Lest we forget: poppies and public commemoration
Lead Research Organisation:
Historic Royal Palaces
Department Name: Tower of London
Abstract
At the centenary of 2014, 'Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red' became the surprising star of commemorative activity. This art installation of 888,246 comprised ceramic poppies, planted in undulating waves in the Tower of London moat. Its popularity showed that far from declining, World War I (WWI) commemoration was still intensely popular with the British public. 'Lest we forget' is an innovative project which will use new methodologies to probe a unique and large data set which was collected as part of the installation, and thus to investigate how people made sense of, and engaged with, it. The project will contextualize the installation by explaining the ways in which the public(s) commemorated the First World War more widely, building on a century of WWI historiography and looking at commemoration in a 21st century context. Finally, it will look at whether any other project could achieve public impact comparable to that of 'Blood Swept Lands', and if so, how this might be achieved.
Each of the 888,246 ceramic poppies in the installation was created to represent a single life; or rather a death. The number of ceramic poppies and the scale of the installation were its defining features both in terms of the spectacle it created in the moat, but also in the meanings people made of the artwork. Volunteers, staff, visitors and purchasers frequently referred to the emotional significance of 'one poppy, one life'. Each handmade poppy embodied individuality within the conformity which is associated with military service in WWI. No two poppies were the same, connecting the individuality of the dead combatants with the horrifying scale of the war.
This project looks beyond the spectacle of 'Blood Swept Lands'. It uses the installation as a case study through which some of the wider issues of WWI commemoration can be understood. It will look at how the public made sense of the WWI centenary, and how they used the installation to create meanings, express emotions, and share these with a wider group of people. It will then explore the ways in which people interacted with 'Blood Swept Lands' through different media; from volunteering to 'plant' poppies, visiting the installation, sharing photographs on social media, and depositing home-made artefacts at the Tower; to attending a nightly roll-call ceremony, or buying a ceramic poppy. The public engaged with the installation on multiple levels, and the levels of public involvement also helped shape the installation and its project, which became a media phenomenon. This research project will investigate the importance of this engagement; it will also critique the way the project was perceived as a 'success' by the public, media and Historic Royal Palaces. It will achieve this by using data collected as part of the Blood Swept Lands project, and applying methodologies from other disciplines to probably the largest data set of commemorative activity available for research.
It is timely to study the impact of 'Blood Swept Lands' and its place within WWI centenary commemorations as the 2014-18 centenary draws to a close in 2018. Further fieldwork in 2018 will look at the longer term impact of the 2014 commemorations, and ask whether and how attitudes to 'Blood Swept Lands' and commemoration have changed over the 4 years, 2014-18. The research will explore what constituted the 'success' of 'Blood Swept Lands' and whether this success can be replicated in future commemorations and commemorative programmes.
'Lest we forget' will disseminate its research findings through conference papers and published journal articles. It will bring together heritage practitioners and academics from history, heritage, and memory studies in order to share and discuss future engagement with commemoration in heritage and museums. It will deliver public impact through regular blog posts, public talks and a Teacher Fellowship programme, resulting in 10 new free teacher resources.
Each of the 888,246 ceramic poppies in the installation was created to represent a single life; or rather a death. The number of ceramic poppies and the scale of the installation were its defining features both in terms of the spectacle it created in the moat, but also in the meanings people made of the artwork. Volunteers, staff, visitors and purchasers frequently referred to the emotional significance of 'one poppy, one life'. Each handmade poppy embodied individuality within the conformity which is associated with military service in WWI. No two poppies were the same, connecting the individuality of the dead combatants with the horrifying scale of the war.
This project looks beyond the spectacle of 'Blood Swept Lands'. It uses the installation as a case study through which some of the wider issues of WWI commemoration can be understood. It will look at how the public made sense of the WWI centenary, and how they used the installation to create meanings, express emotions, and share these with a wider group of people. It will then explore the ways in which people interacted with 'Blood Swept Lands' through different media; from volunteering to 'plant' poppies, visiting the installation, sharing photographs on social media, and depositing home-made artefacts at the Tower; to attending a nightly roll-call ceremony, or buying a ceramic poppy. The public engaged with the installation on multiple levels, and the levels of public involvement also helped shape the installation and its project, which became a media phenomenon. This research project will investigate the importance of this engagement; it will also critique the way the project was perceived as a 'success' by the public, media and Historic Royal Palaces. It will achieve this by using data collected as part of the Blood Swept Lands project, and applying methodologies from other disciplines to probably the largest data set of commemorative activity available for research.
