Category Archives: battlefields

battlefields, commemoration, remembrance, schools, war memorials

Arras commemoration 2017

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In April 2017 a large group of Scottish secondary school pupils and teachers travelled to France to commemorate the centenary of the Battle of Arras. This battle saw the biggest concentration of Scottish battalions and soldiers at any one battle during WW1, and the Scottish Government identified this as a key event to mark in the national WW1 commemorative programme.

The Scottish Commemoration Panel conceived the unique idea of having two participating pupils from every one of the 32 Scottish Local Authorities undertake a study visit to Arras, and with the support of local Councils achieved this truly national representation. Scottish Government contracted with Mercat Tours International to deliver this experience for the young people, and a very strong programme of activities was organised. The assistance of the Mayor of Arras enabled French pupils to join the commemorations.

The Scottish programme covered three intense days in France and Belgium, with guided visits to battlefield sites, cemeteries, memorials, and a museum in the underground tunnels beneath the city of Arras. A very moving service of commemoration was held at Faubourg d’Amiens cemetery in Arras, and Scottish military pipe bands performed a Beating the Retreat in the main square of the town that evening attended by First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.

The young people learned a great deal about the history of the period and the contribution of Scottish soldiers to the western front campaigns. Frequently there were very moving experiences. Some pupils were able to trace the graves of relatives who died around Arras and make a very personal remembrance at the graveside.

The visit was a great success, and a video which features key elements from the trip will be made available online.

 

battlefields, commemoration, military, remembrance

CWGC Internships in France and Belgium, summer 2017

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cwgcThe Commonwealth War Graves Commission is inviting applications for paid internships working at their sites in France and Belgium over the summer of 2017. These posts are for 18-25 year olds, and will last four months. The duties focus on welcoming visitors to the cemeteries and memorial sites managed by CWGC, providing a service which is informative and supportive, to help them gain full benefit from their visit.

It is an opportunity for young people leaving university or college with a strong interest in the history of World War One. They will gain a deeper understanding of the work of CWGC, and participants will develop valuable employability skills in working as part of a team and dealing with people.

Full details are available on the CWGC website, with applicants needing to meet a deadline of 27th January.

arts and music, battlefields, commemoration, film and TV, military, schools, war memorials

Battle of the Somme

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sommeThe Battle of the Somme was fought in northern France over 141 days in 1916, from 1st July to 18th November, in a series of bloody and costly actions on this small section of the Western Front. The centenary in 2016 will be marked by a number of commemorative events across the UK and in France itself.

A Department for Culture, Media and Sport news release describes plans for commemorations at national and international levels, and encourages the development of local events. A high-level international commemorative event will take place at Thiepval Memorial in France on 1st July 2016, with participation by representatives of many nations.

In Scotland a national vigil service will be held at the Scottish National War Memorial in Edinburgh through the night of 30th June / 1st July. In the coming months, other vigils will be staged at locations around Scotland organised by regimental associations and others to tie in with key dates and battles involving individual regiments.

New education resources will assist teachers who want to help their students learn about the nature and importance of this particular campaign. The National Army Museum resource includes a video about the battle; PowerPoint slides which offer photographs and images from 1916 with detailed captions, which can be re-used by teachers. (such as the image used in this blog post, by kind permission); and NAM also offers downloadable exhibition panels to which local material can be added. A British Council pack ‘Remembering the Battle of the Somme’ offers material for wider aspects of the fighting.

There are many online assets which cover aspects of the conflict. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has a dedicated Somme site. Imperial War Museum covers the history in text, images and audio. The BBC iWonder resource “Why was the Battle of the Somme film bigger than Star Wars” discusses the huge public appeal of a 1916 documentary film shown in cinemas, which has now been digitally re-produced and made available by Imperial War Museum for showings in local venues. A BBC news video clip describes one section of the tunnels under the battlefield.

 

 

 

 

 

 

battlefields, commemoration, military, war memorials

Battle of Jutland – commemorations 2016

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hms malayaCommemorative events to mark the centenary of the 1916 Battle of Jutland are now complete, and attracted great interest from the public. Events in May and June 2016 were focused in 3 particular locations: Orkney (the base for the British Grand Fleet); the Forth (and the naval base at Rosyth); and in the North Sea on the Jutland Bank.

A BBC news story  and a Guardian article describe the activities at the different memorial sites, including the ceremonies in Orkney at St.Magnus Cathedral and at Lyness cemetery, which were shown on TV.

The photograph shows a memorial cross in Lyness Cemetery dedicated to the men who lost their lives on H.M.S Malaya.

 

Further stories on the web add extra dimensions to the story of this great naval battle. A Daily Record article tells the personal story of a war grave gardener in Glasgow who discovered that a grandfather had fought at Jutland. A Glasgow University project blog post describes how medical staff at Jutland treated battle casualties.

The Scottish Commemorations Panel  has produced a booklet ‘The War at Sea 1914-1918’, which was distributed among people attending public events. It will be made available online shortly.

 

 

 

battlefields, commemoration, exhibitions, film and TV, industrial, military

Jutland – preparing for the centenary

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HMS New ZealandThe centenary of the Battle of Jutland, the most important naval battle of World War One, will be commemorated over the next few days. Major events will take place in Orkney and on the Firth of Forth, near to the major bases for the British fleets of 1916 around Scapa Flow and Rosyth. For events in Orkney, go to the VisitOrkney website.

On the Forth, an exciting addition to local events will be Scotland’s Dazzle Ship – a vessel repainted to the design of artist Ciara Phillips, as part of the 14-18 Now cultural programme.

A Daily Telegraph article give some background to the battle. BBC produced a timeline of the battle, and also an iWonder resource “Did anyone win the Battle of Jutland“, that probes the issue of which side in the conflict gained most from the fight.

In the lead up to these events there has been a lot of media coverage online, often focused on the personal stories of individual servicemen and sailors. Examples: the letters of a teenage sailor; another Scottish sailor who had a premonition of death; and a BBC piece about boy sailor Jack Cornwell who won the Victoria Cross for his bravery during the fighting.

Several TV channels ran special documentary programmes about this clash of two great navies, its impact and importance. BBC 2 broadcast “Battle of Jutland: the Navy’s bloodiest day“, which is available to watch on the iPlayer catch-up service for one month.

In Invergordon, where many dead sailors were buried after the battle, a ceremony of remembrance has already been held at a local war memorial.

Special exhibitions are also attracting public interest. For example, ‘The Forth at War’ at the Scottish Fisheries Museum in Anstruther, Fife.

The image of HMS New Zealand, one of the ships involved in the battle and built on the Clyde, was kindly provided by Fairfield Heritage. The heritage centre at this Govan shipyard actively promotes the role of shipbuilding as a war industry, and works with local schools.

battlefields, commemoration, competitions, military, schools

Legion Scotland primary schools competition – Vote!

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HMS New ZealandLegion Scotland, the veterans organisation, themed its Primary schools competition for 2016 around the Battle of Jutland 1916 (with great things planned for the centenary in May and June). School pupils that participated in the competition investigated the lives of the crews of the warships of the British fleets and thought about the impacts of the battles these sailors faced.

The task for pupils entering the competition was to produce a report in the style of a newspaper story, with an associated image (such as the photo of HMS New Zealand, which took part in the battle. Photo by kind permission of Fairfield Heritage)

The work of twelve schools has now been shortlisted by the judges, and the public can vote for their preference among the entries displayed on the Legion Scotland website.

Vote now!

 

battlefields, schools

Trenches recreated in Glasgow

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digging inThis summer the ‘Digging In’ project has been active in Glasgow’s Pollok Park, constructing its first trenches in a programme of work to support learning about World War One by the public and school students.

The reconstructions have created short sections of trenches modelled on those used by British and German soldiers on the Western Front battlefields of France and Belgium in the period 1914-1918. The design work was informed by Army field manuals, soldiers’ diaries, and evidence from excavations in Flanders conducted by historians and archaeologists.

The trenches have already been open for public and school visits for a few trial sessions, with expert facilitators to guide them through the experience of the life of a combatant in such a hostile environment. Hands-on activities and teaching packs will complement the classroom learning of pupils.

The project partnership is lead by Northlight Heritage, with partners including Glasgow City Council, Glasgow University, and Stewart’s Melville College. A grant from the Heritage Lottery Fund enabled the project to get underway, and new partners and sponsors are supporting the project’s development.

