Prince William to open IWM Foundation's new First World War Galleries 17 July

PrincessOfPeace · July 16, 2014, 07:56:24 PM

JB ‏@Royal_beans

REMINDER: The Duke of Cambridge, Patron of IWM Foundation's WWI Centenary Campaign, will open its new First World War Galleries on July 17

QuoteLondon's Imperial War Museum (IWM) has re-opened after undergoing a dramatic £40million, four-year restoration that includes a transformed atrium and new First World War galleries to mark the event's centenary.

The new atrium was designed by Sir Norman Foster's firm, Foster and Partners, and features nine objects, including a Harrier, Spitfire and a V-1 rocket suspended from above, as well as a T-34 tank and a Land Rover used by journalists damaged by a rocket attack in Gaza.

In total there will be over 400 objects from the museum's collections on display in the new atrium – over 60 of which have never been seen before.

More: Remembering the fallen: Imperial War Museum re-opens after £40million restoration with new galleries to mark the anniversary of the First World War |

First World War Galleries | Imperial War Museums

TLLK · July 16, 2014, 08:21:42 PM

Too bad my parents aren't making European trips anymore. I know that both of them would have really enjoyed the artifacts and displays.

cinrit · July 17, 2014, 12:39:48 PM

From Twitter:

Royal Central ‏@RoyalCentral 46m
RT @byEmilyAndrews: PWilliam arrives at London's Imperial War Museum to open the new WW1 galleries
Twitter / byEmilyAndrews: PWilliam arrives at London's ...

Cindy

PrincessOfPeace · July 17, 2014, 03:23:41 PM

QuotePROUD military man Prince William officially unveiled the Imperial War Museum's new galleries today.

The nation can now get a closer glimpse of life during World War One as part of a revamp to mark the centenary of the Great War.

The former helicopter pilot was dressed in civvies as he was greeted by museum officials for the opening ceremony of the London attraction.

Looking dapper in a navy suit with patterned tie, he spoke to staff about the new permanent exhibition, which is part of a £40million revamp.

The Duke of Cambridge - who described the attraction as a "spectacular project" - spent the day browsing through the many new artefacts on display.

More: Prince William opens Imperial War Museum's new galleries | Royal | News | Daily Express

TLLK · July 17, 2014, 08:20:24 PM

I saw a bit of the trip on ITV. The collection of artifacts large and small seems quite extensive. I saw what appeared to be a scaled down mock up of an air battle circa WWI. (Couldn't help but think of Snoopy fighting the Red Baron.) William appeared to be quite animated when discussing the overhead exhibit featuring the Spitfire. I liked the idea that the school kids were asked to be exhibition guides as it would have required them to learn more about the "War to end all Wars."

Does anyone know if the PM also made a speech at the event?

PrincessOfPeace · July 17, 2014, 08:23:57 PM

QuotePrince William has hailed the new First World War Galleries at the Imperial War Museum as a 'spectacular' tribute to the courage and dedication of the men and women who sacrificed their lives for freedom.

Touring the London landmark, originally opened by his own great-great grandfather, King George V, in 1920, the prince said the exhibition vividly brought home the brutal realities of the war and demonstrated why the conflict is still relevant today.

A £40million renovation supported by Daily Mail readers has seen the Southwark musuem transformed into a living, interactive tribute to all those affected by conflict.

More: Prince William officially opens Imperial War Museum's new WW1 galleries | Mail Online

QuoteThe Duke of Cambridge and Prime Minister, David Cameron, visited IWM London today to officially open the brand new First World War Galleries. The new Galleries draw upon IWM's First World War collections, the richest and most comprehensive in the world.

The IWM Foundation, chaired by Viscount Rothermere, met the Duke of Cambridge and the Prime Minister upon arrival at the museum. The IWM Foundation led the fundraising campaign for the First World War Galleries and the Duke of Cambridge has been a Patron of the Foundation since December 2010.

More: The Duke of Cambridge and David Cameron open new First World War Galleries at IWM London | First World War Centenary

cinrit · July 18, 2014, 11:09:43 AM

Cindy

Lady Adams · July 19, 2014, 01:26:02 AM

Ummm...

QuoteThe Duke of Cambridge - who described the attraction as a "spectacular project" - spent the day browsing through the many new artefacts on display.