It is timely to study the impact of 'Blood Swept Lands' and its place within WWI centenary commemorations as the 2014-18 centenary draws to a close in 2018. Further fieldwork in 2018 will look at the longer term impact of the 2014 commemorations, and ask whether and how attitudes to 'Blood Swept Lands' and commemoration have changed over the 4 years, 2014-18. The research will explore what constituted the 'success' of 'Blood Swept Lands' and whether this success can be replicated in future commemorations and commemorative programmes.
'Lest we forget' will disseminate its research findings through conference papers and published journal articles. It will bring together heritage practitioners and academics from history, heritage, and memory studies in order to share and discuss future engagement with commemoration in heritage and museums. It will deliver public impact through regular blog posts, public talks and a Teacher Fellowship programme, resulting in 10 new free teacher resources.
Planned Impact
1. Education and schools. 'Lest we forget' will deliver a Continuing Professional Development programme for 10 outstanding secondary school teachers. They will participate in a 4-month course of teaching and research based on the findings of this project. It will culminate in the production of 10 new classroom teaching resources to be used in classrooms and published online. Teaching Fellows will also become advocates for these resources. The PDRA will project manage and lead on development of the programme which will be delivered in Jan-Apr 2019 in partnership with the Historical Association (HA). The programme will lead to the publication of 10 teacher-authored resources on the HRP, HA, and Times Educational supplement websites in Jun 2019. The LF and PDRA will also write an article for the 'Teaching History' journal, whose audience is secondary history teachers, to be published in Jun 2019.
2. Adults and community groups. HRP has a programme of public talks and lectures within its Uncover adult learning programme. The LF and PDRA will work with this team to develop and deliver a series of 3 online podcasts based on the research findings. The podcasts will be published on iTunes, Soundcloud and A Cast, where they will be accessible and available for 5 years. The Uncover team will convene a Curious Connections event with the LF and PDRA as part of a panel discussion on poppies and public commemoration. The LF and PDRA will also deliver talks to HRP's Members on different facets of the research. In order to target local community groups, the adult learning team will host a training event based on the 'Lest we forget' research for community group leaders. This will enable leaders to have the confidence to bring groups of elderly participants, or those with dementia to the Tower, and engage them in meaningful discussions relating to commemoration. The LF and PDRA will work with the L&E and HRP social media teams to reach online audiences through regular tweets and blog posts relating to the research and highlighting new findings. In order to reach general audiences in print, the LF and PDRA will also author a short article for publication in the popular history publication, 'BBC History Magazine'.
3. Cultural policy and professional practice. Funding bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England have been behind much of the centenary commemorations on behalf of the UK government, and are undertaking evaluation of the public impact and cost effectiveness of these activities. 'Lest we forget' will produce high quality research to complement these evaluations, and delve further into the academic debates in heritage and museum studies such as public expectations of commemorative exhibitions and installations, and methods for reflecting community voices in commemoration. A collaborative symposium at the end of this project will bring together funders, academics and heritage practitioners to review what constituted success for WWI commemorative activities, and look forward by thinking about public policy and funding decisions for future commemorations, such as World War II. Nearly every museum and heritage site in the UK was affected by the WWI centenary commemorations. At the close of the centenary, many institutions, including the Imperial War Museum, are already considering how to approach the next major war commemoration. Sector professionals are looking for evidence as to how to engage their public(s) successfully and meaningfully, at which interpretative forms have the greatest learning impact for visitors, and how to engage in online interaction. The LF and PDRA will co-author an article in sector publication 'Museums Journal' to reach practitioners and peers. Delegates at the symposium will be able to locate their practice within academic frameworks, learn from peers in the sector, and build new and ongoing networks for thinking critically about engaging with commemoration effectively.
