National Army Museum

#50

⭐ Highlights

Marengo’s Skeleton

Napoleon’s war horse, up close

Captured after Waterloo, this small, tough Arabian carried a very big story.

Compare the horse’s size to cavalry paintings—myth versus anatomy.

📍 Permanent displays, Waterloo section

Soldier Stories

The Army at human scale

Letters, kit and portraits follow a life from enlistment to veterans’ memories.

Pick one person and follow every object linked to them through the gallery.

📍 ‘Soldier’ gallery

Tactics Table

How formations win or fail

Models and screens show why squares beat cavalry—and when they didn’t.

Run the same scenario twice with different choices; note trade-offs.

📍 ‘Battle’ gallery, interactives

Play Base

Under-8s soft-play with a military twist

Camouflage tunnels and mini-obstacles let energy burn while adults regroup.

Book ahead; treat it as a mid-visit reset for families.

📍 Ground floor, timed entry

Opening Hours

Sunday: 10:00 – 17:30

Tuesday: 10:00 – 17:30

Wednesday: 10:00 – 17:30

Thursday: 10:00 – 17:30

Friday: 10:00 – 17:30

Saturday: 10:00 – 17:30

Inside the museum

Chelsea’s compact, modern take on four centuries of the British Army. Five galleries (from ‘Soldier’ to ‘Society’) mix kit and campaigns with personal stories, so you move from a cuirass to a diary without losing the thread. It’s readable in 90 minutes, child-friendly without dumbing down (Play Base slots sell fast), and strong on uncomfortable questions as well as pageantry.

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