On Thursday, 26th June, the Museum is excited to be joined by comedian and historian Al Murray for the opening of our exhibition: War Winning Engineering: Planning an Invasion.
The exhibition explores engineering that enabled the Allied victory, the challenges, solutions and their impact on the wartime experiences of individuals, from the laboratory to the factory to the front.
Whilst exploring key developments in nuclear technology and aviation, we use our Mulberry Harbour collection as the epitome of war winning engineering that combined military and civil engineering with heavy industry, Wartime secrecy, invasion and battle. Our interactive exhibition explores the contribution and experiences of 45,000 Royal Engineers, civil engineers and workers of 600 construction companies are reflected. It engages all ages with activities that encourage the same spirit of innovation and experimentation that defined our wartime engineers.
The Mulberry Harbours were an engineering solution to one of the most pressing challenges facing Allied Commanders in their overall strategy for victory in Europe. Seaborne invasions were, and remain, one of the most hazardous of military operations and successful landings would need to be quickly resupplied by huge numbers of men, ammunition, food, vehicles to breakout of the beachhead and expand into France. Problematically, French ports were too heavily defended for attempted capture in the first assaults.
The solution to this problem sounds simple; if you cannot capture a harbour, you bring your own!
The exhibition is part of a wider project funded by a £233,976.00 grant from The National Lottery Heritage Fund. The project is enabling the conservation and digitisation of 1000s of original blueprints and plans of Mulberry Harbour, wartime models as well as our original anchor. Volunteering and skills building opportunities accompany events, talks and social media content if you’d like to get involved and learn more. From Spring 2026 the Mulberry collection can also be explored through a changing online exhibition on our website, digital catalogue records.
Visit the Museum website www.re-museum.co.uk for more information on how to get involved.
Exhibition is open to the Public from Saturday 28th June
Open: Tuesdays – Sundays 10.00am to 5.00pm (last entry 4pm).
ENDS
