We must fight to save our military history
Preserving our museums and their artefacts is an ongoing battle, says Bruce Crompton
Justin Downing/Sky HISTORY
- Radio Times Staff
Published: Wednesday, 26 November 2025 at 1:01 pm
Add Battle Treasuers to your watchlist
Ad
I’ve spent my life surrounded by history, not in books, but in the objects on display in our military museums and in my collection. These items – tanks, jeeps, helmets, medals, letters and uniforms – tell a story of courage and sacrifice, connect us to who we are and to the hardships people endured to win the freedoms we enjoy today. Across Britain, however, those connections to our past are breaking. Small regimental museums and volunteer-run collections have been disappearing in recent years.
As the military has shrunk and regiments have merged due to re-organisation, their unique stories and the sacrifices of those who served have often ended up in storage or as a footnote in larger museums. Sadly, following the closure of the RAF Signals Museum last year, it’s been announced that the Essex Regiment Museum in Chelmsford is also going to close permanently in January.
Even our bigger museums are in peril and face constant struggles. A roof leaks, funding runs dry and suddenly a century of history is packed into crates and put in cold storage – or even auctioned off, often abroad. Either way, we lose more than objects. We lose stories, our local history and a slice of our national identity.
I understand the challenge. If you’re a teenager, why visit a museum when you can be occupied online without leaving your sofa? But the stories they hold matter. The best way to understand the people who made our history is by seeing and handling the objects they used. Artefacts bring our past to life.
When you hold something like that, you want to know its story. That curiosity takes you to other museums to learn more, to see related objects and to meet others who share that passion. I want more people to experience that feeling: to own history, to connect with it and, through that connection, to support the museums that protect it.
We lose more than objects. We lose stories, history and identity
So here’s my plea. If you have a local military museum, visit it. Take your children or grandchildren. Ask questions of the curators, buy something from the shop, share their posts online. If you have inherited something from a relative who served in the forces, write down its story. Every small act like that helps keep our history alive.
Long before I worked on television, from shows like Combat Dealers in 2014 to my new Sky History series Battle Treasures, I was a collector. My fascination began when I was 11 and I held a battered steel helmet and imagined the soldier who had worn it. Today my collection spans the Napoleonic Wars to the present day.
Battle Treasures features remarkable artefacts from Britain’s military museums and private collections. Collecting is sometimes dismissed as eccentric, but I see it as public service, as many items in national museums began in private hands. Collecting is important. It’s about rescuing a piece of history. Collectors are often the best ambassadors for our museums. They talk, share and keep the flame alive. But the work of collectors isn’t enough to save our military history.
Ad
We need to support the small museums that hold our military story together. Councils and funders must recognise that these are not just dusty relics. They’re part of our culture and our future. Once they’re gone, they’re lost forever. That is something worth fighting for. Every object tells us something about bravery, innovation, loss and resilience. Lose those touchstones and we risk becoming a nation that forgets what it stands for.
Authors
Radio Times Staff
Ad
Ad
Get the Christmas double issue
Too much to watch at Christmas? Let Radio Times do the choosing to find something the whole family will enjoy.
Loading...
Ad
Loading...