POW Exhibition in Manchester

02 June 2009

‘Captured: The Extraordinary Life of Prisoners of War’ – at IWM North, from 23 May 2009 to 3 January 2010.

This exciting exhibition looks at the whole POW experience: not just the escapes and tales of derring-do, but also the realities of day-to-day life for the hundreds and thousands of British, Commonwealth and Empire prisoners captured by Axis forces during World War II.

There's a strong interactive element that includes the sights, sounds and smells of a POW camp hut, the contents of a life-saving Red Cross parcel, and a replica of the famous Colditz glider. Among the exhibits on show is a sheet embroidered with the names of the 1,100 internees held by the Japanese at Stanley Camp in Hong Kong, secret radios and the cap worn by the Great Escaper, Jimmy James.

This is the first major exhibition of its kind held by the Imperial War Museum, one which provides us with a rare and welcome opportunity to see the physical artefacts of POW life. Well worth a visit.

Imperial War Museum North, The Quays, Trafford Wharf Road, Trafford Park, Manchester M17 1TZ (tel: 0161 836 4012). IWMN website.

Find out more about the exhibition