This community history project is exploring how adult education establishments addressed the educational needs of several lost generations during and after the Great War – including disabled veterans and children who had worked in industry during the war – and how they contributed to discussion about the role of education in a newly-democratic age. We are uncovering the histories of students and tutors to understand better the shifting nature of adult education provision in Yorkshire in response to the war and international events.
Workers’ Educational Association tutors are working together with university researchers to produce archival finding aids to support future learners to explore this hidden history and to run public ‘Lives in the archives’ workshops. The aim is to develop a community history of adult education in Yorkshire at the time of the Great War and its aftermath in ways that will advance the skills and knowledge of existing and new adult learners.
These ‘Lives in the archives’ workshops will be held at Heritage Quay at the University of Huddersfield in the Spring of 2016 and are aimed at existing WEA members, university students, and the public. Participants will explore archival documents and be offered training in life history/ community research skills.
This project is run by Rebecca Gill (University of Huddersfield) and Alison Fell (University of Leeds and the Legacies of War project) in collaboration with Rob Hindle of the WEA ‘Voices of Conflict’ programme, Rob Light of Impact Heritage, Sarah Holland (University of Nottingham) and staff at Heritage Quay.
If you would like more information or to be involved please contact Dr Rebecca Gill via email R.gill@hud.ac.uk
The Technical College Calendar (now the University of Huddersfield) for the war years [Heritage Quay archives, University of Huddersfield]
http://arts.leeds.ac.uk/legaciesofwar/
www.wea.org.uk
http://heritagequay.org/about/
www.impactheritage.org.uk