2. Adults and community groups. HRP has a programme of public talks and lectures within its Uncover adult learning programme. The LF and PDRA will work with this team to develop and deliver a series of 3 online podcasts based on the research findings. The podcasts will be published on iTunes, Soundcloud and A Cast, where they will be accessible and available for 5 years. The Uncover team will convene a Curious Connections event with the LF and PDRA as part of a panel discussion on poppies and public commemoration. The LF and PDRA will also deliver talks to HRP's Members on different facets of the research. In order to target local community groups, the adult learning team will host a training event based on the 'Lest we forget' research for community group leaders. This will enable leaders to have the confidence to bring groups of elderly participants, or those with dementia to the Tower, and engage them in meaningful discussions relating to commemoration. The LF and PDRA will work with the L&E and HRP social media teams to reach online audiences through regular tweets and blog posts relating to the research and highlighting new findings. In order to reach general audiences in print, the LF and PDRA will also author a short article for publication in the popular history publication, 'BBC History Magazine'.
3. Cultural policy and professional practice. Funding bodies such as the Heritage Lottery Fund and Arts Council England have been behind much of the centenary commemorations on behalf of the UK government, and are undertaking evaluation of the public impact and cost effectiveness of these activities. 'Lest we forget' will produce high quality research to complement these evaluations, and delve further into the academic debates in heritage and museum studies such as public expectations of commemorative exhibitions and installations, and methods for reflecting community voices in commemoration. A collaborative symposium at the end of this project will bring together funders, academics and heritage practitioners to review what constituted success for WWI commemorative activities, and look forward by thinking about public policy and funding decisions for future commemorations, such as World War II. Nearly every museum and heritage site in the UK was affected by the WWI centenary commemorations. At the close of the centenary, many institutions, including the Imperial War Museum, are already considering how to approach the next major war commemoration. Sector professionals are looking for evidence as to how to engage their public(s) successfully and meaningfully, at which interpretative forms have the greatest learning impact for visitors, and how to engage in online interaction. The LF and PDRA will co-author an article in sector publication 'Museums Journal' to reach practitioners and peers. Delegates at the symposium will be able to locate their practice within academic frameworks, learn from peers in the sector, and build new and ongoing networks for thinking critically about engaging with commemoration effectively.
| Title | Beyond the Deepening Shadow: The Tower Remembers |
| Description | The Lest We Forget research project contributed to the development of a major sound and light artwork at the Tower of London in 2018. Beyond the Deepening Shadow: The Tower Remembers was a new artwork by Designer Tom Piper and Sound Artist Mira Calix which ran for eight nights, leading up to and including Armistice Day 2018. The installation also brought together the work of Creative Director Deborah Shaw, Lighting Designer Phil Supple, Staging and Movement Anna Morrissey, Sound Designer David Sheppard for Sound Intermedia and Flames and Mist Effect Mike Jones. Beyond the Deepening Shadow was an evolving installation, which unfolded each evening over the course of four hours, between 17:00 and 21:00 each evening, with the Tower moat gradually illuminated by individual flames. The visual spectacle was be accompanied by a specially-commissioned sound installation; a sonic exploration of the shifting tide of political alliances, friendship, love and loss in war. Beyond the Deepening Shadow began with a procession led by the Yeoman Warders of the Tower of London. Emerging from the fortress, the Yeoman Warders - themselves all distinguished former servicemen and women - ceremonially lit the first flame. In a moving ritual, a select team of volunteers proceeded to light the rest of the installation, gradually creating a circle of light, radiating from the Tower as a powerful symbol of remembrance. Members of the public were invited to return to the Tower of London to see the installation evolve each night, and to join in this public act of commemoration At the centre of the sound installation lies a new choral work, One lighted look for me by Sound Artist Mira Calix with words from War Poet Mary Borden's Sonnets to a Soldier. |
| Type Of Art | Artwork |
| Year Produced | 2018 |
| Impact | The research team attended high level meetings with key decision makers and creatives which informed the creative direction, and impacted on the marketing strategy for the event. Findings from the research team included highlighting the audience reception of the Tower's 2014 artwork Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red as primarily a commemorative rather than an artwork, which informed the marketing strategy and press positioning of the artwork in 2018. The research team also highlighted the need for audiences to communicate and share their commemorative stories which led to a team of volunteers positioned at the end of the experience to talk to visitors and undertake audience feedback. |
| URL | https://www.hrp.org.uk/tower-of-london/explore/the-tower-remembers/#gs.02ayq3 |
