The Jewish Military Museum is a collection and archive of material relating to the military history of Jews in British and commonwealth service and is funded by the Association of Jewish Ex-Servicemen (AJEX) Charitable Foundation.

Archive Description

The paper archive consists of material concerning Jews in the military and the history of AJEX. It covers the role of Jewish men and women in British society and defence, and the collection includes records such as military and official documents, personal documents, written and recorded testimony. These are mostly drawn from UK and Commonwealth content but also includes some overseas records such as those from Israel.

There is also a substantial collection of Chaplain Cards. These are a unique collection of 70,000+ index cards of Jewish military personnel who encountered the Military Jewish Chaplaincy service. The cards contain a mixture of basic and detailed comments and as part of a digitisation pilot project some of the cards will soon be available to view online.

The museum artefacts (e.g. photographs, uniforms and medals – including a Victoria Cross, memorial plaques, military items and personal items) are currently located in long-term storage.

Access Information

The paper archives are stored at the AJEX Head Office in Hendon, north west London and are available for consultation. Researchers can request to visit the archive by booking an appointment through the AJEX contact page and in conjunction with AJEX archivist Martin Sugarman who is also available for telephone advice.

There is limited access to the museum artefacts but if there is something in particular that a researcher wants to view, they can also request an appointment through the AJEX contact page.

Digital Accessibility

Around thirty percent of the collection has been digitised and there are plans to complete this digitisation. There is currently no online catalogue but researchers may be able to access a collection contents file on request.