Vast collections of material relating to the wars. Military documents, social information and, for my purposes, lots and lots of ephemera. The IWM is having a bit of a make-over at the moment so the archive is rather noisy but the staff are helpful and friendly and it’s a very pleasant way to spend a morning.
Opening hours and contact details are here
Search the collections online here
The practical stuff:
Money: The archive is free but photocopying costs money and they can only take card payments for photocopying. You will also need one English pound for the lockers.
Tea: At the moment, there’s nowhere onsite to get a cup of tea. I’m sure this will be fixed when the museum reopens but my advice is to eat before you go. Also – there aren’t many cafes immediately near the museum but if you walk to Waterloo (about ten minutes) you’ll be spoiled for choice. Also, Waterloo has a nice wool shop.