| Description | Key findings include • The Tower Poppies was a new 'heritagised' form of commemoration - a piece of heritage programming that evolved via existing museological practices and structures of HRP's programming and has fuelled these trajectories. • 'Heritagised' Commemoration influences participation and meanings that people take from the events, via its significant influence that organisations have over messaging/communication and the wider cultural meanings regarding site.These factors appear as fundamental in audience response than the widespread cultural understandings of commemoration. We need to appreciate this in the planning of future commemorative events and the future involvement of heritage/museums. • Tower Poppies was a national event in terms of the wide regional involvement through its various participatory channels, but had special appeal to White English and "Anglospheric" audiences (e.g. United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa). • Tower Poppies had wide socio-economic appeal, relative to heritage/museums, which may partly be related to cultural history of the Tower of London. However, it had much less appeal to ethnic minorities and there was a considerable under-representation of these audiences. • Lest We Forget has highlighted the ways in which commemoration has become 'multimodal', largely via the 'new mediascape' of museum work, but ultimately argues that the digital realm supplements and supports, sometimes catalyses, existing material practices that remain central to understandings and the enaction of commemoration. • Lest We Forget is highlighting some of the factors that influenced emotional engagement by Tower Poppies volunteers, particularly the deep and complex interrelationship between cultural 'templates', and the material and social fields of visitor engagement. The most significant achievements from the award include - the creation of a body of physical, digital and aural material relating to Historic Royal Palaces' 2014 and 2018 commemorative events, including over 70 oral history recordings, collation of quantitative data sets and new qualitative survey material on audience responses to the installations - the project team spoke at 23 conferences in the UK and internationally, to both academic and heritage practitioner audiences, as well as to a teacher conference - the project team developed their research leadership skills by managing freelancers, volunteers and staff, as well as in learning new research techniques and methods The key objectives were met as follows - the research generated new knowledge in the form of oral histories, physical and digital archives and datasets about the public and organisational impact of the commemorative installations at the Tower of London - the research shed light more widely on the phenomenon of First World War commemoration by engaging and comparing with, and reflecting on other Centenary public engagement projects. In particular how the 'heritagised' nature of Tower Poppies differed from some government-funded commemorative events and inspired others, notably the siting of the Weeping Window and Wave elements of Poppies on Tour at castles and other heritage sites. - the project developed new methodologies and approaches to undertaking organisational research in a heritage organisation and heritage commemoration, and shared this learning via a symposium and associated report (En)gauging audience data & research within museums and heritage |
| Exploitation Route | Some of the new data created and compiled is subject to some embargo due to sensitive institutional and personal data, but the majority of data, as an anonymised data set would be useful to other scholars. For example the Twitter data would be of interest to digital social scientists, the oral history recordings and transcripts to historians, museum and memory studies researchers and sociologists. A follow on funding bid by the PDRA and LF has been submitted to the AHRC to work with military communities and their approaches to commemoration at the Tower of London The project also worked with the AHRC-funded Voices of War and Peace project to create a new reflective video about the Tower of London's 2018 commemorative installation Heritage and Museum practitioners, in particular those at Historic Royal Palaces, will be able to use analytical tools for audience evaluation with their own audiences, as well as to learn from the organisational impact of innovative public engagement and commemoration on staff motivations and organisational direction. |
| Sectors | Creative Economy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| URL | https://www.hrp.org.uk/about-us/research/lest-we-forget-poppies-and-public-commemoration/ |
| Description | The first half of this research project delivered impact to non-academic audiences through a range of engagement activity. In early stages, the research team's involvement with the Beyond the Deepening Shadow commemorative artwork at the Tower of London in 2018 engaged visitors to the installation onsite through audience research and consultation, online via blog posts, and contributed to the organisational decision-making and direction within Historic Royal Palaces. The project engaged with 10 talented teachers through a high profile partnership with the Historical Association, who undertook an intensive in person and online course before creating their own classroom resources based on the research to enhance classroom teaching in history and also whole school practice around commemoration events. The resources developed by the teacher fellows were designed to be shared by the Historical Association and Historic Royal Palaces' Teacher Network so that teachers from across the county could engage with the topic of the First World War or school-wide commemorative activities in new ways that reflects the latest research. The teacher fellows reported changes in their attitudes towards the topic and approaches used in their own teaching practice. Within the museums and heritage sector, the research team presented their findings to a range of practitioner-led conferences such as the Museums + Heritage Show, the Army Museums Ogilby Trust (for British Army museums) and the International Council of Museums Education and Cultural Action and Historic Houses committees. These presentations led to questions and debate at the conferences and requests for meetings and advice, particularly on how to embed audience research into heritage organisations. The team submitted evidence to a parliamentary inquiry on Lessons from the First World War Centenary which contributed to broader policy and societal impacts, as the inquiry report recommended it be used as a resource for planning future commemorations. In addition the government response to the report supported the IWM's War and Conflict subject specialist network, which the LF, Megan Gooch, now sits on as a member of the steering committee. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2018 |
