28 April 2010

The Imperial War Museum London today hosted ‘Caging the Bear: Images of the RAF during the Cold War’, a seminar displaying photographs from its significant post-1945 collections.

Up to seventy RAF veterans of the period, along with serving personnel, attended the event which displayed photographs depicting the Force during the mid-1950s to the late 1960s. The images on display are part of a significant recent acquisition of nearly 10,000 superb colour photographs depicting life in the Royal Air Force during the period. The collection covers a wide range of subjects from operations and day-to-day activities to daily life, accommodation and leisure.

The attending veterans, who came from a wide range of trade and branch backgrounds, provided further details based on their experiences as images brought up long-forgotten memories and anecdotes. A few delegates enjoyed the experience so much they have agreed to be interviewed with the recordings being entered as part of the Museum’s Sound Archive.

Ian Proctor, Curator for the Imperial War Museum’s photography archive says;

“Events like this are great for the museum’s work of recording the Force’s history. With the help of veterans, we can ensure the details are recorded correctly and add context to the photographs enhancing their significance to younger audiences. These photographs spark recollections of the veterans’ own service days. The type of information provided was invaluable and cannot be obtained by books alone”.

Images:

Top: Workers in a Communications Centre
Middle: A Victor and crew.
Bottom: A Javelin at night.

See: Imperial War Museum

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