The Imperial War Museum was founded early in 1917, and the Battle of the Somme in 1916 provided the nucleus for its now vast collections.  The Battle was filmed and photographed by the first official cameramen, and they were soon followed by the first official war artists.  Their work is now held by the Museum’s Film and Photographic Archives and the Art Department. 

Among the first objects acquired by the Museum, and now in the care of the Department of Exhibits and Firearms, is the steel helmet worn by William Short as he lay mortally wounded on the Somme battlefield in an action for which he was posthumously awarded the Victoria Cross. 

On the 50th anniversary of the Battle in 1966, Harold Cope gave the Museum his battle scarred tunic which was cut off him when his wounded shoulder was bandaged at a dressing station near Delville Wood.  The Department of Documents and the Sound Archive's collections both provide first hand accounts of the bitter fighting, while the Department of Printed Books holds a wealth of published works and a unique collection of trench maps which trace the course of the Battle.