world wars while conflicts including Iraq have affected many British families," he added.
"Wherever possible, our larger exhibits are complemented by smaller, personal items from letters and diaries to, perhaps the most poignant of all, a simple pair of British Army boots worn by an unknown soldier during the First World War. These serve to remind us that, no matter how technologically advanced warfare may become, wars are still fought by people."
The Royal Marines Museum in Southsea will also be free for the day, with a service of remembrance starting at 10.45am.
Image: Shows a photograph of rows of mini wooden crosses, each one bearing a remembrance poppy.
Remembrance Sunday, 2001, Brighton. © Jon Pratty.
During the Second World War, Bletchley Park in Buckinghamshire was the site of top secret code breaking work and a commemorative parade will be held there on November 14.
Making its way from inside the park to the church in the village between 9.30am and 11.30am, the parade is organised by the local British Legion and local Cadet forces are all taking part.
Up in Manchester at Imperial War Museum North visitors are invited to add their own message or memory to a special Remembrance Poppy Display, while a piper’s lament will follow the traditional silence at 11.00am.
Image: Shows a photograph of the exterior of Imperial War Museum North.
Imperial War Museum North. Photo: Len Grant. © Len Grant.
At Yorkshire Air Museum, services will be held at the French Memorial at Elvington and in the museum chapel.
Over in Kirklees, the wartime sacrifices on the Home Front are being remembered with the return of a hugely popular temporary exhibition to Red House Museum in Gomersal.
The exhibition, entitled All Clear on the Home Front, will re-open on November 13 and continue until November 13 2005.
"The Second World War is still vividly remembered by those who lived through the danger and hardships of the time," said museum officer Helga Hughes.
"Around 15 years ago people all around Kirklees were interviewed about their wartime experiences. Their memories helped create this exhibition - some are amusing, some angry, some happy and some sad. They capture the real and personal stories of life at the time."
Trying their gas masks out for size during the Second World War. © Kirklees Community History Service.
Back down in London the National Army Museum has a weekend of events planned to commemorate Remembrance Day.
As well as an act of remembrance at 11.00am on Sunday, there will be lectures on Saturday November 13, poppy and wreath making and an opportunity to have photographs, documents and artefacts identified by museum curators.
This is just a brief rundown of some of the Remembrance events going on in museums. So, contact your local institution to find out what's happening in your area.
If you have children, you might be interested in the Remembrance Day coverage on our kids' site www.show.me.uk.
Imperial War Museum London
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Road, London, SE1 6HZ, England
Open: Open daily, 10.00-18.00
Closed: Closed 24-26 December
Royal Armouries Museum - Fort Nelson
Royal Armouries Museum , Down End Road, Fareham, PO17 6AN, Hampshire, England
Open: Open Daily April-October 10:00-17:00pm
November-March 10:30-16:00pm
Closed: 25th-26th December only
Imperial War Museum Duxford
Imperial War Museum Duxford, Cambridge, CB22 4QR, Cambridgeshire, England
Open: Winter 10.00am - 4.00pm
Summer (mid March - mid October inclusive) 10.00am - 6.00pm (last admission 5.15pm)
Closed: 24, 25 and 26 December
Royal Marines Museum
Royal Marines Museum, Southsea, PO4 9PX, Hampshire, England
Open: Daily 1000-1700 throughout the year
Open Bank holidays
Closed: Closed Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and Boxing Day
Bletchley Park
The Mansion, Bletchley Park, Bletchley, Milton Keynes, MK3 6EB, Buckinghamshire, England
Open: Bletchley Park will be closed from 1st November 2005 through to 1st April 2006 to day visitors and tours. The Park will reopen on 1st April 2006 to visitors, and will be open every day through the summer, weekdays 09.30 – 5.00, weekends from 10.30 – 5.00.
Imperial War Museum North
Imperial War Museum North, The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road, Trafford Park, Manchester, M17 1TZ, England
Open: Open every day, 10.00 - 18.00
(November - February 10.00 - 17.00)
Closed: Closed December 24-26
Red House Museum, Gomersal
Red House, Oxford Road, Gomersal, Near Cleckheaton, BD19 4JP, West Yorkshire, England
Open: Open: Mon-Fri 11.00-17.00, Sat & Sun 12.00-17.00
National Army Museum
Royal Hospital Road, London, SW3 4HT, England
T: 020 7730 0717 ext. 2210 / 2235
Open: Daily 1000-1730
Closed: 24-26 December, 1 January, Good Friday, early May bank holiday.
Related Articles
Photos Of WWII Codecrackers Go On Sale At Bletchley Park
Bletchley Park Calls For Partners To Match £300,000 Funding
Museum Exhibitions And Events Mark 90th Anniversary Of Armistice
Bletchley Park Receives A £330,000 Grant From English Heritage
1918 - 2008: Ninety Years Of Remembrance - Some Web Resources
Royal Marines Museum Saves Rare Marines Trafalgar Medal For The Nation
Remembering The Great War At Imperial War Museum London
E-news registration
E-mail story to a friend
Tell us what you think
Black Watch Museum Appeal Seeks To Raise £3million
News In Brief - Museums, Galleries And Heritage News
Newly-Accredited Medical College Invests In Mysterious Portrait
Photos Of WWII Codecrackers Go On Sale At Bletchley Park
Painting Returns To Queen Victoria's Dressing Room After 166-Year Absence
Cartoon Awards Ceremony Celebrates UK's Top Scribblers At Mall Galleries
Made08 - The Brighton Craft Fair 2008
Library Thief To Be Sentenced At Wood Green Crown Court Today
New Look For The Relaunched Garden Museum In Lambeth
Write Queer London Competition Holds Inspiration Day At The British Museum
Downs House Darwin Discovery Project Wins Funding Go-Ahead
British Museum Gets Set For Historic Egyptian Tomb Gallery
Stunning Wedgwood Relaunch Celebrates Potteries Heritage
Library Bid To Save Earliest Surviving Score Of Opera In English Language
Ryedale Folk Museum Lands Significant Harrison Collection
Portable Antiquities Scheme Is Fit For Purpose Say MLA
Leading Academics Call For Art Funding Support In Wake Of Titian Pledge
Glasgow Police Museum Edges Closer To A New Home
Search this site
Home Page
News Page
Exhibition Page
What's On
Trails Page
Website of the Week
Letters Page
Welsh Home
Graphical Version
Copyright © 24 Hour Museum
Information published here was believed to be correct at the time it was prepared. Welsh language pages developed with CYMAL: Museums Archives and Libraries Wales, funded by the Welsh Assembly Government.