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Imperial
War
Museums
(IWM)
is
a
British
national
museum
organisation
with
branches
at
five
locations
in
England,
three
of
which
are
in
London.
Founded
as
the
Imperial
War
Museum
in
1917,
the
museum
was
intended
to
record
the
civil
and
military
war
effort
and
sacrifice
of
Britain
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'."
Originally
housed
in
the
Crystal
Palace
at
Sydenham
Hill,
the
museum
opened
to
the
public
in
1920.
In
1924,
the
museum
moved
to
space
in
the
Imperial
Institute
in
South
Kensington,
and
finally
in
1936,
the
museum
acquired
a
permanent
home
that
was
previously
the
Bethlem
Royal
Hospital
in
Southwark.
The
outbreak
of
the
Second
World
War
saw
the
museum
expand
both
its
collections
and
its
terms
of
reference,
but
in
the
post-war
period,
the
museum
entered
a
period
of
decline.
The
1960s
saw
the
museum
redevelop
its
Southwark
building,
now
referred
to
as
Imperial
War
Museum
London,
which
serves
as
the
organisation's
corporate
headquarters.
During
the
1970s,
the
museum
began
to
expand
onto
other
sites.
The
first,
in
1976,
was
a
historic
airfield
in
Cambridgeshire
now
referred
to
as
IWM
Duxford.
In
1978,
the
Royal
Navy
cruiser
HMS
Belfast
became
a
branch
of
the
museum,
having
previously
been
preserved
for
the
nation
by
a
private
trust.
In
1984,
the
Cabinet
War
Rooms,
an
underground
wartime
command
centre,
was
opened
to
the
public.
From
the
1980s
onwards,
the
museum's
Bethlem
building
underwent
a
series
of
multimillion-pound
redevelopments,
completed
in
2000.
Finally,
2002
saw
the
opening
of
IWM
North
in
Trafford,
Greater
Manchester,
the
fifth
branch
of
the
museum
and
the
first
in
the
north
of
England.
In
2011,
the
museum
rebranded
itself
as
IWM,
standing
for
"Imperial
War
Museums".
The
museum's
collections
include
archives
of
personal
and
official
documents,
photographs,
film
and
video
material,
and
oral
history
recordings,
an
extensive
library,
a
large
art
collection,
and
examples
of
military
vehicles
and
aircraft,
equipment,
and
other
artefacts.
The
museum
is
funded
by
government
grants,
charitable
donations,
and
revenue
generation
through
commercial
activity
such
as
retailing,
licensing,
and
publishing.
General
admission
is
free
to
IWM
London
(although
specific
exhibitions
require
the
purchase
of
a
ticket)
and
IWM
North,
but
an
admission
fee
is
levied
at
the
other
branches.
The
museum
is
an
exempt
charity
under
the
Charities
Act
1993
and
a
non-departmental
public
body
under
the
Department
for
Digital,
Culture,
Media
and
Sport.
As
of
January
2012,
the
Chairman
of
the
Trustees
is
Sir
Francis
Richards.
Since
October
2008,
the
museum's
director
general
has
been
Diane
Lees.[4]
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