| Sector | Creative Economy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Cultural,Societal,Policy & public services |
| Description | (En)gauging audience data & research within museums and heritage: Symposium & Report |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | This workshop was held as a result of the AHRC-funded research project Lest We Forget: Poppies and Public Commemoration at the Independent Research Organisation (IRO) and heritage organisation Historic Royal Palaces (HRP). The research team faced challenges around research practice within a heritage institution and wanted to explore these issues with peers from other IROs and colleagues in commercial and academic sectors to find a way to discuss the strengths and limitations of audience research within heritage sites, and hopefully pave the way for future research projects and collaborations. Delegates attended from cultural and heritage institutions, funding bodies and higher education institutions from around the UK and overseas. Three themes were highlighted and explored: Audience (data) • Politics and Anxieties • Capacity and Solutions Key discussions on these topics focused on - Defining audiences and how these are conceived of across organisations and the museums and heritage sector - Where 'audience research' sits within organisations and how this affects current and future insight and understanding of audience engagement - How and where audience research is gathered and analysed, and then shared within and across organisation Key recommendations included - To value the skills and time needed for good research design, fieldwork and analysis - To explore methods to promote internal sharing of audience research - To think about tools to share audience research beyond one organisation, that is more sector-responsive than the traditional academic publication model - To think critically about the range of ethical implications for audience research, both for data subjects and for those undertaking the research - To engage with new initiatives to create partnerships between academic and museum and heritage sectors,such as the Centre for Cultural Value |
| URL | https://www.hrp.org.uk/media/2488/lestweforgetsymposium_final.pdf |
| Description | Lessons from the First World War Centenary inquiry |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Contribution to a national consultation/review |
| URL | https://www.parliament.uk/business/committees/committees-a-z/commons-select/digital-culture-media-an... |
| Description | Oral history Transcription training - Volunteer Network at HRP |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | This training equipped 10 individuals within HRP's volunteer network to transcribe oral history interviews for the LWF project. This training helped to create a network of volunteers, who supported the research of LWF. We have had written feedback from the now-8 strong network, all of whom talk about the benefits of this enterprise for their sense of well being and in supporting their interests. It is hoped the network will have a benefit for HRP as an organisation if it continues. |
| Description | The ethics of commemoration research |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Influenced training of practitioners or researchers |
| Impact | Eleanor O'Keeffe created and delivered a training session for 6 volunteers who were part of the research team for the Tower of London's Beyond the Deepening Shadow commemorative artwork. The training led to the creation of a confident and effective research team for a challenging 9-night fieldwork process, and contributed to the development of HRP's ethical guidelines for audience research. |
| Description | The new Historic Royal Palaces Cause |
| Geographic Reach | Local/Municipal/Regional |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | Megan Gooch took part in discussions on how to implement a new organisational mission statement at Historic Royal Palaces (HRP). Her academic work on Lest We Forget was seen as a valuable contribution to developing new ways of understanding HRP's audiences and measuring audience engagement. |
| Description | War and Conflict Subject Specialist Network |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Impact | The War and Conflict SSN is a partnership programme led by Imperial War Museums, to build capacity, connections and confidence in the cultural heritage sector. It aims to share knowledge and skills amongst the many organisations and groups across the UK and further afield, who cover our subject matter in their work. The Network is generously supported by Arts Council England and Art Fund. As a result of her work on the Lest We Forget research project, Megan Gooch was invited to join the steering committee of this network in 2019. |
| URL | https://www.iwm.org.uk/partnerships/subject-specialist-network |
| Description | Capturing Commemoration workshop |
| Organisation | Gateways to the First World War - AHRC Engagement Centre |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Attended a workshop for the AHRC-funded project Reflections on the Centenary of the First World War: Learning and Legacies for the Future and contributed to discussions about the role of evaluation in WWI engagement activities, the forms of evaluation suitable for engagement activities and shared research findings on what was being commemorated at the Tower of London in 2014. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The organisers and other contributors presented their work so I now understand more about the role of (and limitations of) the First World War engagement centres, and the policy approached from funders AHRC and HLF, the DCMS position and plans, and the policy group British Future. |
| Impact | Multidisciplinary - History, heritage studies, museum studies, cultural studies |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Capturing Commemoration workshop |
