London in the Second World War - Exhibition

EXHIBITION DATES EXTENDED - now open until 19 February 2026

In this free exhibition at The London Archives you can explore stories of Londoners during the Second World War. What was it like to live through the Blitz, to see your neighbourhood change overnight, or to be a volunteer with one of the city’s emergency services?

Discover stories of Londoners through materials from our rich collections, including the compelling London County Council bomb damage maps, in which the council charted destruction at the level of individual properties. See the remarkable photographs taken by City Police photographers Cross and Tibbs, who stepped out into the streets after air raids to capture the scene as the action occurred and as the dust settled.

[Cross and Tibbs photo of Bank Junction. London Picture Archives: 35509]

Find out how Londoners felt about life on the home front through diaries and personal stories; uncover the little-known story of Auxiliary Ambulance Station 50 in Paddington, staffed entirely by South Asian Londoners; and take a look at staff magazines produced by Woolworths and Co to see how the war impacted on people's working lives. You'll also have the chance to hear the voices of those who lived and worked through the war by listening to a series of oral histories.

The exhibition features rarely seen original artworks recording the devastation experienced in the city. It also examines the way that London sought to rebuild after the war through the creation of the County of London plan, and how this was put into place at Poplar’s Lansbury Estate for the opening of the Festival of Britain in 1951.

[Southwark Bridge by Ernest Borough Johnson. London Picture Archives: 25092]

Find out more and explore digitised records: London in the Second World War exhibition

Join a curator-led tour of the exhibition on selected dates. Tickets for curator-led tours until December 2025 are on-sale now.

See our other events related to the exhibition in the London in the Second World War events collection

Visit our website for more details about The London Archives: www.thelondonarchives.org

Please note: There will be no access to the exhibition during our annual closure from 4.30pm on Thursday 30 October until Monday 17 November 2025 at 10am. The exhibition will also be closed from 4.30pm on Tuesday 23 December 2025 until 10am on Monday 5 January 2026.