Centenary Season: Exhibitions

How will you be commemorating the anniversary of the First World War? We are continuing our Centenary Season with a series of exhibitions not to be missed during the coming months.

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Thackray Medical Museum

The award winning Thackray Medical Museum in Leeds is a unique visitor attraction. With nine interactive galleries, the fascinating exhibitions and collections tell a story of medicine that affects us all.

To mark the centenary of the First World War, a brand new exhibition opens in July 2014 funded by Arts Council England. Focussing on the medical advances that emerged from the war, the exhibition will look at soldiers’ experiences of hearing loss, limb loss, and shell shock. Using the museum collections, the exhibition will highlight the long-term developments which followed the conflict, such as improvements in technology and rehabilitation, as well as looking at approaches to the treatment of shell shock.

Created with the help of veterans and servicemen and women, the exhibition will allow the visitor to reflect on how far military medicine has come in 100 years, and the difficulties in healing the body and the mind.

TEL: 0113 244 4343 EMAIL: info@thackraymuseum.org WEB: www.thackraymedicalmuseum.co.uk WHEN: Opens July 2014 WHERE: 141 Beckett street, Leeds, W.Yorks, LS9 7LN

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Empire, Faith & War: The Sikhs and World War One

This summer sees a landmark exhibition by the UK Punjab Heritage Association (ukpha.org) on how one of the world’s smallest communities played a disproportionately large role in the Great War. 

Although accounting for less than 2% of the population of British India at the time, Sikhs made up more than 20% of the British Indian Army at the outbreak of hostilities.

From the blood-soaked trenches of the Somme and Gallipoli, to the deserts and heat of Africa and the Middle East, Sikhs fought and died alongside their British and Commonwealth counterparts to serve the greater good, gaining commendations and a reputation as fearsome and fearless soldiers.

Come and learn about their contribution this summer with an exhibition featuring: * rare archive footage and sound recordings * original artefacts including artworks and memorabilia * an interactive kids educational zone * a series of associated symposiums featuring expert speakers

TEL: +44 (0)20 7898 4046 EMAIL: info@ukpha.org WEB: empirefaithwar.com WHEN: 9 July - 28 September 2014 WHERE: Brunei Gallery, School of Oriental & African Studies (SOAS), Thornhaugh Street, Russell Square, London WC1H 0XG ADMISSION: Free. Groups of ten or more are requested to book in advance to avoid disappointment or overcrowding.

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Heroes of Adventure

This exhibition explores National Trust property Quarry Bank throughout the First World War, including stories from the Greg family, the workers, the villagers of Styal, and the Mill itself. With photos, letters, and belongings from the Gregs and the workers, it is a story of hope, courage, loss, and love.

TEL: 01625 445 845 EMAIL: laura.collins1@nationaltrust.org.uk WEB: www.nationaltrust.org.uk/quarry-bank WHEN: Saturday 7 June – Sunday 16 November 2014 WHERE: National Trust, Quarry Bank, Styal, Cheshire, SK9 4LA ADMISSION: £9.50, free to National Trust members

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To see this feature as it appeared in issue 42 of Military History Matters, click here.