Evacuating The British Museum in the Second World War

On the 3 September 1939, the UK Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain addressed the nation on BBC Radio. Hitler had been given an ultimatum: withdraw from Poland by 11am that day or the UK would formally declare war on Germany… it was 11.15. Chamberlain’s words would have echoed through the halls and galleries of the British Museum, his voice amplified by the emptiness of the vast rooms. The galleries were closed to the public, and even if visitors had turned up, there wouldn’t have been much to look at. Museum staff had been evacuating the collection since 7am on 24 August, and in just eight days (they took Sundays off) the team had already managed to evacuate over 150 tonnes of material. Join Nick Harris, as he pitches you a display case he would like to see installed in the British Museum galleries. It tells the incredible story of British Museum staff who spent the Second World War protecting the British Museum collections from the threat of Nazi bombers - some of them armed with nothing more than a golf club and a bucket of sand. This story is obviously enormous, and had to be reduced down for the purposes of this video. If you'd like to find out more about this story, Nick thoroughly recommends reading some of the articles by Marjorie Caygill and Tom Hockenhull on the British Museum during the war. There is plenty still that hasn't been written about during this time - Museum staff working at Bletchley Park as code breakers for one. Nick hopes one day to publish on this, but encourages anyone interested to take up the mantel in the meantime. 00:00 Intro 00:57 What happened to the British Museum in WWII? 02:10 How did the British Museum Prepare for WWII? 02:24 Air Raid Precautions In Museums Picture Galleries and Libraries 03:09 Sir John Forsdyke British Museum Director and Principal Librarian 03:21 Dr Harold Plenderleith British Museum Science Laboratory 03:37 John and Harold's 4 step plan for protecting your collection from Nazi Bombers 03:56 Fire in Museums and Safehouses 04:50 Damp in Museums and Safehouses 05:10 The Beginning of Science in Museums 08:56 Priority Lists British Museum 09:50 Speed 12:07 Where did the British Museum store Objects in WWII? 14:15 Bomb Damage to British Museum in WWII 16:32 May 10-11 1941 Blitz British Museum 19:40 Nazi risk spreads 20:05 Westwood Quarry British Museum Store WWII 21:00 Sir John Forsdyke Air Raid Precaution Handbook 21:54 The Legacy of Dr Harold Plenderleith 22:30 1980s update to WWII story 23:29 Conclusion #VE80 #history #ww2