THE Imperial War Museum has been accused of neglecting Victoria Cross heroes in favour of transgender history.

The upper floor of the museum once housed the world's largest collection of the medals, which are Britain's highest military honour.

However, the museum announced earlier this year that the exhibition would be closed, and curators have been accused of pivoting to focus on LGBT history. A virtual tour titled Refracted Histories: Exploring LGBTQ+ Stories in Times of Conflict has been launched, allowing visitors to learn about the "LGBTQ+ community" that has "always been present during times of conflict".

Subjects in the new self-guided LGBT tour include "drag shows" in POW camps,

Lord Ashcroft, who owns the Victoria Cross collection, was aghast at the decision to remove the on-loan medals, and has now accused the museum of being "beyond parody".

The Tory peer claimed in a message on X that the new LGBT tour was "part of the reason" the Imperial War Museum "kicked out over 200 Victoria Crosses telling the incredible stories of the bravest of the brave". The Lord Ashcroft gallery was opened in 2010 following a £5 million donation from the life peer, and it was used to house his £70m collection of medals, which were to be loaned for 15 years.

The gallery permanently closed in June and the collection was returned to Lord Ashcroft, who claimed that he had no prior knowledge of the plans to shut down the space.

The Imperial War Museum said it plans to expand its material relating to conflict post-Second World War, making use of what was the Lord Ashcroft Gallery.

To read the complete article, see:
Museum 'replaces Ashcroft medal gallery with trans history tour'(https://www.pressreader.com/uk/the-daily-telegraph-saturday/20251227/281711211005928)
Imperial War Museum accused of removing medals to promote LGBTQ history(https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2025/12/26/imperial-war-museum-accused-remove-medals-promote-trans/)

To read the earlier E-Sylum article, see:
MUSEUM TO CLOSE VICTORIA CROSS EXHIBIT(https://www.coinbooks.org/v28/esylum_v28n09a27.html)