Imperial War Museums Reviews 37

very helpful staff especailly at the entrance area
WWI section was very good but hardly anything on ROYAL NAVY with just one 5.5 inch gun from battle of Jutland.
WWII again was very good. Good coverage of Merchant fleet, battle of the Atlantic etc. Again not much about ROYAL NAVY, Scapa Flow,Mediterranean.
I didn't visit the Jewish section as I left that to last and ran out of time.
I found the cafe very disappoointing at lunchtime considering the museum is isolated quite a distance from the nearest option. I had a stale bagel. Would have preferred a bread roll, sandwhich or even a baget. seems we have become Americans. Friends with me had cheese toastie's which was partially eaten. Is this IWM London England or not?. I would recommend you bring something with you.

I haven't been for many years and to be fair I was rather disappointed. I was looking forward to see all the Victory and George crosses again and to be told they were removed many years ago saddened me. While the WW1 and 2 exabits were very good i was more interested in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan as these were conflicts that i served in but again i was deeply disappointed as these theatres were not portrayed at all, well if you call a snatch and motorbike and a bit of the Bastian wall an exhibit. Disappointed to say the least. I won't be going back. Let’s hope in 80 years someone does a better job.

Informative excellent displays.
Visit spoilt somewhat by numerous school visits. Children running around, noisy and not particularly well managed by adults accompanying them. Made concentrating on the information difficult.
School visits would be better scheduled and managed through the museum, to allow everyone to see the exhibits.

The best part and the only reason we have visited many times,and the 5 star review is for the amazing collection of Victoran & George crosses. It makes me so proud & emotional, the amazing courage that was shown by these brave individuals! To think now that these will no longer be on show proves that the curators have completely lost the plot. This museum will definitely now not be one that we will ever visit again after the disregard & insult show to these very special individuals. Hang you heads in shame!

No queues at 1pm on the 9th August 2025 and we did not book before hand lots to do.
Displays and volunteers were amazing,the Spite fire were well worth visiting for and so was Concorde and well work 5 stars, but the two cafes close at 4pm and 4.30pm NOT 6pm and they did not have the scones as advertised but the food?
The lady who served us in the cafe was not friendly and had a very serious unfriendly face.
The cast is 28 pounds for each adult.

Firstly the volunteers are well informed and happy to talk and help. Due to the layout signage should be bigger and bolder. There are good lifts for disabled people so it's easy to get around. My only 2 real problems
Were A) you are not aloud to sit or climb on the tanks and B) very small amounts on different battles throughout the 2nd world war. For instance my father fought in Palestine but that battle is in one case 6ft by 3ft

Visited the IWM in London today. The best of all the exhibits was Lord Ashcroft Gallery and the main reason for me visiting the museum....120 Victoria, George Crosses and lots of medals. I really loved it but was sad to hear that this gallery will be closing this September. For improvement; the video at the entrance should be placed elsewhere as it interferes when one is trying to read factual information. There should be a quiet sitting area at the end of the gallery for viewing the video.

We had a great day out at IWM Duxford. There really is so much to see there and all of the staff/volunteers we encountered were really friendly and helpful.
I purchased the ‘Sit in the Cockpit Spitfire Experience’ for my husbands birthday and he absolutely loved it! Our guide, Michael Child, was fantastic - extremely knowledgeable, very informative and made the whole experience fun and interesting!
We wouldn’t hesitate to recommend :)

We visited IWM north whilst on a short break in Manchester. It is free to get in, the exhibits were very engaging and the short immersive film shows throughout the day were interesting and broke the visit up. There were quite a few school parties but maybe that's to be expected. The prices in the cafe were a little expensive.

The IWM is one of the most disgusting war focused museums I have ever visited, and I've visited most.

No discount for veterans or service personnel, the very people who've made the story of conflict are ostracized. The removal of the VC medels, most who made the ultimate sacrifice, life changing injuries and were prepared to suffer the former sacrifices.

The IWM is a disgrace to the military and civilians who have died and endured the fear of conflict.

Sack the board and most of the right on staff.

Why have I bothered?
Cannot get customer service?
Cut off 3 times in a row?
Can’t join because I’m disabled??? (Serious complaint going in about this one)as no one knows anything about assistance persons or animals - must be nice to be 100% perfect, I wouldn’t know! This complaint is backdated for just over a week!

Ordered from the online shop a £250 leather spitfire holdall got sent a canvas Lancaster bag worth half as much, then had to trek to the Post Office to return it and they will not send the the correct item until the return arrives back with them. Bearing in mind this was their error I consider this very poor customer service.

VISIT DATE: FRI 04/10/2024
VISIT TIME: 14:00-18:00
LOCATION: London (Lambeth)

According to Wikipedia, the Imperial War Museum was founded in 1917, wth the intention of recording the civil and military war effort and sacrifice of the United Kingdom and its Empire during the First World War.

The museum's remit has since expanded to include all conflicts in which British or Commonwealth forces have been involved since 1914.

As of 2012, the museum aims "to provide for, and to encourage, the study and understanding of the history of modern war and 'wartime experience'."

The museum is very well laid out, with information presented in a variety of formats, making it very accessible. There are braille plaques and also videos with BSL. Additionally, lots of lifts and plenty of space to manoeuvre so great for wheelchair users.

It was also clean and well maintained, including the toilets, though I imagine it is busier in the summer.

In my opinion, this isn't a museum to go to with young children, because you need a certain level of maturity to understand what its about and how devastating war is, especially when looking at the Holocaust, but it is a museum that everyone should visit at some point in their lives. There was a strong focus on how war impacts individuals, which ensures it isn't glorified in any way, but rather highlights how important it is that we stand together and take action when it's necessary - something I hope our Government and those across Europe will be prepared to do in light of the ongoing war in Ukraine.

It saddens me that, as a species, we continue to repeat the same mistakes, focusing on nationalism and isolationism, rather than working more closely together. The museum will, inevitably, continue to expand.

I visited on 5 November 2024 on my way to Heathrow Airport to return home. The seniors price was 24GBP. I asked for one ticket as my wife is not interested in aircraft and was going to sit in the cafe and wait for me. She had done this on our visit in 2018. The fellow at the front counter asked if I wanted a yearly ticket and I told him we were on our way to Heathrow as we were returning to Australia that day so it would not be required. I asked for one ticket as my wife was just going to sit in the cafe. He stated that she could not go past the entry without paying. I told him that she had done this in 2018. He told me that would not have happened and that no one goes past without paying. I told him that she had done so and again he told me this was not correct. I told him that I am not a liar and that it had happened but it made no difference. I declined to go in. 24GBP to sit and do a crossword and pay for coffee and food is very expensive. I resent him calling me a liar and his overall attitude was extremely poor. There was no welcoming smile or any welcome to our museum about him. He was sour and unfriendly. The fellow doing the bag searches was very friendly and welcoming. The one at the counter was the opposite. The IMW should consider putting people on the desk who have the ability to deal with the public in a polite manner and listen to what they are being told instead of being so could not care less. The staff member concerned is the face of the museum when a customer goes there. He needs to lift his game dramatically and the museum's pay to use the cafe policy needs looking at (if indeed it is the policy and the fellow at the ticket sales did not have it wrong). My wife could not sit outside or in the car for a couple of hours while I was looking at exhibits. There must be many women who are travelling with their husbands who have no interest in the planes and simply want to wait while their husband tours the museum. They should be catered for. In all a very unsatisfactory experience.

The staff and exhibits made this a very special day for me. This is a fantastic museum for anyone with an interest in aviation history. I was treated to the "Sit in a Spitfire experience", the guide Ray was brilliant, the talk outlining the history of the actual aircraft and subsequent explanation of the controls as you are in the aircraft was amazing. Overall a very memorable and brilliant day.

I visited Imperial War Museum Manchester today and was very disappointed. The exhibition space was huge and the definition between the various sections was not well defined. The curators' approach was quite "institutional" and didn't communicate well. There was plenty of focus on guns, mines, planes, dates, uniforms and equipment but not enough focus on people. More individual stories of soldiers, their families and their experiences would have said so much more. Where we did view original letters and diaries, they were incredibly difficult to read. So I'm afraid I didn't bother. A typed transcript would be oh so welcome. If we want people to stop making wars, we need to touch hearts, trigger compassion and even provoke tears. I remember visiting this Museum soon after it opened more than 20 years ago and its limited display totally hooked me and held my attention. Now it looks like it has been curated by committee. Please think again. You have such an important job to do.

Awesome experience today, so well organised and staff/tour guides so helpful. Highlight for me was Battle of Britain and had the Spitfire Cockpit experience. Informative insight into this machine of utter beauty!! 5*

Went with my family after many enjoyable IWM Duxford visit. Knew it would be different. But, this seems really luckluster. While the WW1 gallery is amazing (The trenches part in particular) the rest seemed rather basic, not as exciting and thought provoking.

The Holocaust gallery is also well put out but not what I'm used to, in terms of emursuve

We went to the holocaust section with a group of girls, but were denied entry as we were a large group, however we had called in prior to our visit to ensure it wont be a problem.
the supervisor was really not willing to help us. It was an extremely painful experience because as Jewish girls, it was OUR grandparents who survived the holocaust, and this is an exhibition focusing on us! and our history! After waiting around for about an hour, a helpful worker from IWM approached and managed to get us in. The actual gallery was a real learning experience!

I wasn’t impressed by my visit today, hardly anything to do with the Cold War, next to nothing about the gulf war or Afghan, Northern Ireland and the Falklands was a total joke. It’s supposed to be a museum about British wars and I’m afraid the holocaust shouldn’t be in this museum. You can’t whitewash our history.