| Organisation | University of Exeter |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Attended a workshop for the AHRC-funded project Reflections on the Centenary of the First World War: Learning and Legacies for the Future and contributed to discussions about the role of evaluation in WWI engagement activities, the forms of evaluation suitable for engagement activities and shared research findings on what was being commemorated at the Tower of London in 2014. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The organisers and other contributors presented their work so I now understand more about the role of (and limitations of) the First World War engagement centres, and the policy approached from funders AHRC and HLF, the DCMS position and plans, and the policy group British Future. |
| Impact | Multidisciplinary - History, heritage studies, museum studies, cultural studies |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Historical Association Teacher Fellowship: Conflct Art and Remembrance |
| Organisation | Historical Association |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Eleanor O'Keeffe has led the partnership with the Historical Association. She project managed the teacher fellowship programme from Historic Royal Palaces, created a course outline, written and delivered course modules for both online and onsite delivery, and engaged prominent academics to assist with the course. |
| Collaborator Contribution | This partnership is a crucial element in delivering impact to secondary school teachers. The Historical Association is a trusted source and resource for history teachers and have run a well-respected teacher fellowship programme since 2015. |
| Impact | This partnership recruited and engaged 10 exceptional teachers with a 3-day residential and 8-week online course. Contributors to the course included academics from the disciplines of history, English literature, cultural and media studies, and education. |
| Start Year | 2018 |
| Description | Transatlantic Perspectives on the Use of Data Science in Museums and Heritage |
| Organisation | Royal Holloway, University of London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | This multidisciplinary network brought together academics in combination with a diverse team of British and American museums, heritage organisations and technology companies. Both Megan Gooch and Eleanor O'Keeffe attended workshops as part of the Network and represented both Historic Royal Palaces at an institutional level and through insight gained from the Lest We Forget project about how museum and heritage sites managed audience data. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The network was developed and led by academics from Royal Holloway, who organised a series of workshops and shared information arising from these. The network gave access to colleagues from smaller museum and heritage organisations which added to the Lest We Forget team's understanding of the similarities and differences between Historic Royal Palaces and other organisations from a practitioner's point of view. |
| Impact | There were no outputs |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | 'Unvernunftig? How institutional memory shaped remembrance in the centenary in Beyond the Deepening Shadow: the Tower Remembers, First World War Network Conference, Edinburgh Napier |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Eleanor O'Keeffe presented and answered questions after the talk |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | A Truly National Commemoration? The Audiences and Anglospheres of 'Tower Poppies' (2014) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The PDRA gave a paper to the Modern History Workshop |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.history.ac.uk/events/a-truly-national-commemoration-audiences-and-anglospheres-tower-pop... |
| Description | Armistice Day mini-campaign on social media |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The research team worked with Historic Royal Palaces social media teams to develop and create a mini-campaign around commemoration in November 2019. This comprised content disseminated through the main HRP Twitter account and also the HRP Learning twitter account. The former channel promoted the blogs written and published for this 'commemoration season' and the latter channel aimed to reach an audience of history and other teachers in secondary schools. The total reach for the campaign was 148,400 with an active engagement of 12,473. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Capturing commemoration workshop at the National Archives |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Megan Gooch attended a workshop with colleagues from Universities, arts and heritage organisations, funders and policy makers as part of the Reflections of the Centenary project led by Lucy Noakes. Around 30 attendees discussed ways in which the Centenary programme had been evaluated and the efficacy of the programme. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://reflections1418.exeter.ac.uk/team/ |
| Description | Cultural Technologies of Memorialisation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | PDRA gave an online paper to the Institute of Historical Research audience in March 2021 |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Cultural Technologies of Memorialisation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | I spoke to an audience of public science students about cultural technologies of memorialisation. At Cambridge University's institute of Continuing Education. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Family means no one gets left behind - or forgotten |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Megan Gooch wrote a blog on the topic of family connections to World War I, and how visitors to the Tower of London's Blood Swept Lands and Beyond the Deepening Shadow installations used the site as a trigger for family memories. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://blog.hrp.org.uk/curators/nobody-left-behind-or-forgotten/ |
| Description | Farewell to Beyond the Deepening Shadow: The Tower Remembers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Eleanor O'Keeffe wrote a blog post which detailed the research methods of the Lest We Forget project team during the Tower of London's Beyond the Deepening Shadow commemorative event. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://blog.hrp.org.uk/curators/the-tower-remembers/ |
