Chelsea during the Great War exhibition

The Chelsea Society’s Exhibition Chelsea and the Great War is being held at the Duke of York Square to commemorate the centenary year of the outbreak of WW1 and Chelsea’s role in the First World War.

Offering a unique insight into the war effort both on the frontline and at home, the exhibition includes wartime posters and artefacts, and focuses on everything from an aircraft factory on the King’s Road to the work of Chelsea’s many famous war artists, contributed by the Chelsea Arts Club.

From Scouts growing vegetables in Dovehouse Street, to women making splints out of sugar bags in Mulberry Walk, local experiences are brought to life. Visitors will be encouraged to interact with a smart-presentation offering a visual representation of where war casualties in Chelsea lived, and be able to pinpoint accurately specific houses. Air raid shelters, hospitals, supply depots and churches are also included, creating a vivid depiction of Chelsea during the war time period.

Exhibition entry is free of charge for the public. There is also a programme of additional ticketed activity scheduled in Duke of York Square, including a reading of extracts from Home Fire Burning: the Great War Diaries of Georgina Lee by Ann de La Grange Sury and Gavin Roynon; a talk by Dr Emily Mayhew, author of Wounded: From Battlefield to Blighty; and a star appearance from the famous ‘football of Loos’ (featured recently on QI and in The Times) accompanied by a talk, and songs from the era.