This page will be regularly updated with details of volunteering opportunities. For further information, or to advertise a volunteering vacancy, please contact gateways@kent.ac.uk.
University of Kent students undertaking volunteering roles may be eligible for Employability Points. Visit the Employability Points website for more information.
Latest News
100 miles for 100 years - volunteers needed
Volunteers or students with a particular interest in FWW local history required to support and check research.
‘100 miles for 100 years’ is a series of 30 self guided heritage trails themed on local people, events and places relevant to the First World War in Kent. Each trail will feature landmarks illustrated with images marking where people lived or an event happened. Each image will be accompanied by a brief informative description to be used whilst following the trail but with links to encourage deeper exploration of local issues and events.
The trails will be available as mobile compliant applications from www.kentww1.com including full downloadable directions and health and safety guidance. Also on the website is a downloadable pdf-version with more details including a trail quiz to encourage deeper interaction and an interesting activity for families. They are also available as a leaflet.
The trails will be developed in association with local people who will be given the opportunity to receive training in trail development and event organisation. Each individual trail will have a launch event where the community can join together to learn about their locality in the First World War.
If you would like to be involved in supporting the development of trails in Ashford, Canterbury, Dartford, Deal, Dover, Gravesend, Herne Bay, Isle of Sheppey, Lydd, Maidstone, Margate, Ramsgate, Sevenoaks, Southborough and High Brooms, Tenterden and Tonbridge please contact info@kentww1.com or darrienne.price@screensouth.org
Training provided.
Transcribing Volunteer Role - War Diary Transcriber
Are you passionate about the stories of people in the First World War? Do you have a keen interest in history? Why not join our project team and help us to transcribe a collections of First World War diaries?
The main duty of this role is to accurately transcribe verbatim (in full) a section of the diaries. Throughout the task volunteers will be required to note down key areas of interest including names, dates or geographical locations mentioned for further research.
In addition to this the duties of the role may also include:
• Additional research on the details written in the diary
• Assisting the project officer with other areas of research
• Verifying the work that other volunteers have transcribed as well as understanding that their interpretation of the diaries will be verified in turn
• Inputting collection information onto the museum database
As part of the interview process there will be a short test to transcribe one of the pages from the diary.
A meticulous approach and attention to detail is essential and previous experience and skills in transcribing handwritten documents are desirable.
Project Officer – Rachel Arnold, Warner and World War One
rarnold@eppingforestdc.gov.uk
01992 564993
Lowewood Museum, High Street, Hoddesdon, Herts, EN11 8BH
Volunteering opportunities with War Memorials Trust
War Memorials Trust is looking for volunteers to support its Learning Programme and fundraising activities.
War Memorials Trust is the charity that works for the protection and conservation of war memorials across the UK. It provides advice and information to anyone as well as running grant schemes for the repair and conservation of war memorials.
Find out more at www.warmemorials.org.
Download the role descriptions for the volunteering opportunities below:
Office Volunteer (Learning)
Office Volunteer (Fundraising)
For further information please contact Suzannah Musson at info@warmemorials.org .
Surrey in the Great War: Your County Needs You!
Surrey in the Great War need volunteers to index 12 digitised local newspapers for the war years. A number of volunteers are already doing fantastic work. Would you like to join them?
The indexes will be used to identify stories about Surrey during the war which can be followed up and added to the bespoke Surrey in the Great War website; as well as identifying information about Surrey people to add to the Surrey in the Great War database. In addition, the indexes will be published on the Surrey in the Great War website.
This indexing can be done at home at convenient times for you, or you can work in the search room at Surrey History Centre. The amount of time you spend indexing per week is flexible. A template is ready to use and guidance notes are provided.
The project is indexing the Surrey Advertiser, Surrey Mirror, Surrey and Hants News, Farnham Herald, Middlesex Chronicle, Surrey Herald, Surrey Times and County Express, Surrey Comet, Sussex Agricultural Express, Woking News and Mail, Epsom and Ewell Advertiser and Dorking and Leatherhead Advertiser.
