This month of course marks the start of the centenary of World War One, and there are hundreds of events around Britain and beyond to mark it. Here we focus on what one key British institution is doing…

Leading the nation’s commemorations are the Imperial War Museums at London, Manchester and Duxford. The London museum has been closed for the last 18 months or so in readiness for the new permanent WW1 galleries, which open on 19 July (pictured in an artist’s impression here).

IWM has the richest and most comprehensive WW1 collection in the world, with more than 1,300 objects including weapons, uniforms, diaries, letters and souvenirs going on display in the 14 chapters of the revamped galleries – many of which have never been seen before.

The museum’s atrium has also been redesigned and on entering the museum, visitors will be presented with Witnesses to War, nine iconic objects including a Harrier, Spitfire and V2 rocket suspended from above as well as a T34 tank and a Reuters LandRover damaged by a rocket attack in Gaza.

Also starting on 19 July at IWM London is Truth and Memory: British Art of the First World War (running until 8 March 2015). This is the largest exhibition of British WW1 art for almost 100 years. This major retrospective comprises more than 120 artworks and will feature the most iconic images to emerge from the war, including paintings by Paul Nash, Percy Wyndham Lewis, CWR Nevinson and Stanley Spencer.

For more information go to www.iwm.org.uk/ww1. If you are looking for local commemorations around the country, the BBC’s World War One at Home search engine at www.bbc.co.uk/ww1/ww1-at-home/find-locations is useful, as is the official WW1 centenary website at www.1914.org.