Lord Ashcroft on Sword Beach where his hero father Eric landed on D-Day (Image: JULIAN SIMMONDS)
Britain will be denied the chance to see the world’s largest collection of Victoria Crosses after the “Imperial Woke Museum” removed them from display.
In an extraordinary move – announced just weeks before VE Day – the gallery housing the gallantry medals is being closed.
It means the public will no longer be able to see the military decorations given to some of the UK’s bravest soldiers for acts of valour.
The Lord Ashcroft Gallery was opened at the Imperial War Museum (IWM) in London in 2010, named in his honour after a £5 million donation, and housed his breathtaking personal collection of medals, including 200 Victoria Crosses (VC) and a smaller number of George Crosses (GC).
But the entrepreneur and philanthropist has now ripped up a clause in his will to gift the collection – valued at £70 million – to the IWM.
The Express was told he learned of the move, sanctioned by director-general Caro Howell and its board, while he was in speaking to hero soldiers on the frontline.
A source close to the 78-year-old former deputy chairman of the Conservative Party, whose hero father Eric took part in the D-Day landings, said: “It is thought the museum wants to move in a more contemporary direction. It seems they do not share Michael’s incredible passion for history and what it means to the country. To say it is a shame is something of an understatement.”
The Blues and Royals Trooper was awarded the George Cross by the late Queen Elizabeth II in 2004 (Image: PA)
Questions now remain over the fate of the carefully-curated collection after the gallery closes permanently on June 1 – just five days before the 81st anniversary of D-Day where Lieutenant Ashcroft waded ashore with The South Lancashire Regiment.
Each medal will have to be catalogued and move to a secure location and placed in a vault.
But the move means that shortly after the nation comes together to mark the official end of the Second World War on May 8 – known as VE Day – it will be unable to see a glittering collection belonging to bravehearts including Christopher Finney, the youngest ever GC recipient, who received his after being wounded rescuing comrades from US friendly fire in Iraq in 2003.
Mr Finney, 40, formerly of the Household Cavalry and chairman of the VC and GC Association, said: “I think the general feeling is just one of disappointment. It would be awful if they [the recipients] are forgotten from our collective consciousness.”
Lord Ashcroft has built up his collection since 1986, buying the medals at public auctions or from private sellers for posterity.
It also includes the Victoria Cross awarded to George Maling for heroic feats during the First World War as a medical officer with the 12th Battalion, The Rifle Brigade (Prince Consort’s Own)
On September 25, 1915 near Fauquissart, France, Lieutenant Maling worked for more 24 hours collecting and treating more than 300 men in the open, under heavy shell fire.
He was temporarily stunned by the bursting of a large high-explosive shell which wounded his only assistant and killed several soldiers he was tending. A second shell covered him and his instruments with debris, but he continued single-handedly.
The hero was mentioned in despatches and promoted to Captain in 1916. He returned to the UK and served in the Military Hospital in Grantham, later joining the 34th Field Ambulance of the 11th (Northern) Division, before selflessly serving again in France for two years. He died on July 9, 1929 aged 40.
Eric Ashcroft, a Lieutenant in the 1st Battalion South Lancashire Regiment, landed on Sword Beach (Image: COLLECT PHOTO FROM JULIAN SIMMONDS)
The gallery is being closed to make way for new displays exploring post-Second World War conflicts, like the Falklands, Iraq and Afghanistan, which are “less well represented”.
A spokesman for the museum said: “IWM London has proudly displayed Victoria Crosses and George Crosses since 1968, and we remain committed to sharing these stories of the greatest acts of bravery and sacrifice in defence of our nation with the public.”
One museum visitor said: “I sense a woke agenda here. They should rename it the Imperial Woke Museum. Lord knows the US would go nuts for such an important collection.”
Writing for the Express to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day last year, Lord Ashcroft said: “My father, the battalion signals’ officer, later described his run up the beach. In an interview recorded decades later for the Imperial War Museum, he said: ‘About two-thirds to high watermark, I was knocked sideways when, so it would appear now, an 88mm splinter struck my right arm as I was moving across the beach.’
“When my father paused beneath a bank with the enemy beach wire just ahead, he applied a field dressing to his bloodied wound and crouched beside his CO. ‘Colonel [Richard] Burbury was about two feet away from me and the next thing I knew he rolled to his side and was shot in the chest,’ my father said. His CO had been killed by a sniper, aged 38.
“Of course, I have no monopoly on being proud of a close relative’s part in the war effort: there are thousands of people up and down the country whose fathers, grandfathers, uncles, brothers and cousins also played courageous roles in the fight against Nazi Germany.”
Speaking exclusively to the Express, Lord Ashcroft said: “It would be an understatement to say that I am not happy with the whole way that this episode has been handled by the IWM.
“After paying some £5 million to create the new gallery in 2010 and loaning the IWM the largest collection of VCs in the world, I think that I deserved to be treated with more courtesy and respect.
“However, I have been heartened by the public’s response to this announcement. Everyone I speak to, including decorated war veterans, say the decision is plain wrong. They say the closure of the Lord Ashcroft Gallery will be the nation’s loss.”