Lowri Griffiths on the Imperial War Museum’s new free exhibition and why she went in expecting a quiet Tuesday and left completely rearranged
I went to the Imperial War Museum’s new Childhood in War exhibition on what I thought was going to be a fairly light Tuesday activity between meetings. I was wrong about that within about ten minutes of walking in, and I want to talk about why, because I think more people should go.
What The Exhibition Actually Covers
It traces childhood experiences during wartime from 1914 right up to the present day, looking at how ordinary things like play, schooling, and home life are shaped and reshaped by conflict. It’s not just a display of grim facts and dates, it’s genuinely built around the small, specific, human details of what it actually meant to be a child during these periods.
The Bit That Actually Got Me
There’s a section with toys that children made themselves during periods of severe shortage, small handmade things constructed out of whatever scraps were available, and something about seeing those specific objects, knowing exactly what desperate creativity produced them, completely undid me in a way I hadn’t anticipated for a free Tuesday exhibition.
How It’s Actually Laid Out
Sensitively, is the word I keep coming back to. It doesn’t sensationalise anything, but it also doesn’t shy away from being genuinely difficult in places. There’s a careful balance struck between historical education and emotional weight that I think a lot of exhibitions attempt and fewer actually manage.
Who I’d Actually Recommend This To
Honestly, everyone, though I’d say go on a day when you have a bit of emotional bandwidth spare. This isn’t a browse-quickly-on-your-lunch-break kind of exhibition, even though it’s completely free and open through into next year, which genuinely surprised me given how substantial it felt.
What I Did Afterwards
Sat by the river for a while before I felt ready to go back to my actual Tuesday. Worth building that buffer time in if you go, because you will need a minute to just sit with it before diving back into whatever normal thing you had planned next. I ended up rearranging the rest of my day entirely, which I don’t regret one bit.