Kohima Museum

About the museum

The Kohima Museum began with the artefacts that veterans of the British 2nd Infantry Division, which was based in York, brought home from the Battle of Kohima in 1944. At first it concentrated almost entirely on the division and its part in that battle. Its scope has since widened to cover the wider Burma Campaign, and it describes itself as the only museum in the United Kingdom devoted entirely to that campaign.

The museum is housed in Imphal Barracks on Fulford Road. Its collection includes Japanese items, objects from India and Burma, entertainment material from the 2nd Division, trench art, war diaries and displays on the Naga people. A library and a lecture room support research and talks.

A Chindit exhibition opened in June 2026, with wreckage from the aircraft crash that killed Major-General Orde Wingate as its centrepiece. In summer 2025 the museum showed twenty Victoria Crosses awarded in the Burma Campaign.

Highlights

• Chindit exhibition with wreckage from the crash that killed Orde Wingate
• Collection from the Battle of Kohima brought back by 2nd Division veterans
• Japanese items and objects from India and Burma
• Trench art cabinet and 2nd Division entertainment material
• Library, war diaries and Naga displays

Permanent exhibition

• Burma Campaign collection – Permanent cabinets show Japanese items, objects from India and Burma, 2nd Division entertainment material and trench art.

Founded

1990

Admission & discounts

Admission is free.

Entry is free. Donations are welcome.

Accessibility

• Wheelchair accessible
• Elevator: no information
• Accessible restroom: no information
• Accessible parking: no information
• Service dogs welcome: no information
• Tactile models & exhibits: no information
• Sign language tours: no information
• Easy-to-read materials: no information
• Audio description: no information

The museum states that it has step-free access.

Kids & families

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Getting there & parking

The museum is in Imphal Barracks on the A19 (Fulford Road), close to the centre of York.

Amenities & dining

There is a free car park on site.

Events & venue rental

The museum hasn’t published any information on this.

Plan your visit