EXPLORING THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR. supported by:

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1 EXPLORING THE HISTORY OF THE FIRST WORLD WAR supported by:

2 WHO ARE WE? Gateways to the First World is a public engagement centre funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. Based at the University of Kent, the Gateways team includes specialists on First World War research from the Universities of Brighton, Greenwich, Portsmouth, Leeds and Queen Mary (London). It also has close links with organisations such as the Imperial War Museum, National Maritime Museum, War Memorials Trust and many more across the UK and internationally. Gateways can offer advice, guidance and support on developing projects to commemorate the First World War. For more information visit our website at: or gateways@kent.ac.uk.

3 WHY COMMEMORATE? The First World War shaped the 20th century, and its repercussions are still felt today. It proved to be an immensely complex phenomenon influencing lives across the planet in myriad ways, and as such has fascinated historians and the wider public alike ever since. The centenary of the conflict gives us the chance to re-evaluate the experience. It is an opportunity for us all to question our understandings and perceptions of this momentous event in history. This booklet provides advice on resources for research for those interested in the history of the First World War and ideas for developing and funding centenary projects.

4 HOW CAN I FIND OUT MORE ABOUT AN INDIVIDUAL? The National Archives (TNA): Key personal information is often found in the individual service records and medal card indexes. These can be downloaded (for a fee) or you can view them for free by visiting TNA at Kew. War diaries and logs of units in which individuals served are also held at TNA and provide more general information about individuals. You can determine an individual s unit through medal records cards, or, if they died, via the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (see overleaf).

5 Commonwealth War Graves Commission: If an individual died during the conflict, or its immediate aftermath, you might find them on the Commonwealth War Grave Commission s free-to-use online register. Lives of the First World War: This online project by the Imperial War Museum brings together material from museums, libraries, archives and family collections from across the world. You can help explore these documents, link them together and start telling the stories of those who served in uniform and worked on the home front. Ancestry website is useful for accessing family history records. Most UK local authority library services now subscribe to Ancestry and so you may well be able to access it for free in your local library.

6 WHERE CAN I FIND MATERIALS AND RESOURCES? There are plenty of excellent resources to help explore the First World War. National Resources The National Archives is the home of all state papers including material about the government and armed forces. They also have excellent online study guides for First World War material. The Imperial War Museum has an extensive archive of personal records (such as diaries and letters), books, photographs, films, posters and works of art. Its collection can be searched at

7 Local Resources Local war memorials - These are often a good starting point for projects on the military dead and you can find information and support from the War Memorials Trust. County/borough and city archives - These hold a mix of materials including official papers such as local government and ecclesiastical records, and personal collections. Each county record office in the UK has its own website and searchable catalogue. Alternatively, you can access them at Access to Archives (A2A).

8 WHERE CAN I FIND MATERIALS AND RESOURCES? Digital Resources The Europeana project is digitising a wide range of material including sources from the India Office collection. It can be searched at Newspapers - Local newspapers give a great snapshot of life in a particular district and can reveal how people lived with the war and the intrusions it made into their lives. Many libraries subscribe to digitised newspaper collections. The British Library website also contains information on digitised newspapers, which can be accessed for a fee. The Great War Archive contains over 6,500 items contributed by the general public between March and June Every item originates from, or relates to, someone s experience of the First World War, either abroad or at home. Contributions were received via a special website and also through a series of open days at libraries and museums throughout the country.

9 Film and Sound Resources Newsreels, or Topicals as they were known during the war, can be viewed on the British Pathe ( and British Movietone websites (www. movietone.com). Some digitised film material can also be viewed at the British Film Institute Library ( The British Library has a large collection of oral history sound recordings. Search their catalogue at bl.uk/cgi-bin/webcat and access a number of their recordings online at IWM (Q71272) The European Film Gateway provides access to hundreds of thousands of film historical documents as preserved in European film archives.

10 WHAT SOCIETIES CAN I JOIN TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THE FIRST WORLD WAR? The Western Front Association (WFA) is open to anyone to join and has over 6,000 members worldwide. Subscribers receive regular publications, can attend monthly talks and meetings, and are sent news of events relating to the history of Visit for details of your nearest branch. The British Association for Local History is an organisation that aims to encourage and assist the study of Local History as an academic discipline and as a rewarding leisure pursuit for both individuals and groups. There are many family history societies across the UK. Visit the Federation of Family History Societies website at to find your local organisation.

