Arnhem Airborne Museum opens new extension

The new Airborne Museum extension, Arnhem

The Airborne Museum in Oosterbeek, Arnhem opened its brand new multi-million extension during this years 60th anniversary commemorations.

A museum about the battle was first opened in 1949 in Doorwerth Castle near the Rhine. In 1980 it moved to the Hotel Hartenstein in Oosterbeek. This large white hotel had been the headquarters of Feldmarschall Walter Model before the battle and was the HQ of Major General Roy Urquhart during the siege of Oosterbeek. I’ve visitied the museum three times now and every time I have been struck by the loving care with which it has obviously been put together, and how it is looked after so well.

An ambitious renovation programme has brought the museum right into the 21st century, with dramatic and evocative dioramas, new multimedia displays and a thoughtful emphasis on the future. It involved closing the museum for 9 months, digging an underground basement next to the museum and turning this into a new extension, leaving the original museum intact. This should make what is a grand and famous museum more accessible and enjoyable for younger visitors.

It looks like the legacy of the Battle of Arnhem is in safe hands for years to come. I can’t wait to go and see the new extension.

Historian chic?

Isn’t it funny how certain jobs seem to have their own informal uniform? Without there being any written down rules, certain professions just seem to dress a certain way. And Historians seem to be no exception.

As far as I can tell, the dress code for your average historian is cordurouy trousers, a tweed jacket or something similar, and scary looking facial hair. For extra Historian-ness, a handkerchief in your jacket pocket and a sensible briefcase type bag full of inane notes really works. Wear braces and you’re Historian royalty. Some of the Historians I’ve seen at work in various places could have walked straight off of the set of All Creatures Great and Small.

The History Department of the University of Darrowby

Try walking into a Museum or an Archive to do some research, wearing an Ozzy Osbourne or Metallica T-shirt. Somehow, no-one seems to think you could possible be doing anything worthwhile. But walk into the same place with a side-parting and suitably attired and you could pass off as the leading authority on the history of bilingual ferret stuffing in norther Somerset.