Formerly housed at Bletchley Park, the Darrah/Harwood collection found a new home this year and opened to the public in late spring. Jack turned ninety-one last month, and his daughter Carol Harwood took on the sizable task of combing through the vast number of collectables to organize the exhibit at Stratford. Display cases take the visitor through the whole of Churchill’s life from childhood through to the State Funeral in 1965. Among the rarities is one of the two ropes used to pull the caisson that bore Churchill’s casket through the streets of London. 

Long known as the birthplace, childhood home, and burial site of William Shakespeare, Stratford-Upon-Avond receives tens of thousands of visitors each year who come not only to pay their respects to the world’s greatest dramatist but also to watch the plays performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company. Stratford has undergone a renaissance in recent years starting with the magnificent remodeling of the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre. New Place, the site of Shakespeare’s house, reopens this month after significant enhancement. All this combined with the introduction of the Darrah/Harwood collection provides a splendid tribute to the Two Towers of English heritage.

The Straford Armouries are open Wednesday through Sunday 10:30am–3:30pm. For my information, and to visit the museum’s website, please CLICK HERE.