The Bradford Peace Museum is the only accredited peace museum in the UK. Compared with war museums such as the War Museum in London, the Armouries in Leeds and the many local regimental museums in our towns and cities it is unique in the focus and range of its outreach.
Established in 1994 it is dedicated to the history and stories of peace-makers and peace movements both nationally and internationally. Originally housed in three rooms in a Victorian building in central Bradford, difficulty of access and limited space led to a decision to find new premises. The rooms were vacated, the exhibits placed in storage..
The records show a fascinating range of activities. The museum has a permanent exhibition at the Armouries in Leeds, focussing on how we can replace conflict with peace. Its banners and other exhibits are still available for groups to borrow for public display and exhibitions, and its current activities, such as digital and pop up exhibitions can be accessed online. In a current exhibition at the Tetley Gallery in Leeds, titled ‘On Clogger Lane’, the museum worked with Andrew Black to produce a documentary which looks at the development over centuries of the Washburn valley between Leeds and Harrogate, contributing specially to the growth and development of the United States Air Force base at Menwith Hill and the long standing peace protest there. This exhibition is open until May 14.
An outstanding and valuable aspect of the Peace Museum’s work is with local schools in Bradford. Two hourly workshops, planned with the support and collaboration of the school staff have been successfully developed and delivered. These workshops aim to prepare pupils to think about peace and peace making. Examples have been “Looking at Remembrance of WW1”; Bradford’s history as a place of refuge, based on the story of a young Jewish boy who came to Bradford with Kindertransport, and ,most recently “Caring for our world”. There is a wealth of information on their website https://www.peacemuseum.org.uk/
Quakers in Ilkley have agreed to donate their March 2023 monthly collection to support the Museum in its plans to move. We will continue our support for this imaginative and important local project that promotes our understanding of peace and of how we as citizens can work towards it at a time when it is currently as vital as ever.
If you would like to help support this work you can donate to The Peace Museum on their website