From baker to soldier

A great shame THE news that the Lord Ashcroft Gallery in the Imperial War Museum (IWM) is to close on June 1 after 15 years (see “News & Views” page 6) has come as something of a shock to collectors, not least to Lord Ashcroft himself it seems. The Gallery, whilst holding Victoria Crosses and George Crosses from the IWM’s own collection as well as some on loan from families, is most famous for the 230 Crosses of the Lord Ashcroft Collection and was only made possible by a £5million donation from the peer. Whilst the Collection was only “on loan” to the IWM, Lord Ashcroft has said that he had fully expected that loan (ten years initially, extended by a further five during Covid and due to expire on September 30) to be “routinely” extended further. Rumours had long been circulating that his longterm intention was to gift the medals to the country with a view to them being on permanent display in the Gallery. That won’t be the case now. The Museum has said that their decision has been based on their desire to showcase exhibits from more modern conflicts (the Falklands, the Gulf War, etc.), having previously focused mainly on World War I and World War II. Many aren’t convinced, though, and both mainstream and social media has been awash with theories that the IWM is seeking to distance itself from the days of Empire and instead exhibit things in a more modern, progressive way. That seems to be a trend with many educational institutions these days and the name “Imperial Woke Museum” has been used more than once. How long before the word “Imperial” disappears altogether? Whatever the reason, the Lord Ashcroft Gallery is to be dismantled, and soon visitors will be denied the chance to see the greatest collection of British gallantry awards anywhere on the planet—a collection the vast majority of which could now be put into storage never to see the light of day again. The Lord Ashcroft Gallery hasn’t always appealed to everyone and, indeed, in our own hobby it has had its detractors; there are those who felt there were simply too many VCs and GCs on display, so many that they became overwhelming. Others felt that too much emphasis was placed on the medals and the act of gallantry rather than the recipient’s wider service. There were some that felt the displays too simplistic, others that they were too complicated; but that will always be the case, as with anything, it was impossible to please all of the people all of the time. I have visited the Gallery on a few occasions, I was fortunate enough to be at the opening, and yes, it is indeed overwhelming but for me in a good way. Each time I went I was blown away, even humbled, by being in the presence of gallantry medals awarded for some of the most famous actions in history; had those medals been dispersed across the country, even across the world, to smaller regimental or local museums as some have suggested should now happen, then I would simply never had had the chance to see even half of them. But I am a medal collector, I like medals, actual physical medals. Many visitors to museums today wouldn’t really have much of a clue about which medal was which and wouldn’t really care if the medal on display was an original or not, but some of us do care and, besides, the Lord Ashcroft Gallery didn’t just have medals (although that’s all I really concentrated on if I’m honest), it was, in the words of the Museum themselves “a state-of-the-art space filled with interactive touch-screens, multimedia platforms and original interpretation” so why they want to move away from it is anyone’s guess. If the IWM is turning their back on the Lord Ashcroft Collection because it is too redolent of “Empire”, then that is huge mistake and one that will, I think, backfire. If they are turning away from “static” displays of medals in favour of more whizzy fun things for bored children to play with then that, too, is a mistake; it won’t teach visitors anything, it will simply distract them until it’s time for them to move to the next “exhibit” and something else whizzy and interactive to capture their attention for a few seconds. If the Museum is changing things around solely to showcase more modern campaigns, then OK, but the IWM is a big place, couldn’t they have done it elsewhere? Whatever the reasoning, and one can’t help but wonder if politics hasn’t come into it somewhere, it is, I think, a great shame that the Gallery is closing. Hopefully a new home will be found for the Collection in time but nothing is certain, so, if you can, get along to see it now, there’s not long left.