The experience of the museum commemoration of the Great War of the UK in the 1920–1930s

The article examines the experience of creating military-historical expositions and museums dedicated to the Great War of 1914-1918 in UK. The process of forming a military history museum, which began during the First World War, received support from government and military circles as a center for rallying the nation around the ideas of a «just» war, the representation of hostilities and with the aim of counterpropagating pacifist sentiments. Conceived as the National War Museum, it was opened in 1920 with Imperial status to counter regional public discontent in the British dominions and colonies. Although the Imperial War Museum was initially popular as a national memorial, interest in it began to wane noticeably over time. A separate place in the article is given to the consideration of several unrealized projects of museum commemoration of the events of the Great War