Home Front Legacy July Update
How time flies! So far 2018 has been full of activity, with the Home Front Legacy team joining forces with Living Legacies 1914-18 to bring further workshops to the UK. We have also seen an additional 520 sites recorded by our dedicated team of volunteers and Champions.
As we enter the last 6 months of the project we are still encouraging people to record their local Home Front sites. Remember, you only have until 3 August to submit your records. Be sure not to miss out.
Home Front Legacy and Living Legacies 1914-18 Workshops
We have been very busy over the past four months bringing workshops to Stirling, Swansea and Belfast.
The workshops have been well received and we expect to see more sites recorded soon. We would like to thank everyone who has attended our workshops.
This series of workshops has been a great success, especially with the support of Queen’s University Belfast’s Living Legacies 1914-18.
Tour of Ireland
Grey Point Battery, Bangor
We were treated to a tour of some amazing First World War sites in Northern Ireland and the Republic after our workshop at Queen’s University Belfast. The brilliant Dr. Heather Montgomery, of Living Legacies 1914-18, acted as our guide, highlighting the area’s significant First World War heritage sites.
We visited the Grey Point battery, an example of a pre-First World War coastal artillery battery, which was used to protect Belfast Lough during the two world wars. This battery retains a pair of 6-in Mark VII BL guns which are fired on special occasions. The site is exceptionally well preserved and gives a glimpse into how such batteries would have operated during the war.
Home Front Legacy Officer Chris Kolonko has conducted some basic interpretation of the site based on our field observations, mapping the arcs of fire and effective ranges for each gun position.
You can find out more about the battery in this report by Queen’s University Belfast- https://www.qub.ac.uk/sites/uas/UASfilestore/CoDown/Filetoupload,545599,en.pdf
Presentations from our final workshops can be found HERE
Connecting Communities: Critical Reflections on WW1 Commeration Exhibition Launch
Our colleagues at Living Legacies 1914-18 are launching a new exhibition at the Ulster Museum. The launch will take place in the Belfast Room of the Ulster Museum, Friday 3rd August from 12.00 to 2.00 pm. See image below for more details.
Young Person Resources
Although our recording app closes in August, our Young Person’s resources will continue to be available via the Young Archaeologists’ Club website and Mylearning. So far our resources have been viewed 1,500 times on the Young Archaeologists’ Club website.
Our resources are free and provide a great way for schools and Young Archaeologists’ Club groups to explore the First World War Home Front as part of their Armistice commemorations.
Record Update
Volunteers and Home Front Legacy Champions have now recorded over 4,500 sites! The Home Front Legacy team would like to thank everyone who has recorded their local Home Front sites. There is still a lot out there to be recorded, so We Need You to get involved.
Important!- Remember, you have until 3 August to record your sites through Home Front Legacy, so don’t miss out!
Home Front Legacy Champions
There’s still time to become a Home Front Legacy Champion. If you or your group can record sites in your local area and would like to help promote Home Front Legacy, then please get in touch with the Home Front Legacy team.