| Description | First World War Poetry podcast |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Eleanor O'Keeffe interviewed, recorded and edited this podcast with Professor Paul O'Prey, whose work on the poet Mary Borden was used in the creation of the Tower of London's Beyond the Deepening Shadow artwork in 2018. The podcast was intended to be part of the Teacher Fellowship online course but proved so popular that the Historical Association posted it on their main website with free access to all web visitors. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://www.history.org.uk/podcasts/categories/434/podcast/583/first-world-war-poetry |
| Description | Heritage, art and commemoration: a centenary without history, Theoretical Archaeology Group Conference, UCL |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This paper by Megan Gooch was attended by academics in archaeology and heritage studies as well as heritage practitioners. The paper received questions about the Poppies event and a request to teach about public engagement |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Historic Royal Palaces Research Seminar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Megan Gooch presented early stage research findings to 25 research peers within Historic Royal Palaces. Discussion followed which has led to a greater institutional awareness of the research project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Historical Association Teacher Fellowship: Conflict, Art and Remembrance |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | The teacher fellowship programme is a collaboration with the Historical Association and Michael Riley from UCL Institute of Education. The programme lasts 9 months and consisted of a 3-day residential, an 8-week online course and a 1-day residential. The outputs will include high quality teaching resources available on the Historical Association and Historic Royal Palaces websites. The programme has recruited 10 exceptional secondary history teachers from around the UK and the Netherlands. These teaching fellows engaged with project researchers and academic experts in January 2019, and are currently completing their online course. Already the fellows are highly engaged with the course leaders and each other, and discussing new teaching approaches to World War I and II as a result of their participation. The project was led by Eleanor O'Keeffe in the project team who has designed the course outline, written and delivered onsite and online modules in collaboration with Michael Riley and the Historical Association. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018,2019 |
| URL | https://www.history.org.uk/secondary/module/8692/teacher-fellowship-programme-conflict-art-and-re |
| Description | History Lite or History Plus? Remembrance, Teaching and Hyper Commemoration, Historical Association Annual Conference, Chester |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Schools |
| Results and Impact | Eleanor O'Keeffe presented to secondary history teachers about the research project and how to engage with the First World War in schools sessions |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | How do we know what the Tower Poppies meant to people? |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog post detailing the research process which was also promoted as part of Historic Royal Palaces' mini-campaign on social media as part of the Armistice Day commemorations. As such it received a large reach and impact with audiences who commented and shared their own experiences of World War I commemoration. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://blog.hrp.org.uk/how-do-we-know-what-the-tower-poppies-meant-to-people/ |
| Description | Intangible poppies: digital remembrance at the Tower of London, Memories of the future, University of London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Megan Gooch presented and discussed her paper with memory studies scholars |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Lest We Forget - Members' Talk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Eleanor O'Keeffe presented initial findings to Members of Historic Royal Palaces which was followed by a lively debate. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Lest We Forget - update on our research volunteers |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Eleanor O'Keeffe presented to Volunteers at Historic Royal Palaces initial findings of the research and how volunteers had been involved in the capture and analysis of data. This was followed by requests to join the research volunteer transcription team resulting in a new volunteer member. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Lest we forget: the beginnings of remembrance society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Eleanor O'Keeffe wrote an introduction to the research project and the history of World War I commemoration. Commenters on the blog post included a retired heritage practitioner who thanked us for a thoughtful post, and a member of the public who appreciated being kept up to date on HRP's commemorative activity and thoughts. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://blog.hrp.org.uk/curators/lest-we-forget-remembrance/ |
| Description | Managing the sacred space: the challenges of popular commemorative practices for cultural institutions, Annual Memory Studies Association conference, Madrid |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Megan Gooch discussed the research with academics and practitioners and held further discussions afterwards |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Museum meanings - changing the commemoration conversation at the Tower of London or just reflecting it? ICOM General Conference, CECA Committee, Kyoto |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Megan Gooch gave this paper to educational practitioners in heritage, and it was followed by a discussion about evaluative frameworks in museums and heritage sites |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Never forget: Poppies and other symbols of remembrance |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Blog post as part of Historic Royal Palaces' mini-campaign for Armistice Day 2019. The link to the blog on social media generated substantial reach and engagement with the topic of commemoration, and outpourings of individuals' own commemorations. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://blog.hrp.org.uk/never-forget-poppies-and-other-symbols-of-remembrance/ |
