The Imperial War Museum was established by an Act of Parliament in 1920. Its purpose is to collect, preserve and display material and information connected with military operations in which Britain or the Commonwealth have been involved since August 1914. The collections illustrate and record all aspects of the history of modern conflicts with displays that reflect the personal experience of war and wartime life, both military and civilian, and commemorates service and suffering in war.

With four branches in the South East, the Imperial War Museum had wanted for some time to offer the population in the North access to its exceptionally rich collections of films, photographs, art, documents, objects, sound recordings, books and maps Museum services. Through a unique partnership with developers Peel Holdings, Trafford M.B.C and a range of other agencies this dream was realised on 5 July 2002 as the doors opened on Imperial War Museum North.

For further details and images please contact:

Gemma Gibb Press & PR Manager
email ggibb@iwm.org.uk 
tel +44 (0)161 836 4041

Imperial War Museum North, which opened to visitors on 5 July 2002, is one of the most popular visitor attractions in the North West, already receiving over 1,700,000 visitors.  It is on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Trafford, in a spectacular award-winning building designed by the internationally renowned architect, Daniel Libeskind.

The Museum tells the story of how war has shaped the lives of British and Commonwealth citizens since 1914. It is the 5th branch of the Imperial War Museum and the first outside the South East of England. Recently voted one of the top 3 Large Visitor Attractions in England (Silver Award at VisitBritain’s Excellence in England Awards 2007), other notable awards include a Special Commendation (second-only to First Prize) in the European Museum of the Year Awards 2004, Large Visitor Attraction of The Year 2006 in the Greater Manchester Tourism Awards and the North West Tourism Awards. The Museum has also recently been a finalist in the prestigious RIBA Stirling Prize.

The Museum is open 7 days a week from 10am-6pm (Nov to Feb 10am-5pm) with free admission.  It is situated at The Quays on Trafford Wharf Road, Trafford Park, Manchester close to Harbour City Metrolink and Junction 9 of the M60.