First World War Collections in the UK - JISC World War One ...

First World War Collections in the UK
A preliminary horizon-scan
First World War Resources Online
Introduction
The Imperial War Museums, commissioned, funded and supported by JISC and the
Wellcome Trust, have produced the attached guide to First World War collections held
across the UK. The guide provides information on which archive, museum or library
across the UK has material relevant to the First World War.
This is the first iteration of a growing body of research on this topic and is not
comprehensive. Further research on First World War content and collections
available to education in analogue and digital form will be undertaken as part of
the JISC WW1 Discovery programme by King’s College London and will be openly
released in March 2012.
Questions which can be answered include:
nnWho has Prime Minister Lloyd George’s papers?
nnWhich museums have First World War aeroplanes?
nnWhich library has the papers of women’s suffrage societies?
nnWhat books were children reading and what toys were they playing with?
nnWhere are the silent films that were shown to cinema audiences at the time?
nnWhich art galleries have major works by First World War artists?
nnWhere do I find out about the medical effects of working with explosive material in
munitions factories?
Collections are split by region, type of material or subject to uncover how war shaped
the lives of men and women across the nation.
Suzanne Bardgett,
Head of Research, IWM (Imperial War Museums)
Images on the front page and this page from The First World War Poetry Digital Archive, University of Oxford
(www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/ww1lit); © The Imperial War Museum.
Foreword
The legacy of First World War in terms of social, economic and political global change
cannot be overstated; it changed the individual’s view of society and their place within
it with far-reaching effects into their future and our past. In the words of H.G. Wells:
‘This is the end and the beginning of an age’.
To mark this event is therefore a key landmark for custodians of heritage and
educators alike. The commemoration provides the opportunity for museums,
galleries, archives, libraries, the creative industries, universities, colleges and schools
to work together to provide a user experience made possible through innovative
digital technologies that is as personal, rich and vivid as it is focused; an experience
that offers the user the ability to contextualise their own understanding and customise
resources in line with their own learning and research priorities.
Therefore, as the anniversary of the start of conflicts of First World War centenary
approaches in 2014, the JISC is exploring what opportunities – creative, strategic
and technological – there may be in the seamless provision of the rich content
(from audiovisual, images and text- based works to film) held by range of
organisations across the UK to enhance educational and research opportunities in
universities and colleges and more broadly 1 . To support the ‘JISC World War One
(WW1) Commemoration projects’, JISC aims to create resources that are open,
comprehensive and sustainable, underpinned by guiding strategic and technological
principles outlined in the ‘JISC WW1 Statement of Intent 2 ’.
Following on from a number of successful roundtable events 3 and workshops
convened by JISC, involving a range of heritage and educational organisations, it
became clear that fostering a dialogue between organisations was essential. In
particular, participants articulated that it would be hugely beneficial if the range of
organisations that collectively held unique and authoritative materials on the First
World War were able to plan for and map activities using a ‘joined-up’ approach.
However, in order to make real progress with collaborations, some key questions
were outstanding:
nnWhat collections/assets are held by cultural heritage and education on the First
World War?
nnWhere were these collections/assets held on a regional basis?
nnWhat were the key assets of each collection? Did these pertain to an event, an
individual or geographic area?
nnWere these collections available online and if so, were they free to access?
It became clear that in order to scope the opportunities that this rich body of content
could provide to the heritage and education organisations and the public alike, a full
audit of collections and assets needed to be undertaken. The following documentation
was therefore commissioned and funded by JISC and the Wellcome Trust and
undertaken by the Imperial War Museum This document represents the first iteration
1 For more information on the JISC WW1 commemoration activities, see http://jiscww1.jiscinvolve.org/wp/
2 JISC WW1 Commemoration ‘Statement of Intent’: http://jiscww1.jiscinvolve.org/wp/jiscsww1statementofintent/
3 Details available on request- contact Sarah Fahmy (s.fahmy@jisc.ac.uk)
Page 2
of a growing body
of research on this
topic and should not
be considered in any
way as a complete
appraisal, especially
as many collections
are conspicuous by
their absence e.g.
Army regimental and
corps museums (www.
armymuseums.org.
uk/). Any omissions
here were only due
the limited scope
and resources of this
initiative. Further
research on First
World War content and
collections available to
education in analogue
and digital form will
be undertaken as
part of the JISC WW1
Discovery programme4 © IWM Q 4100
by King’s College
London and will be
openly released in March 2012. To contribute to this activity or to find out more, don’t
hesitate to get in contact.
Through this research and the complimentary work being undertaken throughout
education, cultural heritage and beyond, we shall scope effectively the opportunities,
capability and possibilities provided by this valuable body of content in order to
improve understanding on the First World War in preparation and as part of the legacy
of the centenary.
We are grateful to all of those who have contributed to this research. Particular
thanks and gratitude should go to Suzanne Bardgett and Lucy May Maxwell at the
Imperial War Museum and Anthony Woods at the Wellcome Trust.
Sarah Fahmy
JISC Programme Manager for First World War commemoration,
Strategic Content Alliance @JISC
November 2011
4 http://jiscww1.jiscinvolve.org/wp/jisc-ww1-discovery-programme/