World War One at Home

On Saturday 31st May, several members of the Norwich Community History Club volunteered to support the BBC's 'World War One at Home' event outside the Norwich Forum. Not only did the sun shine, but the people came - in fact, they turned up in droves. We were designated as volunteers to support to people who were queuing up to access the WW1 at Home website and to discover more about (mostly) relatives who were involved in the war. 

The basic idea of the WW1 @ Home project is that it is an online resource where members of the public can add information about individuals involved in WW1. This might range from include, for instance, letters, postcards, service records etc. The idea is to build an online archive that forms a permanent online resource recognising the contribution of that generation. 

Back to the queue... we volunteers were completely whacked by the end of the day. We'd talked to hundreds of people, all with their special stories and memories. One that sticks in my mind was a lovely man called Len, who told me about his great-uncle who was protected then smuggled out of occupied Belgium by none other that Edith Cavell herself. Amazing! I took Len's number and I'm hoping that he will come and talk to the History Club about this and other memories at some point soon. 

Here is the World War One at Home website:

World War One at Home

Register on it and then search for people you are interested in adding to the archive. Remember too that it isn't just about men who served in the armed forces. The BBC are equally interested in recognising the contribution of those who worked on the home front - an undertold story. 

Thanks!
Colin