FOR the first time ever a collection of gruesome artefacts collected at some of Britain's most notorious crime scenes will go on public display.
The items come from the Metropolitan Police’s Crime Museum and include shrapnel from an unexploded bomb planted by Irish Fenians at Paddington Station in 1884.
Shrapnel from an unexploded Fenian bomb found at Paddington Station, 1884 (Photo Museum of London)The bomb was one of many planted during The Irish Republic Brotherhood’s coordinated series of attacks on the London Underground.
In 1883, Fenians set off a bomb on the Metropolitan Line. It exploded near Praed Street Station, Paddington, injuring 70 passengers.
Previously only accessible to police professionals, the public will now get a look at objects and evidence from other notorious crimes, including the Acid Bath Murders of 1949 and the Millennium Dome Diamond Heist of 2000.
A talc tin used by a Russian spy to hide microfilm, lager and soft drink cans, used to smuggle drugs and everyday personal belongings left by The Great Train Robbery gang while they were in hiding from the police, will also be on display.
Sharon Ament, Director of the Museum of London, said: “The Crime Museum Uncovered will use select objects from this extraordinary, hidden collection to consider the changing nature of crime and advances in detection over the last 140 years.
"Through focusing on people – victims, perpetrators and police officers – we’ll use real objects to explore the human stories behind some of the UK’s most well-known crimes, personalising what is so often de-personalised.”
The Crime Museum’s Visitors’ Book reveals an eclectic list of high-profile guests over the years, from King George V to Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini.
The Crime Museum Uncovered exhibition runs from October 9, 2015 - April 10, 2016.
