Welsh people search their homes for WW1 memorabilia
Do you have family heirlooms in your home related to the First World War? Maybe a diary written on the front line by a relative or a collection of letters put away for safe keeping at the back of a drawer?
Cardiff University’s School of History and Archaeology is launching a new project giving people across Wales the chance to share their forgotten treasures and family history with the rest of the nation.
Led by Dr Gethin Matthews, Welsh Voices of the Great War Online is a digital community heritage project that seeks to gather and make public artefacts and memorabilia which remain in private hands.
Everything from letters and diaries, postcards and newspaper clippings are sought by the team. They’re also interested in hearing about stories passed down from generation to generation about the war.
Speaking about the project, Dr Matthews, a lecturer in Welsh History at the School of History and Archaeology said: “The Great War is one of the most significant events in world history and the project’s main aim is to investigate the huge local impact it had on Wales. We’re hoping that it will really capture people’s attention and encourage them to contribute.”
People can take part in the project by going along to one of seven roadshows across Wales or by uploading images and information to the project’s website at www.welshvoices.com.
The first roadshow takes place on Saturday 24 July at St Fagans National History Museum, from 10am to 4pm. Subsequent roadshows will be held in Wrexham, Newport, Aberystwyth, Swansea, Blaenavon and Llanberis.
Once catalogued, the material will be made available to everyone through The People’s Collection website, a major initiative funded by the Welsh Assembly Government to be launched at the 2010 National Eisteddfod in Ebbw Vale.
“The idea is that schools, organisations, academics and the public will be able to access the collection in order to discover new insights into Welsh perspectives of the Great War,” said Gethin. “The collection will also shed new light on the differences in the reactions to war of people in North Wales and South Wales, or between industrial and rural areas of the country. Some of the findings are sure to change the way we think about the impact the war had on Wales.”
