People in Carmarthenshire are being asked to share their stories or memorabilia from World War 1 for a national project.
Welsh Voices of the Great War Online is a digital community heritage project established and co-ordinated by the School of History, Archaeology & Religion at Cardiff University.
The aim is to gather, catalogue and make public an undiscovered treasure trove of World War 1 artefacts and memorabilia which remain in private hands.
Any and all items related to the experiences of the Welsh in World War 1 are needed.
This might include photographs of men in uniform; letters or postcards from the front; diaries, either from servicemen or from those who remained at home; scrapbooks or newspaper clippings kept by families; and any artefacts or memorabilia.
The project team is also keen to gather memories and stories that have been passed down the generations.
Once gathered, the material will be catalogued and then made available to the public via The People’s Collection website.
The aim is for the archive to reach as wide an audience as possible, so that it can be used by schools, museums, local history societies, community groups, family historians and academic researchers.
Anyone who has a digital camera or scanner, and a computer with an Internet connection can contribute their material via the website www.welshvoices.com.
For people who don’t have the technology – or the confidence to use it – an event is taking place at Llanelli Reference Library on Friday, November 12, from 10am to 4pm.
The reference library is temporarily based on the first floor at Brookfield House (the former British Legion) whilst improvements are carried out on the county council facility in Vaughan Street.
Anyone with any World War 1 heirlooms and artefacts is invited to take them along, and staff will help scan the items to make a digital copy of their material so that it can be safeguarded for posterity.
Project manager Dr Gethin Matthews said a number of items had already been donated including embroidered handkerchiefs, customised cigarette lighters, a trench periscope, a German lantern, bayonets and a pistol.
Dr Matthews said: “From a historian’s point of view, perhaps the most valuable items are the letters, because they give an insight into people’s beliefs and attitudes.
“As well as physical artefacts, we are also interested in the stories that families have preserved over the generations.
“It’s interesting to hear these ‘family legends’ because they show how the memory of the men’s experiences and sacrifices were honoured down the decades.”
