VC winners' families attack ‘appalling' Imperial War Museum decision to close gallery

Telegraph

28-02-2025

The families of Britain's bravest soldiers have expressed bafflement and dismay at the Imperial War Museum's decision to permanently close the gallery displaying their ancestors' Victoria Cross medals.
On Tuesday, the museum, in south-east London, announced that the Lord Ashcroft Gallery would close in less than four months, with its collection of around 230 Victoria Cross and George Cross medals removed from public view.
The decision sparked condemnation from veterans, historians and politicians, including Lord Ashcroft. The billionaire businessman loaned his personal £70 million collection of medals in 2010, and donated £5 million towards the gallery's opening.
The Imperial War Museum is facing questions over the 'ill thought-out' and 'appalling' decision from people whose relatives were awarded Britain's highest commendation for valour during the First and Second World Wars. Only 1,358 have been awarded since 1856.
David Jackson – whose father, Warrant Officer Norman Jackson, was awarded a VC by King George VI in 1945 after crawling onto the wing of a blazing Lancaster bomber at 22,000ft to try to put out an engine fire – described the decision as a 'sacrilege' and 'senseless'.
Mr Jackson, 71, from East Preston, in West Sussex, said he was perplexed by the museum's behaviour and why its board of trustees had not apparently informed Lord Ashcroft of the decision before its announcement on Tuesday.
The gallery will be closed to make way for displays exploring 'less well represented' conflicts such as those in the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan, the museum said.
Mr Jackson, who has recently finished writing a book about his father's heroics, told The Telegraph: 'I thought they [the medals] would always be on show to the public.
'What can you do? I am hoping they will have a rethink. It is out of our hands. I hope they will reconsider. It's a ridiculous decision to make, ill-thought out… it is a sacrilege, it is senseless. What can you put that is more important in their place?'
'I do not know what bright spark came up with this decision. It shows no respect to what this exhibition tells us.'
Norman Jackson was 25 when he carried out a bombing raid over Germany on April 26 1944. After bombing a target near Nuremberg, his Lancaster turned for home but was attacked by a German fighter, setting an engine ablaze.
Jackson clambered out of the aircraft and clung to the wing as the Lancaster tore through the night at 200mph, setting about putting out the fire with an extinguisher. He plunged thousands of feet to earth, with his parachute on fire, but survived when his fall was broken by bushes.
He worked as a travelling salesman for Haig whisky after the war and died at Hampton Hill, in Middlesex, on March 26 1994 at the age of 74.
His VC was auctioned in London in 2004, at the request of his family, and purchased by Lord Ashcroft for £200,000. At the time, it was the highest auction price ever paid for a VC.
Colin Mottershead, who had painstakingly researched the First World War heroics of his grandfather, Flight Sergeant Thomas Mottershead, until his death last June, would have been 'dismayed' to hear that the exhibition had been closed down, his family told The Telegraph.
Mottershead was posthumously awarded the VC in 1917 when his biplane was set ablaze by German aircraft fire. With an extraordinary display of skill and grit, he managed to land it safely back behind Allied lines – saving the life of his observer, Lt Gower, in the process.
The London Gazette reported: 'Though he made a successful landing, the machine collapsed on touching the ground, pinning him beneath wreckage, from which he was subsequently rescued.' He died from his injuries five days later.
The medal was presented to his widow, Lilian, by King George V in a ceremony in Hyde Park, central London, on June 2 1917. A statue to him was unveiled 100 years later in his home town of Widnes, Cheshire.
Annabel Mottershead, 54, from Bath, said his exploits had been documented by her father's four grandchildren in school projects. She said the family had no idea whether her great-grandfather's medal would see the light of day again after June 1, when the display is due to close.
She told The Telegraph: 'It is with great pride that we can all say Thomas Mottershead's medal is on display at the Imperial War Museum. What will happen to the medals now?
'Will Lord Ashcroft sell his collection if he cannot find a new home for them? Will they end up in private ownership, locked away from public view? I am unsure why the IWM wants to close this exhibition down.
'At this current time, I would have thought there is no greater importance and relevance than celebrating these gallant warriors who gave up their lives to defend their country. We must never forget them. We will remember them.'
The actions of Lieutenant William Alexander Kerr, of the 24th Bombay Native Infantry, during the Indian Mutiny in 1857 will be well known to the hundreds of officer cadets passing through The Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.
Hanging on the walls just outside the Indian Army Memorial Room in the training academy is a painting of the British soldier, who was awarded a VC for storming a stronghold of rebelling sepoys in Kolhapur.
Outnumbered two to one, and armed with only bayonets, swords and crowbars, Kerr led 17 of his men in an assault against the garrison. During the assault, he narrowly survived a hail of musket bullets, which struck the chain on his helmet and sword.
Blinded by gunpowder smoke, he was struck in the head by a musket and was only saved from being bayoneted by Gumpunt Rao, his loyal sowar. Kerr secured the fort at the cost of 12 men and was awarded the VC on Sept 4 1858.
James Kerr, 73, suggested that the VCs awarded to his great-great-great uncle and other soldiers should be on display at the Tower of London if the Imperial War Museum was no longer an option.
Mr Kerr, a former captain in the Coldstream Guards, said he was 'absolutely appalled' by the museum's decision.
The semi-retired abstract artist said: 'I know for sure there is probably a bit of wokeism in it. It's all about and to do with being guilty of our empire, and all the things that happened, but that's cancel culture.
'These things happened, and whether the causes were – by today's values – different, these people were immensely brave and their self-sacrifice needs to be remembered. I am incensed with the information of how Lord Ashcroft has been dealt with, and I hope a suitable place can be found.'
The Imperial War Museum has said that the 15-year-long loan of Lord Ashcroft's medals was always intended to expire in 2025. It had formally made the decision to terminate the loan in July 2024 and had engaged with his representatives in 2023.
Its own, much smaller, collection of VC and GC medals will be 'displayed across our UK branches [and] integrated within galleries that tell the full story of the conflicts in which of these acts of bravery occurred'.
A spokesman said: 'Like all museums, we regularly update our galleries to ensure we can share as much of the 33 million items in our collection as possible with the public.
'We are very proud to have displayed the Lord Ashcroft Medal Collection at IWM London since 2010, made possible thanks to a generous 15-year loan by Lord Ashcroft.
'IWM London has proudly displayed Victoria Crosses and George Crosses since 1968, and we remain committed to sharing these stories of the greatest acts of bravery and sacrifice in defence of our nation with the public.'