Victoria Cross families forced to go abroad to see ancestors’ medals after Imperial War Museum dispute
Families of Britain’s most courageous soldiers may soon need to travel abroad to see their ancestors’ Victoria Cross medals.
The shock news comes after the Imperial War Museum’s announced its decision to close the Lord Ashcroft Gallery in London.
The gallery has housed a collection of 230 Victoria Cross and George Cross medals worth £70 million for the past 15 years.
Representatives from two Commonwealth nations have now indicated they would be willing to host the prestigious collection.
The controversial closure is scheduled for June, leaving families concerned about future access to these important military honours. Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India, Pakistan, South Africa and Sri Lanka are possible contenders to host the collection, according to sources.
“We are not talking about a minor member of the Commonwealth,” one source said. One of the overtures was made by a former foreign Prime Minister.
Lord Ashcroft, the billionaire businessman and former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, loaned the collection to the museum in 2010. He also donated £5million towards the gallery’s opening.
“My disappointment at learning about the planned closure of the Lord Ashcroft Gallery has been tempered by the touching reaction to the imminent loss of my medal collection from public viewing,” he said.
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Lord Ashcroft revealed he has been “overwhelmed by public sentiment” against the decision.
“Perhaps the most striking offer came from a Commonwealth minister very far from the UK who suggested their country might be amenable to housing the collection and putting it on public display,” he added.
He quoted Sir Winston Churchill: “You never can tell whether bad luck may not after all turn out to be good luck.”
Families of VC recipients have been left perplexed by the museum’s decision. Some have called it “ill thought out” and “appalling”.
David Jackson, whose father Norman received a VC from King George VI in 1945, described the decision as a “sacrilege” and “senseless”.
Norman Jackson was honoured after crawling onto the wing of a blazing Lancaster bomber at 22,000ft to try to extinguish an engine fire.
Regarding the possibility of the collection moving abroad, Jackson said: “Personally, I think that would be wonderful, a lot better than being locked indefinitely in a vault and never being seen by the public.”
The Imperial War Museum has defended its decision, stating the 15-year loan was always intended to expire in 2025. The museum formally decided to terminate the loan in July 2024 after engaging with Lord Ashcroft’s representatives in 2023.
It plans to display its own smaller collection of VC and GC medals “across our UK branches”.
The museum denied discussing the possibility of the collection being displayed overseas.
“We are enormously grateful to Lord Ashcroft for enabling us to display his unique collection since the gallery opened,” a spokesman said.