Please contact the project team on 01483 518239 / 518238 or surreyinthegreatwar@surreycc.gov.uk
www.surreyinthegreatwar.org.uk
Far From the Western Front
Far From the Western Front is a volunteer-led project which will reveal the untold stories of the 1.5 million South Asian soldiers who fought in WW1, in campaigns from Mesopotamia to East Africa. www.southasiansoldiers.org.uk
We are seeking volunteers to join the project and contribute in a variety of roles. Have a look at the list below, or have a look at our website to see the whole array.
Researcher: Ask the questions which interest you, receive expert guidance through national archives, and reveal South Asian soldiers’ untold stories. www.southasiansoldiers.org.uk/volunteer/researcher
Publicity & Outreach: Communicate project discoveries and developments and reach out to new audiences to engage them in the powerful stories of WW1’s South Asian soldiers. www.southasiansoldiers.org.uk/volunteer/pr-and-outreach
Exhibition Maker: Explain the complex story of South Asia’s WW1 in a simple and engaging way to viewers, whether they’re already experts or have just strolled in off the street
www.southasiansoldiers.org.uk/volunteer/exhibition-maker
Digital Storyteller: Digital stories bring events, places, and people to life. Your digital storytelling will help people connect with the past in new ways. www.southasiansoldiers.org.uk/volunteer/digital-storyteller
Community Events & Engagement: We’ll be hosting lots of community events in Haringey and beyond. Whether you’re brilliant at organising or an excellent cook, help us make these events special for their attendees. www.southasiansoldiers.org.uk/volunteer/community-engagement
Greenwich Heritage Centre Volunteer Open Day
Greenwich Heritage Centre, Upper Gallery, Artillery Square, Royal Arsenal, Woolwich, London, SE18 4DX. 020 8854 2452.
Saturday 21st November 2015. 1pm – 4pm.
An informal drop-in session will run from 1pm – 4pm on Saturday 21st November 2015 for anyone interested in joining the Volunteer Team at Greenwich Heritage Centre, Museum and Archive.
Sessions running throughout the day include:
- Volunteer Welcome Desk – pick up an application form, learn about the different volunteering opportunities available and meet the team.
- Meet some of our current volunteers.
- Tour (hourly) – take a peek behind the scenes at the Heritage Centre.
- Application Support and Q&A.
Volunteers play a vital role in the day to day running of the Heritage Centre, proving support in a number of areas including Exhibitions, Collections Care, Project Work and Education. Volunteer roles include undertaking research, working on exhibitions and supporting at events and activities.
There are many reasons to volunteer with us: we will provide training in areas including collection care and research, you will have the chance to gain new skills and meet new people, be part of a fun and exciting team and further your interest in the heritage of the Royal Borough of Greenwich.
In the meantime if you have any general volunteering questions or if you are unable to attend the Open Day but are keen to find out more about volunteering with us, let us know by sending an email to kayleigh@rght.org.uk or carolyn@rght.org.uk
Chilham Remembrance Group – The Men Who Fought
The Chilham Remembrance Group is offering an opportunity for students to get involved in a project to 'bring to life' the forty WW1 and twenty WW2 men from Chilham village who died during those wars.
The Remembrance Group has gathered significant amounts of data on each soldier, and are now looking for support in presenting that information to the public. This may be through a website, or through another form of digital presentation. The Group’s intention is to create a single collated repository for the information they have found, which will be available to the public.
This project is particularly suited to anyone with an interest in applying and honing their skills in website design and/or presentation, to support an active local history project.
If you are interested in getting involved in this project, please contact the Chairman of the Chilham Remembrance Group, Len Budd (lenbudd1@aol.com).
War Memorial Centenary Listing Project
Throughout the centenary of the First World War Historic England aims to add 2,500 freestanding war memorials to the National Heritage List for England (NLHE), the statutory list of heritage assets of national historic and/or architectural importance. This will give them greater protection for the future by ensuring that any proposed changes that affect their appearance and/or historic character will require consent. For the first time volunteers are being invited to play a part in this process.