| Description | Post-war: Commemoration, Reconstruction, Reconciliation Blog post |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | This blog post formed part of the University of Oxford's Post-War: Commemoration, Reconstruction, Reconciliation programme running in 2017-18. The post contributes my thoughts to discussions at the Post-War Commemoration, Reconstruction, Reconciliation invited workshop on 10 February 2018 and reflected on how the Lest We Forget research will contribute to further discussions. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | http://torch.ox.ac.uk/community-commemoration |
| Description | Preserving and creating traditions at the Tower of London in 2014 and 2018, ICOM General Conference, DEMHIST Committee |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Eleanor O'Keeffe presented on the research and received follow up requests about artistic installations in historic sites |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Public emotions: what can we learn from Tower Poppies |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Eleanor O'Keeffe published a blog post about the emotional resonances of the Tower of London's 2014 art installation which was promoted and shared on social media |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| URL | https://blog.hrp.org.uk/public-emotions-tower-poppies/?_ga=2.140868597.679367391.1579193367-45263826... |
| Description | Remember, Remember the 11th of November |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Megan Gooch wrote a blog post highlighting contemporary commemorative practice in the UK including wearing poppies and taking part in commemorative rituals at memorial sites and online. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| URL | https://blog.hrp.org.uk/curators/remember-remember-11th-november/ |
| Description | Remembering the War: an academic discussion, Queen Mary's University London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Megan Gooch was part of an expert panel discussing the remembrance of World War I for 30 QMUL history students and history society members. Discussion involved the ways in which remembrance is taught in schools and universities, and how the war is remembered in different countries. The talk prompted questions from students and debate on Twitter afterwards. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Seas of red: the flood of Tower of London poppies images in 2014, Understanding the uses and impacts of iconic cultural images in the digital world, Kings College London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Megan Gooch presented and discussed her paper afterwards |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | Small Scale Audience Research = Big Insight, Army Museums Ogilby Trust Conference, Scottish Regiment in London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The talk encouraged a modular approach to audience evaluation and was followed by several conversations with some audience members |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Small scale audience research = big insight: Understanding Your Visitors, Museums + Heritage Show, Olympia, London |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This talk by Megan Gooch received a lot of questions and follow up emails to ask about how small organisations could embed digital technology into their evaluation practices |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | The 'Emotional Habitus' of Commemoration in 21st-Century Britain:Remembering the First World War at the Tower of London, 2014-2018, Social History Society Conference, University of Lincoln |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Megan Gooch and Eleanor O'Keeffe presented this paper to an audience of early career researchers |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | The (32) Thousand Different Hands: Big Data and the "Poppy Volunteers" of Blood Swept Lands & Seas of Red (2014) |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | The PRDA wrote a blog post for the Social History Society on their Community Exchange platform, highlighting the role of volunteers in creating a heritage and commemorative art installation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| URL | https://socialhistory.org.uk/shs_exchange/big-data-and-the-poppy-volunteers-of-blood-swept-lands-sea... |
| Description | The Labour of Remembrance: Oral history and the stories of commemoration within Military life, Oral History Society Conference |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The presentation received some questions for Eleanor O'Keeffe |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | The Tower of London as a memorial |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Megan Gooch gave a lecture and workshop to 17 MA Heritage Management students on a course run by Historic Royal Palaces and QMUL. Students were engaged with the results of audience research and thought critically about ethical practices in audience research and heritage management. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2018 |
| Description | The Tower of London as a memorial |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Megan Gooch gave a lecture and workshop to 25 MA Heritage Management students on a course run by Historic Royal Palaces and QMUL. Students were engaged with the results of audience research and thought critically about ethical practices in audience research and heritage management |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Voices of War & Peace: the Great War and its Legacy |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Spoke on panel as part of the AHRC event Communities, commemoration, collaboration: shaping our futures through sharing our pasts to review the work of the AHRC First World War Engagement Centres |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |