More of the best museum that no-one knows about

To continue with my thoughts on the Museum of World War Two.

Almost every part of the museum was of great interest to me, particularly to see the many things I had only ever seen in pictures or on film.  After the Holocaust section - which was much as I had expected even though I had to keep reminding myself that I wasn't looking at replicas but at authentic artifacts that had really been used, I found myself in wartime Britain. Churchill's overalls, letters between him and Roosevelt, the D-Day plans.  Yes. The real D-Day plans.  There were German air-raid maps of London with potential (and actual) bomb sites marked out in red, including places very close to where my mother and her family lived at that time.

Another fascinating section concerned Special Operations and the French Resistance. Tiny tools and gadgets for sabotage.  Secret radios hidden in attache cases and biscuit tins. garottes, guns, cyanide capsules, secret maps, parachutes, explosives, blades hidden in shoe heels and knives hidden in sleeves.  Then we saw Enigma machines - those complicated coding devices used with enormous success by Germany until one fell into British hands and provided the key to seemingly unbreakable codes.  There were also devices provided to airmen to aid them in escape attempts in the event of them being captured. There were miniature compasses hidden in uniform buttons, blades hidden inside pencils sent in Red Cross parcels and maps printed on silk and sewn into uniform linings. The ingenuity was astounding.

I'm less interested in weaponry and warfare per se, so I didn't spend long looking at the Sherman tank or guns or bits of cockpits from shot-down aircraft.  There was not as much from the North-African theatre or Italy, but they did have Monty's uniform, which was much as expected. I was surprised to see what to me looked like the uniform of a soldier from a Welsh regiment (because of the Welsh dragons on the collar) marked as a Ghurka uniform.  I wasn't so sure of myself as to say anything to the curator, but now I've had a chance to look it up and have found that it was mislabelled, I'll probably drop him a line.

There is so much I haven't written about here and I'm afraid I haven't done justice to any of it.  The web site has some pictures which give a taste of what there is to see so I suggest you take a look yourself if you are intrigued.  I am so glad we went there. It was a riveting, fascinating visit. We took over four hours to look around and didn't sit down, take a break or have any food or drink in all that time.

Near the end, and rather unexpectedly, there were more of Hitler's belongings.  We'd already seen his uniform and reading glasses, but now there was an entire table-setting of monogrammed linens, hand-painted china and Hitler's favourite tea cup.

There was even china, including a broken plate, and a chair which were found in his Bunker.  Then there was a strip of blue and white fabric which had been cut from the sofa on which Hitler and Eva Braun are supposed to have committed suicide. It had been brought home by General Patton. The oddest and most unexpected things.
 
Go and see for yourself: Museum of World War II