This is part of the First World War Memorial Programme, a wider project that is encouraging communities to engage with their local war memorials during the centenary, to find out more about them, and conserve and protect them for the future. The programme is a partnership between Civic Voice, Historic England, Imperial War Museums and War Memorials Trust.
Full training will be provided through a series of three workshops which volunteers must attend. Following the workshops ongoing support will be provided via telephone and email.
Download the Volunteer Role Description here.
If you would like to contribute to this unique opportunity to protect England’s war memorial heritage please register your interest by contacting anna.wilson@civicvoice.org.uk
Volunteering Opportunities with English Heritage at Dover Castle
English Heritage are looking for volunteers to support their Fortress Dover project which commemorates Dover Castle's role in the First World War as a Fire Command Post and Naval Signalling station.
Fortress Dover Explainer Volunteer. Volunteers are needed to welcome visitors to a unique part of Dover Castle, interpreting and giving tours of the Fire Command Post and Port War Signal Station, a building that played a vital role in protecting Dover. You will tell its story to our visitors and encourage them to explore the area. The main focus will be the First World War. Download the role description here.
Fortress Dover Gun Drill Re-Enactment Volunteer. Volunteers are needed to help tell the story of the Fire Command Post and Port War Signal Station through recreating a gun drill for our visitors. As part of our interpretation of a unique part of Dover Castle, we are keen to recruit a group of people to represent those who would have been involved in the gun crew and to re-enact gun drill using the antiaircraft gun. You will tell the story of firing the gun to our visitors and participate in the gun drill as part of a team of volunteers. Download the role description here.
For further information please visit www.english-heritage.org.uk/volunteering or email volunteer.enquiries@english-heritage.org.uk.
Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War
Forgotten Wrecks of the First World War is a Heritage Lottery Funded (HLF) four year project devised and delivered by the Maritime Archaeology Trust to coincide with the centenary of the Great War. At the heart of the project is a desire to raise the profile of a currently under-represented aspect of the First World War. While attention is often focused on the Western Front and major naval battles like Jutland, historic remains from the war lie, largely forgotten, in and around our seas, rivers and estuaries. With over 700 wartime wrecks along England’s south coast alone, the conflict has left a rich heritage legacy and many associated stories of bravery and sacrifice. These underwater memorials represent the vestiges of a vital, yet little known, struggle that took place on a daily basis, just off our shores. Through a programme of fieldwork, research, temporary exhibitions and outreach, the project aims to engage communities and volunteers and provide a lasting legacy of information and learning resources relating to First World War wrecks for future generations.
The project is looking for volunteer researchers to research shipwrecks online. Volunteers will be assigned a wreck from the project's database and emailed a form to be completed. A detailed research guide will suggest which websites (all free) to use and how best to find the information required. This research could be done from home. Other home based activities will be available, such as putting the research together as a story, writing for the website etc. If you are interested in the project please email Volunteering@maritimearchaeologytrust.org. Further information is available on the Forgotten Wrecks website www.forgottenwrecks.org.
HMS Princess Irene - Volunteer Researcher opportunity for University of Kent students
HMS Princess Irene was built in 1914 as a commercial liner, but was commandeered for War Service and converted to a mine layer. She was being loaded with mines off Sheerness dockyard when, on 27th May 1915 at 11.14, a tremendous explosion completely destroyed the ship. 230 officers and crew were killed, along with 76 civilian dockyard workers.
A team at the Blue Town Heritage Centre in Sheerness is working to produce a definitive account of the explosion, as we approach its centenary. The team is looking for a volunteer researcher to support their work investigating local press, council and public records to help produce a history of the HMS Princess Irene.
This is an opportunity to play a key role in a local history project, and shape both an exhibition and a book on the subject of the HMS Princess Irene. Please see here for the full profile for this opportunity, and for details on how to get in touch with the Blue Town research team.
Volunteering blogposts
Read articles on the Gateways blog by University of Kent students Ruben Rees and Emma Purce on their experiences volunteering with First World War projects.
