Stranger in the House at Imperial War Museum North until 1st March 2009

A new exhibition explores the return of soldiers from the Second World War through the eyes of the women they left behind.

When peace was finally declared at the end of the Second World War, women the length of the country celebrated the idea that their husbands, boyfriends, fathers and brothers would be coming home and life could finally return to normal.

But when the soldiers returned back home, it was far from normal. The soldiers returned to find their homes damaged or destroyed, their families grown, their friends gone. The women found the people they had longed to see changed beyond recognition, emotionally and physically damaged by the trauma of war. How would they be able to get beyond the past together?

A new exhibition from Julie Summers explores this journey from the feminine perspective using images and testimonies from the time. Thought provoking, saddening and honest, this exhibition will make you consider what coming home means in an entirely new way.