The project website provides details about the site excavations and facilities, and assists learning about aspects of WW1 such as trench experiences, the roles of women, advances in medical treatment, and conscientious objectors. The project is also attracting interest through Facebook and Twitter.

The project launch is described in a Glasgow City Council news release, and a BBC news story.

The location within Pollok Park also allows possible tie-ins for school visits to Pollok House (a National Trust for Scotland property), which functioned as an auxiliary hospital during World War One.

There are many resources online which could be used by teachers for preparatory work before a site visit. For example, a BBC Schools education resource about Food in the trenches.

 

 

 

battlefields, commemoration, libraries, military, schools

Scotland and the Battle of Loos

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remembering loos

On 25th and 26th September 2015 the City of Dundee staged a series of commemorative events to mark the centenary of the Battle of Loos. In 1915 the whole nation suffered, as thirty thousand Scots from different regiments were involved in this battle in northern France, and the heavy loss of life and huge number of injuries caused widespread distress. Dundee men were present particularly in the battalions of the Black Watch.

“Remembering Loos”, the national commemoration in Dundee, included the lighting of the beacon at the war memorial on Dundee Law, a service of remembrance, a parade, and music performances. The events were organised by Dundee City Council and the Great War Dundee partnership, with support from the Scottish Government through the national Scottish Commemorations Panel.

School pupils in the city worked on a project to remember Loos by researching and creating information panels, which were exhibited to an invited VIP audience and to the public. Dundee City Council education staff and students worked with Education Scotland and partners such as the Black Watch Museum and Dundee University Archives service to achieve a great deal of new learning.

The BBC News story “The Battle of Loos: how Dundee marks its ‘black day'” describes some of the commemorative activity and the historical background to it. The Dundee Courier story “Battle of Loos remembered 100 years on” includes a video clip from the events.

Another BBC News article, “The piper who won the Victoria Cross“, tells the story of Piper Daniel Laidlaw of the Kings Own Scottish Borderers and his bravery under fire. Laidlaw’s playing of the pipes rallied troops to join the assault, after a German gas attack temporarily stalled the advance.

A news story in Glasgow’s Evening Times, “Remembering the Govan men who died at Loos, a century ago” reports on a local man who has researched the Govan High School men listed on the school’s Roll of Honour. Eight died at Loos.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission website has a section dedicated to the cemeteries around Loos.

 

battlefields, military

Soldier diaries

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The National Archives (UK)  has started to publish online extracts from the diaries of British soldiers who fought in the Great War. Each unit was required to keep an official diary of events in its own area of responsibility, and the entries include comments on both military actions and aspects of the daily life of the soldiers. Private war diaries of some combatants are also being digitised.

These first extracts involve regiments who took part in the early actions of WW1 on the Western Front in France and Belgium, and include Scottish regiments. These diaries are excellent primary source material for students, with personal testimonies, and provide some fascinating insights into the life and mood of the troops. A BBC News story reports on this new online initiative.

An important extra dimension to this e-publishing is partnership project ‘Operation War Diary’. This invites volunteers, such as school students, to add value to the digital assets by tagging diary entries with keywords and extra information from the text or from additional research.

These diary extracts are part of a wider e-publishing effort which is a major part of the National Archives WW1 centenary programme. The Scottish national institutions such as the National Library of Scotland, National Museum of Scotland, and the National Records of Scotland, all have plans for extensive programmes of activity through the commemoration period.

battlefields, military

WW1 trenches newspaper

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The “Wipers Times“, conceived and produced by British troops in the war-damaged Belgian town of Ypres, is the best-known example of an unofficial publication by soldiers for soldiers. It poked fun at many aspects of life on the front line of the Western front in World War One, and its satirical humour proved very popular and good for morale.

The BBC has now produced a TV drama about the men involved in this publication, which will be broadcast during September 2013. The programme was previewed during the Edinburgh Festival (I attended the show, and greatly enjoyed it).

There’s a good preview piece in the Telegraph, including some of the history behind the magazine and quotes from the editions which circulated at the time.

From an educational perspective, this drama offers History, Literacy, Drama and more. I’d recommend it.