7 May 2025
IWM North
Everyone
Free event
Tickets for Letters to Loved Ones have all been allocated. Please sign up for our eNews to be notified if more become available.
What to expect
Join us at IWM North to commemorate VE Day 80 and reflect on eighty years since the end of the Second World War in Europe.
In IWM North’s unique Main Exhibition Space, we are creating a one-of-a-kind multimedia performance that brings the personal stories of those who lived through the war to life and explores our understanding of the war today.
As you move through the space, actors will share emotional first-hand accounts from letters sent during the war. These extraordinary stories of courage, loss, and survival offer a rare and intimate glimpse into the past. The renowned poet Tony Walsh will perform his poem Mightier Than War, exploring the dignity of the human spirit in conflict.
Your journey will conclude with an exclusive screening of The Next Morning, a short film by Olivier award-winning writer James Graham. This poignant film, featuring Julian Glover, Siân Phillips and Joseph Mydell, explores intergenerational perspectives on the end of the Second World War while reflecting on what VE Day means for today’s generation.
Letters to Loved Ones is produced in partnership with the National Theatre.
Submit your letters
During the Second World War, letters eased the pain of separation for soldiers and families. Schoolchildren and young people are invited to explore their family history by discovering wartime letters sent to relatives. Photographs of these letters can be uploaded and shared in the online 'Letters to Loved Ones' gallery.
Submit your letter
Links will open the external UK Government 'Letters to Loved Ones' website.
Header image: Ratings on board a Corvette reading letters from home which awaited their arrival in a British port. 22 November 1942. IWM (A 12978)