He also enjoyed chatting to young school children acting as exhibition guides - one of who told the Duke that the Second World Was was "a bit stupid".

The Prince was inclined to agree with 10-year-old Javed Hussain.

"A bit stupid?"

"I think that's an understatement - but a good observation," said the Prince.
Prince William opens Imperial War Museum's new galleries | Royal | News | Daily Express

A bit stupid is a good observation? Oh dear.

HistoryGirl · July 19, 2014, 02:39:56 AM

...I won't even bother commenting on how I feel about that, but I don't hold it against him since I know he's no intellectual.

Jenee · July 19, 2014, 03:01:16 AM

A 10 year old said that, not PW

HistoryGirl · July 19, 2014, 03:10:50 AM

Prince William said it was a good observation.

Macrobug · July 19, 2014, 03:29:40 AM

He was responding to a 10 year kid. What else could he say. A kid made an observation in the language of a 10 year old and PW complimented him. :shrug: I hope people didn't want him to critique the kid and squash his selfesteem to the ground.

You can't expect a kid to come out with

QuoteI hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity

Which can be summed up as "War is stupid"

HistoryGirl · July 19, 2014, 03:39:49 AM

He could've said "It caused a great deal of chaos and confusion"; he couldve said "there were many mistakes made"; he couldve said "a lot of bad things came from it". But I must admit as a history major, I tend to not want to trivialize such important events no matter who I'm discussing it with so I'm particularly sensitive to comments like that.

Macrobug · July 19, 2014, 03:43:36 AM

I understand where you are coming from :flower: But William was responding off the cuff. I think he handled it well. We can't always come out with the perfect comment. And we all come up with the great one after the fact.

HistoryGirl · July 19, 2014, 03:46:22 AM

I think he handled it like I would expect him to handle it.

DaisyMeRollin · July 19, 2014, 04:02:13 AM

Quote from: HistoryGirl on July 19, 2014, 03:10:50 AM
Prince William said it was a good observation.

Granted, he might have been tip-toeing around the reality of the atrocities surrounding WWII, or he could have maybe been placating a ten-year-old.

Eh. Both his and Harry's A-levels are on public record, and Charles's position at Cambridge was handed to him despite poor performance at school because of the weight his title towed. I'm inclined to agree with you.

I think some would take it upon themselves to make British RF members "honorary" MENSA members if they could. (Yes, that was a joke, partly.)

In All I Do · July 19, 2014, 04:12:14 AM

Quote from: HistoryGirl on July 19, 2014, 03:39:49 AM
He could've said "It caused a great deal of chaos and confusion"; he couldve said "there were many mistakes made"; he couldve said "a lot of bad things came from it". But I must admit as a history major, I tend to not want to trivialize such important events no matter who I'm discussing it with so I'm particularly sensitive to comments like that.

But it's not really his role to do off-the-cuff cogent historical analysis. It's his job to make the people he comes into contact with feel good. Seriously, that's basically what he's there for.

As Andrew Marr observed in The Diamond Queen: "Senior members of the royal family have to cultivate a skill almost nobody else needs. It's a carefully timed dance through the higher small talk designed to calm the nervous, restrain the overtalkative, release some tension, produce a little bubble of laughter, and, in that way, ensure that millions of people leave events like these having had some sort of personal connection with, in this case, the Duke of Edinburgh, but in general the British monarchy."

Correcting a 10 year old's grasp of history, in a public venue, either has to be done with perfect grace and delicacy or not at all. Otherwise the story would be about how William made a small boy feel bad about himself, and all available evidence suggests that when they're on duty, the current members of the RF will generally choose to look a bit dim over making small kids feel bad.

HistoryGirl · July 19, 2014, 04:15:23 AM

I didn't say he should publicly sold him; I said there was a better way to state the truth without an insult. But like I said, I don't hold it against William because I don't expect much from him at all.

Double post auto-merged: July 19, 2014, 04:16:27 AM

*scold not sold

DaisyMeRollin · July 19, 2014, 04:31:52 AM

What I think HG is getting at is he could have taken the opportunity to teach an invaluable lesson to the children and still make it palatable to them, and he flubbed that opportunity. It wasn't and insult. He could have even left blurbs about his grandmother's and grandfather's involvement, and he didn't seize the opportunity.

He is kind of oblivious. It's a very common character trait that people expect of him at this point. If I'm off the mark, then apologies to HG.