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12 WHAT KIND OF PROJECTS COULD I OR MY GROUP PURSUE? If you want to develop your own project as a group or school we are here to help with expertise and suggestions. Some ideas for project outcomes might include: Mapping and charting important sites and creating self-guided tours, perhaps as apps Developing creative or artistic outputs such as dramatic performances, music, films, poetry or prose Creating local exhibitions An excellent online repository for First World war projects is also provided by Historypin (

13 IWM (Q70214) IWM (Q71272) Crowd-Sourcing Projects - Two major crowd-sourcing projects have been established to mark the First World War centenary. Led by the Imperial War Museum, Lives of the First World War gathers information about individuals who were involved in the conflict as civilians and military personnel. Operation War Diary allows people to explore unit war diaries digitised by the National Archives. Step by step guidance is provided for both projects and they are particularly good for use in schools or small groups.

14 STEP SHORT PROJECT, FOLKESTONE Step Short is a great example of local people working together to commemorate the First World War centenary. A Folkestone-based charity, Step Short runs a number of projects to help educate people on the history of the war in Folkestone. Renovating The Road of Remembrance Each one of the millions of fighting men who marched through Folkestone and down to the waiting boats on the harbour on their way to the Western Front between 1914 and 1918 would have gone down The Slope, as it was then known. At the top of the hill they would have heard the order Step Short, an instruction to shorten their stride in order to negotiate the gradient safely.

15 That road is now Folkestone s Road of Remembrance. Step Short has begun the process of tidying, replanting and restoring the road to the point where it will again be a fitting memorial to the bravery of the millions of soldiers whose footsteps and songs echoed as they marched to and from the Harbour. The Memorial Arch On 13th July 2012 Step Short unveiled plans to create a memorial Arch at the top of the Road of Remembrance. With a classic design, the Arch will provide a focus for remembering the men and women whose journeys took them down the road and will be a symbol of Folkestone s status as a key gateway to the Western Front. Step Short App Gateways is assisting the Step Short project in Folkestone through the creation of a selfguided app tour. The app will go live in 2014 and will take visitors around a variety of sites with fascinating wartime histories.

16 HOW CAN I FINANCE MY PROJECT? The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) can provide funding to help groups, communities and organisations mark the Centenary by exploring, conserving and sharing the heritage of the First World War, from memorials, buildings and sites, to photographs, letters and literature. The HLF offers a number of grants from 3,000 10,000, 10, ,000 and 100,000 upwards. HowToApply/whatwefund/ FirstWorldWar IWM (Q30511)

17 The Western Front Association Centenary Committee may be able to provide funding through its Centenary Grants scheme. Centenary Grants are available for any WFA member Funding is available for a variety of projects big and small (but only for new projects, not those where the money has already been spent) Each project will be judged on its merits Projects with educational and community dimensions would be preferred For further details please see the WFA website and contact the Committee s secretary, David Tattersfield. Gateways to the First World War has a budget for open days and study days and so is very interested to hear from any institution wishing to host such activities in order to explore the potential for collaborative events of this nature. It should be noted that this budget does not cover individual time costs, but may support elements such as travel, hospitality and publicity costs.

18 OTHER USEFUL WEBSITES FOR FIRST WORLD WAR RESEARCH INCLUDE: Archives Wales Liddell Hart Centre for Military Archives archivespec/collections/lhcma.aspx National Archives of Scotland National Army Museum National Maritime Museum National Museum of the Royal Navy National War Museum Scotland museum.aspx Royal Air Force Museum

19 WHERE CAN I FIND FURTHER INFORMATION? Keep up to date on the development of First World War projects, resources and events at the Gateways to the First World War website You can also follow our activities on Twitter and If you are a group or organisation developing a First World War project then the Gateways team would like to hear from you. We will be running regular events to provide information, support and publicity to First World War commemorative activities. us at gateways@kent.ac.uk

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