House of Memories app launched for veterans living with dementia

The National Army Museum has created a new app for veterans living with dementia in partnership with the House of Memories dementia awareness programme by National Museums Liverpool.

The new digital resource will connect veterans living with dementia to the museum’s collection, using familiar military objects to spark memories and conversations.

The app features almost 100 objects and images from the National Army Museum’s collection, including webbing, roll mats, boot brushes and rifle cleaning kits.

It draws on everyday items from soldiers’ lives to evoke personal memories of service, from the daily polishing of boots and intense physical training to the “simple act of making a brew in the field”.

Tested with local veterans, the app package aims to connect to those with an interest in historic army memories as well as more contemporary life in the army.

The My House of Memories app is free to download on any Android or Apple device.  

The House of Memories is also working with the National Army Museum to deliver dementia awareness training and workshops to those within the sector and supporting those living with dementia. A dementia awareness training day will take place at the National Army Museum on 24 November.

To mark Remembrance Day this year, the National Army Museum has created Behind the Mask, a display of mask artworks created by military veterans to explore their emotions and often traumatic experiences of military service, identity and mental health.

The masks are on display for the first time in a museum setting in the National Army Museum’s Atrium until Wednesday 19 November 2025.

Behind the Mask was developed in partnership with the US Embassy’s Office of Cultural Heritage and the veteran charity The Not Forgotten, which support veterans and serving military personnel living with injury, illness or isolation.

The project brought veterans from across the UK to a week-long retreat in Devon and invited them to paint and decorate masks to externalise emotional histories, reflect on life after service, and begin a journey of healing through creativity.