In All I Do · July 19, 2014, 04:46:24 AM

And I stand by my statement: Correcting a 10 year old's grasp of history, in a public venue, either has to be done with perfect grace and delicacy or not at all.

And I say that as someone who has a history degree, a small child, and a great deal of respect for the huge amount of work teachers do in balancing the need to correct kids who are incorrect or mistaken, in front of other kids, while still encouraging them to engage in learning.

DaisyMeRollin · July 19, 2014, 04:54:53 AM

And I say this as a teacher, granted not in History or as a primary school educator, and also have a small child myself, that he had a missed opportunity to enlighten young children. You can't redact facts, but you start out making them acceptable for the age group, and continue cumulatively. Education in cumulative.

If your soul purpose in keeping a monarchy afloat is primarily in terms of reputation, he missed a huge opportunity with both of his grandparents' contributions during WWII. He is very oblivious to his role.

Edits. Had a good evening. LOL!

HistoryGirl · July 19, 2014, 05:00:24 AM

:nod: Thank you for understanding Daisy Again, my bias is clear since I have an attachment to history, but I don't think it's ever too early to give kids such an important lesson whether you're a teacher or not. I didn't mean that he should describe a bloody battle scene or go into an in-depth discussion on the political climate that led up to the war, just that there are ways to tell the truth at any level without just saying "oh yeah it was stupid, great observation."

But I don't expect much from William because I don't think he has an affinity for intellectual topics so I don't blame him for making an off-hand remark, which is what it was. He didn't think it meant anything...which is the point I was originally. The British monarchy is truly just there to pretty much smile and look half-way interested, sad but that's the way they've chosen to operate.

DaisyMeRollin · July 19, 2014, 05:26:57 AM

I didn't think you were insinuating that William dole out an inappropriately, authoritative and austere lesson.

I can agree with him being somewhat slower on the draw, then again, I don't think he really knows how to use a situation to his advantage sometimes. This is purely observation, but maybe he's always uncomfortable? Neither he nor Kate speak well in public venues. Sometimes it comes off as insincerity and/or obtuseness. That may or may not be the case, I'm always second-guessing myself about William.

I agree with you as far as his displayed intellect. I remember this Spring there being an uproar about William being accepted to Cambridge's AG program, and rightly so for a world renowned university.

BBC NEWS | UK | UK Education | Prince William makes the grade

From what I understand, UK students get to pick and choose the subjects they show strength in instead of a wide-spread comprehensive assessment (and someone can correct me if I'm wrong), but that seems like an imbalance. I'm not saying that ACT/SAT testing doesn't have it's faults, but......

cate1949 · July 19, 2014, 05:36:46 AM

the displays look spectacular - yes - the child's remarks were not a great reflection of his education and Will could have said something like yes war is stupid but Britain was under attack and many people sacrificed a great deal so I admire them or some such comment but really - he probably was just jollying the child along for the few brief moments he spent with the kid.

nice to see him do a joint engagement with Cameron

PrincessOfPeace · July 19, 2014, 05:38:16 AM

Quote from: Adrienne on July 19, 2014, 04:12:14 AM
Quote from: HistoryGirl on July 19, 2014, 03:39:49 AM
He could've said "It caused a great deal of chaos and confusion"; he couldve said "there were many mistakes made"; he couldve said "a lot of bad things came from it". But I must admit as a history major, I tend to not want to trivialize such important events no matter who I'm discussing it with so I'm particularly sensitive to comments like that.

But it's not really his role to do off-the-cuff cogent historical analysis. It's his job to make the people he comes into contact with feel good. Seriously, that's basically what he's there for.

As Andrew Marr observed in The Diamond Queen: "Senior members of the royal family have to cultivate a skill almost nobody else needs. It's a carefully timed dance through the higher small talk designed to calm the nervous, restrain the overtalkative, release some tension, produce a little bubble of laughter, and, in that way, ensure that millions of people leave events like these having had some sort of personal connection with, in this case, the Duke of Edinburgh, but in general the British monarchy."

Correcting a 10 year old's grasp of history, in a public venue, either has to be done with perfect grace and delicacy or not at all. Otherwise the story would be about how William made a small boy feel bad about himself, and all available evidence suggests that when they're on duty, the current members of the RF will generally choose to look a bit dim over making small kids feel bad.

:thumbsup: