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This project is part of a wider programme called Their Past Your Future funded by the Big Lottery Fund and co-ordinated by the Northern Ireland Museums Council.

Their Past Your Future is a series of events, activities and resources designed to commemorate the 60th anniversary of the end of World War II.

The aim of this website is to give visitors an opportunity to look at elements of the World War II collections held by Derry City Council's Heritage and Museums Service. These items have been chosen to highlight the impact of World War II on the local population.

World War II began on the 3rd September 1939, when Britain’s Prime Minister, Neville Chamberlain, declared war on Germany. The following day, the Derry Journal carried the headline:
"Europe plunged into another Armageddon."

In the beginning, war-awareness in Northern Ireland was lower than in the rest of Europe. The absence of conscription contributed to this attitude. However with the increased threat of invasion, Stormont began to take civil defence more seriously.

As a base for North Atlantic convoy escorts, the port in Derry was strategically invaluable to the Allied war effort. Thousands of foreign troops were based in Derry throughout the war. The people of the city suffered many hardships from rationing, black-outs, the threat of gas or bomb attacks and death.

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