• Welcome to this forum . We are a worldwide group with a common interest in Birmingham and its history. While here, please follow a few simple rules. We ask that you respect other members, thank those who have helped you and please keep your contributions on-topic with the thread.

    We do hope you enjoy your visit. BHF Admin Team

Imperial war museum

M

mike-g

Guest
From BBC Historty site

Family historians with military connections will now find it easier than ever to tap into a huge range of archive material and expert advice after the launch of a new research service at a major museum.
The Explore History Centre at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) offers a set of new search facilities allowing visitors to browse its collection of documents, photos, artefacts and sound recordings. The centre has been made possible thanks to an ongoing programme of digitisation that aims to improve public access to the museum’s vast archives.
In many cases visitors are now able to view documents or artefacts through a series of special ‘readers’ installed at the centre. These span material held at the IWM London as well as at the museum’s four branches across the country: the Churchill War Rooms, HMS Belfast, the Imperial War Museum Duxford and IWM North. If the object or document has not yet been made available electronically, details of where and when the item can be viewed will be provided.
If pinning down an ancestor’s wartime involvement still proves tricky, visitors can also make the most of the wealth of expertise available through the museum. As well as being on hand to offer help with genealogical conundrums, staff will be offering advice on much-loved heirlooms and military medals in a series of pre-bookable appointments.
“The new centre will offer family historians access to rich printed sources, including a major Rolls of Honour collection and hundreds of published accounts of personal experiences of war,” Richard Golland, from the IWM’s collections department, told Who Do You Think You Are? Magazine. “These resources will, in some cases, provide the chance to learn about the lives of particular family members, and also give more rounded detail about the context of their experiences – the places where they fought, the actions they took part in, and much more.”
 
Back
Top