Secrets of the Imperial War Museum (2021)

For the first time the Imperial War Museum allows cameras behind the scenes. Revealing the pressures faced and satisfaction felt by experts and volunteers as they work to preserve objects and stories from our wartime past.

Part 1:
In the first episode, join the team on HMS Belfast as they race to get her ready for reopening and meet volunteer David, who is helping to restore the ship's 4 inch guns and honouring the memory of his father who served on board the ship.
Discover how IWM's Head of Film Matt Lee is trying to identify a heroic soldier in a famous scene from the 1916 film The Battle of the Somme and explore the story of George Arthur Roberts, the first black firefighter to join the Auxiliary Fire Service. Meanwhile at IWM Duxford, an expert team continue their vital work to conserve the Victor, one of the most famous aircraft of the Cold War.

Part 2:
Go behind-the-scenes with the team of curators, conservators and contractors as they work to complete an ambitious set of new galleries dedicated to telling the story of the Second World War and the Holocaust in a new way. A new ceiling installation designed to give visitors a sense of the terror of the Blitz is being developed and 90 year old IWM volunteer Kitty is on hand to offer her first hand memories of what it was like to experience an air raid.
Climb into the cockpit of our Mark 1 Spitfire as it undergoes a flight test ahead of a flying event at IWM Duxford, join curator Megan as she prepares for a new display of contemporary vehicles and check in with our conservation team as they take a closer look at a special piece of clothing that belonged to Winston Churchill.

Part 3:
A soldier who survived an IED attack in Afghanistan in 2012 visits IWM Duxford with his nine year old daughter to see the vehicle that saved his life, now on display in the AirSpace hangar. Meanwhile, staff explore some of the other special stories associated with objects in the IWM collection, including a Spitfire flown during the Battle of Britain.
The team working on the new Second World War Galleries install a small boat with a big story – one of the famous 'little ships' used during the Dunkirk evacuations.

Part 4:
A piece of the USS Arizona, one of the ships sunk during the attack on Pearl Harbor, arrives at IWM and curator Vikki shares how the team will use it to share the story of what happened that day. At Churchill War Rooms, we explore a secret room where a top secret telephone line allowed Winston Churchill and Roosevelt to have private conversations during the Second World War.
The fire crew at IWM Duxford scramble for a drill as they rehearse how they will deal with every eventuality as the airfield prepares to welcome hundreds of rare and delicate historic planes this year. IWM's Head of the First World War Alan Wakefield meets a man who has discovered a a chest full of lost First World War letters and artifacts under a bed when he was clearing out his step father's house.

Part 5:
Curator James Bulgin meets the granddaughter of a man who was murdered at Auschwitz to understand more about his life and to discuss the museum's ambitious plan to honour his memory as part of their new Holocaust Galleries. Meanwhile conservation staff are busy as a section of Nazi concentration camp barrack has just arrived from Germany for the gallery – but it's soon clear that the priceless object will need a lot of specialist conservation work before it can be put on display.
Plans to overhaul a First World War display at IWM North are underway, as curator Laura Clouting trawls through the museum's vast store of objects and stories to find a fresh way to explain what life was like for soldiers in the trenches during the Battle of the Somme. And we find out how the runway at IWM Duxford is cleared of birds so that vintage aircraft can take off safely.

Part 6:
The final touches are being made ahead of the opening of the new L30 million Second World War and The Holocaust Galleries at IWM London. Uniforms for the central cases are ready for display and museum staff have gathered for an unusual meeting to try out different poses to decide exactly what sort of mannequins need to be specially built for the delicate items. While the museum has countless personal stories, many communities and individuals are underrepresented across its collections. Improving the diversity of IWMs collection of stories and objects to show a wide range of experiences of war and conflict is critical and a growing focus for the museum.
In the stores at IWM Duxford, curator Alan Wakefield is working to address this gap and has just acquired the bracelet of Sergeant William Robinson Clarke, the first black pilot to join the Royal Flying Corps, to help tell the story of his vital contribution to the war.