Alun Edwards writes about three events he has recently attended as a representative for the RunCoCo and Education Enhancement teams.
The anniversaries of the centenary of the First World War race towards us, and so do the new exhibitions and books. We have been privileged to be involved in digital projects around teaching and researching the history and the literature and the family history from the conflict. Our advice and our content from The Great War Archive and Europeana 1914-1918 are called upon for this year’s events, and in the Education Enhancement team blog I blog about just three must-see examples from the last few days:
- Enduring War: Grief, Grit and Humour at the British Library;
- Never Again! World War I in Cartoon and Comic Art at the Cartoon Museum;
- and Hidden Stories of the First World War.
Baroness Blackstone introduced the British Library exhibition praising the work of the University of Oxford and Europeana 1914-1918 (Image: Stephen Bull)
Again… but siloed collections, siloed commemoration
The First World War Centenary Partnership led by IWM
Unfortunately, it sometimes feels like the University of Oxford’s involvement is the only common factor in these events. There is obviously so much activity, in museums, libraries, associations, around the commemorations. Much of it is happening in isolation in the UK, despite the best efforts of the Centenary Partnership. At least with the Europeana 1914-1918 website many of the museum and library collections are together online with stories from the public.
Image credits: Dr Stephen Bull.