This section explores two key aspects of Birmingham’s history during the first half of the 20th century between 1909 and 1945.
This includes the development of the suburbs and the impact of the two world wars on Birmingham and its people.
The first part of the display called A Vision for Birmingham examines how the suburban estate reflected the changing social and political ideals of the time in an attempt to improve the way people lived.
In addition, the narrative focuses on the movement of the population to municipal estates, the experiences of tenants and the challenges that arose from building new communities from scratch.

The second part of this section is called Birmingham at War and reveals the experiences of local people during the first and World War IIs.
An immersive Installation presents a collection of over thirty oral testimonies from local people’s experiences on both the home and military fronts.
They have been incorporated alongside a selection of projected digital images of relevant media from both wars including photographs and newspaper articles.
This section explores two key aspects of Birmingham’s history during the first half of the 20th century between 1909 and 1945. This includes the development of the suburbs and the impact of the two world wars on Birmingham and its people. The first part of the display called A Vision for Birmingham examines how the suburban estate reflected the changing social and political ideals of the time in an attempt to improve the way people lived. In addition, the narrative focuses on the movement of the population to municipal estates, the experiences of tenants and the challenges that arose from building new communities from scratch.
The second part of this section is called Birmingham at War and reveals the experiences of local people during the first and World War IIs. An immersive Installation presents a collection of over thirty oral testimonies from local people’s experiences on both the home and military fronts. They have been incorporated alongside a selection of projected digital images of relevant media from both wars including photographs and newspaper articles.
Birmingham History Galleries