Just come back from my first visit to the NAM since it reopened just over a week ago and I am here to tell you it is indeed the NEW Army Museum.
OK, so it was officially a referb, as it is still in the same building but £23.75 GBP million later, nothing remains of the old establishment except the roof, the walls and some of the exhibits, even then the the whole frontage has been changed.
Now even spending that kind of money you will never please everyone so, this is just my view.
That said, if your idea of a perfect museum is a dark and dismal place staffed by old farts in peaked caps, you can stop reading now!
The new interior is light and spacious, in fact everything the old one was not. The staff are actually welcoming and the cafeteria a joy to sit in, rather than a pokey room used as an afterthought.
The displays are well chosen and bristle with interactive features for all ages and the kids there today on their Easter Holidays were clearly loving every minute, engaging with the exhibits and as far as I could see not one of them was whining about their parents dragging them round as some form of punishment. Neither, were they charging about creating chaos and screaming the place down!
In front of a large wall in one area, a Squad of 6 – 8 year old "recruits" was being drilled by a virtual RSM with a lot more enthusiasm than I ever remember seeing! :o)
Siborne's Waterloo is back from its make over with the Prussians duly tucked away in the corner, as before, but this time there are a number of interactive consoles that allow top down and close up views of the whole thing, as well as the battle details, so The Duke would not be amused at your ability to zoom in on goings on in Plancenoit!
Also back is poor old Marengo, fresh from his rebuild and looking a lot better than the last time I saw him – well as good as a dead horse can look anyway.
The main permanent areas cover the "Soldier" – what it has been like to be in the British army over time. The "Army" how it has changed through the years and "Battle" how it has fought through the ages.
Finally, there is the an area called "Society" which reflects on the fact that any Army interacts with the Nation it comes from and this shows the cross over areas on how Britain and the Army have influenced each other through history. Some of that is funny and some of it blunt.
This also reflected in the "Soldier" area, some of which shows that dying and getting physically and mentally damaged, is part of the price the Army has always carried with it.
Over all I thought the concept was both refreshing and brilliantly executed.
Its always hard, if not impossible, to see such change through the eyes of someone who knows nothing about history and military matters but I was left feeling that the new approach would certainly be informative to the unknowing. Although, it can't be denied that there must, just by the laws of available space, actually be less on show. Then of course you have to ask yourself how much of the Empire Bric-a-Brac that inhabited a lot of the old cases really told anyone anything.
Some years ago I visited the Spanish Army Museum and thought how badly the NAM compared. This make over, given the available size of the building, has taken things up too that level and restored my pride in its appearance, and the manner in which it treats the history of the body it honours.
Its still free to all, so even if you go and find it an abomination in the eyes of whoever, all its going to cost is getting there!
Open your mind and have a peek!
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