Imperial War Museums (IWM) invites visitors to venture into the secret world of espionage this winter with the arrival of blockbuster exhibition Spies, Lies and Deception at IWM North (29th November 2025 – 31 August 2026).
The free exhibition uncovers the secrets of extraordinary individuals who risked everything. From imaginary armies at D-Day to 1950s suburban spy rings and the recent growth of deep fake technology, Spies, Lies and Deception unravels stories from the battlefields of the First World War through to the present day. The exhibition explores what happens when we are deceived and who pays the price.
On page and screen, fictional gadgets and covert operations often seem implausible, yet the real-life stories of spying will leave visitors of all ages questioning if anything is ever what it seems. Suitable for all, Spies, Lies and Deception is recommended for families and children 8+. Young recruits can visit the “Mission Room” to embark on a top-secret exhibition trail, piecing together information to find out if they have what it takes to succeed in the world of spies.
Over the last hundred years, false documentation, clothing, and even plastic surgery have been used as tools of espionage, to help with disguise or create a new identity. One of the most elaborate plots featured is the story of Operation Mincemeat, the bold Second World War mission which successfully fooled German High Command about the location of the next major Allied assault, by planting a body with fake military documents off the Spanish coast. Objects from Operation Mincemeat, including mastermind Ewen Montagu’s private papers, shed light on how this trickery helped alter the course of history.
The specialist skills of writers, designers and creatives are essential to mastering the art of deception in conflict. This is demonstrated with the case of Lieutenant Commander Norman Wilkinson, a marine artist, who introduced Dazzle Ships during the First World War by creating a new type of visual deception, using patterns and contrasting colours to disguise their speed and direction. Other creative ingenuity on display includes a box of matches specially adapted for writing secret messages; papier-mâché heads used to identify the location of snipers in the First World War trenches; and decoy ‘Sneakers’ made by SOE (Special Operations Executive) in South-East Asia during the Second World War to disguise the wearer’s real footprints.
Spies, Lies and Deception also pulls back the curtain to reveal the stories of some of the most fascinating spies, their experiences in the field and the personal cost of their deception. SOE operative Noor Inayat Khan was the first female wireless operator sent by SOE into Occupied France, where she successfully transmitted messages to London for four months before being betrayed, captured and executed. The bravery of agent Khan will be displayed alongside more recent case studies, including an interview with Bellingcat founder, Eliot Higgins. Bellingcat, an international collective of researchers, used open-source data to uncover the real identities of those responsible for the Salisbury Novichok poisonings in 2018.
Amanda Mason, Lead Curator of Spies, Lies and Deception, said:
“Deception has always played a key role in conflict. Whether we view acts of deception as something good or bad depends on whether we are the deceiver or the deceived.
“Lives are lost when information falls into the wrong hands and lives are saved by people whose stories often remain hidden from history. By exploring some of the most surprising and daring cases from the past hundred years, Spies Lies and Deception is a must-see exhibition for anyone who is interested in finding out the truth behind this secretive world.”
Spies, Lies and Deception
29 November 2025 – 31 August 2026
Free exhibition
https://www.iwm.org.uk/events/spies-lies-and-deception-iwm-north
