During 2015 Gateways to the First World War has been working with a number of groups developing First World War projects. We are very pleased that many of these have been awarded funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF).
The HLF is currently providing a special grant programme for community projects exploring the First World War and marking its centenary. The First World War: Then and Now scheme offers grants of £3,000 to £10,000 and is suitable for everyone, including first time applicants. Find out more about the scheme and how to apply at www.hlf.org.uk/looking-funding/our-grant-programmes/first-world-war-then-and-now.
The Gateways centre is keen to support community groups developing applications to the Heritage Lottery Fund. We can help in a variety of ways, including signposting to resources and academic expertise. If you are planning or developing an HLF application then please get in touch with our Community Heritage Researcher Dr Sam Carroll at s.j.carroll@kent.ac.uk to discuss how Gateways might be able to help.
Details of some of the projects we have supported during 2015 can be found below.
20 Streets in Portsmouth: the St Wilfrid’s Memorials
A partnership between Portsea Parish and Fratton Big Local has received £9,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund for this project focusing on the men listed on the war memorials in St Wilfrid’s Church, George Street, Buckland. 993 men are named on the memorials, most of them from just 21 streets in Buckland of which 20 survive between St Mary’s Road and New Road. 135 of the men gave their lives during or in one case immediately after the war.
To mark the Centenary of the First World War, the project will enable local people to come together to research and preserve the memories of these men who served in the First World War. Volunteers will research the men through a variety of records, and also where possible collect photographs, newspaper clippings, documents, letters and photos of keepsakes, as well as family tales passed down to help them.
The project will be supported by Gateways’ Dr Brad Beaven and the Port Towns and Urban Cultures project based at the University of Portsmouth and will have history students from the university participating as part of their studies.
The Boys on the Plaque
Fabrica, in partnership with Strike A Light and Brighton & Hove Library Services, has received a grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a project, The Boys on the Plaque, in Brighton & Hove. Awarded through HLF’s First World War: then and now programme, the project will highlight a recently uncovered FWW memorial plaque situated in the former Holy Trinity Church which houses Fabrica gallery.
Supported by a team of archivists, artists and historians, the local community will come together through research, creative activities and heritage events to discover the hidden histories of the 95 soldiers commemorated on the plaque and consider the personal experiences of ordinary people during the war. A range of public events for all ages will share the project's findings and provide opportunities for the local community to come together to remember and learn more about the First World War. The project findings will be digitally recorded and an on-line interactive archive will be created where everyone can access and contribute information.
Gateways’ Dr Sam Carroll provided guidance on academic and research issues during the development of the application to the Heritage Lottery Fund. Members of the Gateways Research Network will be involved in the project's Conversation Cafes and a Gateways pop-up exhibition was featured at the Boys on the Plaque's Heritage Open Day.
Find out more about the Boys on the Plaque project at https://boysontheplaque.wordpress.com/.
Celebrating the WW1 history of Westgate Hall and its community
Westgate Community Trust has been awarded funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund to investigate the history of Westgate Hall, Canterbury’s drill hall, before and during WW1 and, in the process, shed light on life in Canterbury at the time. The project aims to bring Canterbury’s communities together by sharing memories and knowledge about a period which left few families unmarked. It will involve the development of materials and information, including memory boards, which will be permanently available at the Hall itself, on the Trust’s website and held in the local museums. Memory boards will be part of the project’s weekend-long World War One event over Remembrance Sunday weekend, Saturday, 7 November and Sunday, 8 November 2015.
Gateways’ Community Heritage Researcher, Dr Sam Carroll, provided guidance on academic and research issues during the application to the Heritage Lottery Fund and delivered oral history training. The project leader has been involved in a Gateways to the First World War training event. Students from the School of History at the University of Kent will be volunteering on the project. Dr Emma Hanna has provided academic advice and Professor Mark Connelly and network member Tim Fox-Godden will be speaking at events.
Find out more about the project at www.westgatehall.org
The Impact on the People of Portsmouth of the Battle of Jutland
Portsdown U3A has been awarded £7,900 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for its project exploring the stories of local sailors who fought at the Battle of Jutland in 1916. Almost 600 local men were lost in the Battle and the project team will use detailed primary source research and family histories to compile information about these sailors and their families. This information will be used to create a map indicating where in Portsmouth the lost sailors and their families lived, which will illustrate the impact of the Battle of Jutland on the city. A memorial roll to honour the sailors will also be produced. During the interwar years the Battle of Jutland played an important part in Portsmouth’s collective identity and memory and this project aims to restore community awareness of the city's involvement in the Great War.
The application to the HLF was provided with academic guidance by Gateways’ Dr Brad Beaven. Research Network Member Dr Robert James (University of Portsmouth) will be working as an academic partner on the project.
Peace Field
National Children’s Football Alliance and the Peace Village, Mesen, Belgium, are commemorating World War One and celebrating peace through the 1914 Christmas Truce by offering schools, clubs and public play areas the opportunity to twin a designated area of play with Flanders Peace Fields, site of the Christmas Truce. This is open to all schools, clubs and public play areas across United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland. The aim of the Peace Fields Project is to create peace makers for the future. Young people will absorb the essence of why fair play is important and begin to understand that sport can transcend conflict and cement friendships for life.
Gateways’ Dr Emma Hanna is the academic adviser on the project, and the centre is supporting a Peace Fields workshop at the University of Kent for secondary school students.
Find out more about the project at www.childrensfootballalliance.com.
Romsey and the Congregational Church in World War One
Abbey United Reformed Church has received £9,000 from the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) for a project, Romsey and the Congregational Church in World War One. The project will focus on the contribution made by Romsey and the Congregational Church during the First World War and a Roll of Honour listing 277 men.
To mark the centenary of the conflict, the project will enable local people in Romsey to come together to preserve the memories and heritage of the people who lived through the First World War. The community is invited to share photographs, newspaper clippings, documents, letters and photos of Keepsakes as well as family tales passed down to help them build a clear picture of what life was really like.
The information gathered will be digitally recorded and an online interactive archive will be created where everyone can access and contribute information. The archive will allow the public to discuss, contribute, share and research information about the Home Front.
Gateways’ Community Heritage Researcher, Dr Sam Carroll, provided guidance on academic and research issues during the application to the Heritage Lottery Fund .
Find out more about the project at http://sarahstewartba.tumblr.com/.
