Reflections on the Centenary of the First World War: Learning and Legacies for the Future

Between 2014 and 2018 Britain, together with many other nations, is commemorating the centenary of the First World War: the first 'total' war of the Twentieth Century, the legacies of which live on in a range of institutional, educational, geographic, political, social and cultural forms. At the outset of the centenary, a particular 'cultural memory' of the war dominated in Britain, one described by the then Education Minister Michael Gove as a 'Blackadder myth..designed to belittle Britain and its leaders'. (Daily Mail, 2 January 2014). This project sets out both the evaluate the extent to which the range of commemorative activities undertaken since 2014 has engaged with, challenged or changed this 'myth', and the experience and outcomes of projects that are built on academic-public engagement and the co-production of knowledge, especially those involving the AHRC Public Engagement Centres.

This overall aim of this research project is threefold: to evaluate activities during the centenary period of the First World War in the United Kingdom in order to trace and analyse shifting patterns of cultural memory; to evaluate these activities in order to assess how successful they have been in involving diverse members of the community in their production and reception; and to consider the lessons and legacies of these projects for a range of stakeholders involved in planning for future anniversaries and events. It thus builds on and extends the AHRC project AH/KO53241, 'The First World War in the Classroom', on which Pennell, CoI here, was PI. Using a spectrum of quantitative and qualitative research techniques and digital technologies, it will provide a detailed overview of the range of commemorative activities which took place in Britain between 2014-2018, with a particular focus on the experience and legacies of the collaborations between a range of HLF-funded projects and AHRC First World War Engagement Centres. It will situate these in the wider context of changes and developments in public discourse about the war and the ways in which it is remembered and represented, considering the relationship between different forms of historical research and public histories in the local, regional, and national contexts.

The project will thus provide essential context to the work of the AHRC and HLF in tandem with the Engagement Centres during the commemorative period. Whilst the project will reflect upon commemorative activities in their widest sense, it will focus in particular on four broad areas of commemoration identified as key to public engagement with the First World War in the centenary period: heritage and remembrance, intergenerational transmission of memories and 'hidden histories', arts and culture, and the development of new physical and digital memorials. These have been chosen as they provide opportunities to: a) reflect on the ways the arts and culture sector has engaged with and represented the conflict (Hanna); b) assess the legacies of the centenary for young people and 'hard to reach' groups (Pennell); c) to investigate the role the internet has played in the centenary period (Hughes), and; d) to consider the impact of the centenary on aspects of memorialisation, heritage and commemoration (Noakes). Again, all of these areas will be primarily examined via projects involving the Engagement Centres. The Investigators on the project share a background of published and funded research into the First World War, and also bring a range of other specific expertise to the project which relates to the area of the project on which they will take a lead.

This project has been designed in order that the widest possible range of stakeholders and audiences may benefit from the research undertaken and disseminated. With this in mind, we have designed a range of activities that involve community participants alongside academics, museum and heritage professionals and representatives from a range of third sector organisations, and a range of outputs that will be accessible by, and impact upon, all of these groups in a range of different ways.

These activities include two reflective workshops involving members of community projects that have marked the centenary of the First World War in various ways. The workshops will be held outside of a formal University setting in order to enable the widest possible participation. In addition, the project team will participate in the Legacies of War and Peace Engagement Centre Research Festival planned for 2019. This will both enable us to share our findings thus far and to engage in conversations with academic, community and heritage professional stakeholders who have participated in centenary activities, incorporating these into the Project Report.

The project is a flagship case study for UK government and public sector agencies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and others (for example the First World War Centenary Battlefield Tours programme) working on projects that revolve around academic-community partnerships. The material produced by the project can be drawn upon to inform future practice and approaches to similar high profile events such as the forthcoming round of Second World War anniversaries. The final report, publicly accessible online, will both be a resource for these, and other organisations (Higher Education institutions, museums and heritage sector professionals, and third sector organisations), when planning such activities in the future, and will be a record of the range of commemorative activities undertaken during the centenary period. The report will also provide the HLF, the AHRC and Higher Education partners with data mapping the involvement of different communities in the commemorations, enabling reflection on the extent to which these included diverse groups and planning for future activities with the largest possible reach.

The planned panel at the Association of Critical Heritage Studies Biannual Conference in 2018 and special edition of the Association's Journal will spread knowledge of the centenary projects among an international audience of academics and heritage practitioners, thus having the potential to inform future collaborations and best practice in an international setting.

Finally, feedback on impact will be collected throughout the project, on questionnaires distributed to participants at Reflective Workshops and symposia, from audience comments on webpages, in focus groups with community partners in commemorative projects, and via online questionnaires distributed to community and academic participants in commemorative projects, and during interviews with participants.