ABSTRACT
The instinct to return to past practices to deal with the present was just as apparent in the museum profession, and an analysis of the post-war museum service illustrates how museums struggled to come to terms with the wider consequences of the war. Despite all the difficulties encountered in the early years of post-war austerity, the commitment of provincial museums to the recommendations of the Markham Report and the experiments of the wartime period remained relatively intact. There was continuity of wartime staff, services established in wartime were maintained and the Arts Council of Great Britain continued the Council for the Encouragement of Music and the Arts (CEMA)'s travelling exhibition programmes, at least initially. The post-war years were characterised by economic hardship, but it was still possible for individuals and local corporations to enhance museum services if they wished to do so. The example of Birmingham City Museum and Art Gallery showed how much could be achieved with necessary support.
