Recent Acquisitions

Items in our Collections come from many sources, from artists and members of the public through to government departments and military personnel.

They all contribute to the richness and diversity of the Collections and the stories they can tell. They inform people of the causes, course and consequences of conflict from the First World War up to today.

If you are interested in offering material for the collections please visit our How to Offer page.

Recent Acquisition Highlights

Manuscript draft of ‘The General’ by Siegfried Sassoon

This manuscript relates to one of Siegfried Sassoon’s most significant poems, perhaps one of the best known written works to originate from the First World War. Siegfried Sassoon was one of the most famous of the First World War poets. He joined the Army the day before war was declared in 1914. He fought bravely on the Western Front and earned a Military Cross. This highly significant work was written by Sassoon while he was in Denmark Hill Hospital in April 1917. It was first published in his second collection of war poems, Counter Attack, in 1919.

Guantanamo: If the light goes out

Twelve digital colour exhibition prints showing scenes at the US Detainment Facility, Guantanamo Bay, in 2009 from British photographer Edmund Clark’s award winning monograph. Clark was granted exceptional access to photograph in Guantanamo by the US authorities. While working there, Clark was always escorted and worked within the parameters imposed by US camp authorities. He was not permitted to communicate with or identify detainees. His work was subjected to rigorous examination and censorship by US authorities at Guantanamo. His photographs not only document the environment of Guantanamo, but seek to evoke the disorientation central to the experience of interrogation and incarceration.

Saxon patrol vehicle

This Saxon is a veteran of the Afghan conflict, having served with Support Battalion ARRC (Allied Rapid Reaction Corps) in Kabul from July 2007 to January 2010. While in Kabul the vehicle was used for city patrols, moving injured people between bases and transporting stores. The Saxon is a variant of the Saxon Armoured Personnel Carrier, upgraded as an ‘urgent operational requirement’ for use in Afghanistan. The Saxon, although quite an elderly design (1983), was identified for use in theatre in relatively low-risk areas of operations.