Digital Resources for Researches with IWM

Imperial War Museum: Lives of the First World War

On Thursday 29th January, each of the five World War 1 Engagement Centres attended a two-day conference in Birmingham. The purpose of the event was to facilitate research exchange between the centres and to identify some useful ways of sharing the stories, objects and local history which we are each gathering. We have identified a critical resource for local historians, academic researchers and interested individuals to use in researching and commemorating the War.

The conference was opened with a presentation by Luke Smith and Charlotte Czyzyk from the Imperial War Museum. IWM was formed before the War had yet ended, and sought to begin gathering people's stories and artefacts as a permanent memorial to the war effort. The aims of IWM remain the same, but the methods of gathering stories, remembering those who served and sharing information have been revolutionised. The twin technological advances of internet connectivity and personal computer ownership now allows individuals to undertake historical research and share the outcomes of that research with others. Some information about the IWM project is contained here:.

Luke and Charlotte introduced us to the 'Lives of the First World War' online resource, which is available here:. The site centres around crowd-sourcing, and acts as a central focus for the stories of the 8 million men and women whose lives were affected by the war effort. The project is free to join and registration takes around two minutes; There are enhanced services which are subscription-only and these might be worth considering for those undertaking research projects.

'Lives of the First World War' is a co-produced series of "life stories", detailing the background, personal details and war story of each individual. This story here details the life of Sapper Hugh Stuart Whitehill, who served in the Royal Engineers Sapper Whitehill was from Sherborne in Dorset, and enlisted in the Army in February 1915. He was Killed in Action at Ypres on 28th October 1917.  This information has mostly been added by a relative of Sapper Whitehill's, obtained from multiple sources such as the Commonwealth Graves Commission, War Diaries and the Census information.

If you are undertaking research of your own, or know of a soldier related to you, or who lived in your area, the IWM 'Lives of the First World War' site is an excellent resource to use. It is a permanent, digital memorial to those who served abroad and those who contributed on the home front. Find out how to add a life story here. If you have any queries regarding how to use the site, you can contact the support team here.