Insights

From delicate pastel and crayon sketches to the brutality of a crash-damaged German bomber engine, Insights offers a tantalising peek at the breadth and depth of our collection.

Like many museums, space constraints mean that only a fraction of our one million or so objects can ever be on display.

It is a collection containing stories more than 100 years in the making and a source of endless fascination for the team of people who work to catalogue, conserve and care for it.

Insights gives our team a chance to come up with a selection of gems from the collection not normally on display with no constraints on size, topic, or quirkiness.

Their choices reflect the diversity of the treasures lie beyond the public spaces.

There is a share of the utilitarian objects of war – Corsair ammunition boxes which were once packed full of high explosive shells designed to cause as much damage as possible – to the everyday practicality of a much-loved base bicycle and a commemorative ashtray.

There’s beauty and craftmanship. The thoughtful and beautiful works of Maurice Conly and Kiyoshi Suzuki, the workmanship in the band uniform and the intricate medallions.

The fear and frailty of war is represented in the good luck charms, with superstition offset by the practicality of a life vest and a fleece-lined jacket which were a pragmatic means to preserve and protect lives.

There’s also humanity and wonder in every object. How many performances has that band uniform witnessed? How many children stared at Peter the Pilot across the breakfast table, yearning to be a pilot hero like him?

There is no chronological or theme order to the display. Just follow where your curiosity takes you.