Gordon_R

You could try Portsmouth - just 2 hours drive south of London and the departure point for many of the allied troops involved in the Normandy landings. The D-Day museum on the seafront (http://www.ddaymuseum.co.uk/) is very good, as is the naval dockyard and Royal Marines museum. Just north of the city is the Royal Armouries and across the harbour in Gosport is "Explosion!" - a newish museum which charts the history of naval munitions, with plenty of WWII vintage stuff to see.

SusanE

Thanks so much for all the tips. Clearly, a week is just not enough time gt

curmudgeon

Some good suggestions here. I would definitely start with the Imperial War museum in London - it is quite extensive (located on the site of Bedlam, the former insane asylum). The cabinet war rooms are popular (though I haven't managed to visit them myself).

The air museum at Duxford is good, though the US has more extensive ones at USAF museum in Dayton OH and the Smithsonian.

The Tank museum at Duxford has by far the best collection of armored vehicles I have seen. Much much better than the museum at Aberdeen Proving Grounds in US. Depending on interests, it would be my second choice of sites.