Help find the forgotten history of the First World War (WW1) in Northern Ireland
Cities, townlands and villages across Northern Ireland are being urged to play their part in the Home Front Legacy project to unlock the secrets of the First World War and ensure their place in history is recorded for future generations.
The Northern Ireland Environment Agency working with Queens University Belfast and the University of Ulster are calling on volunteers from across Northern Ireland to step forward to help survey, research and record buildings and sites which played a key role before, during and after the conflict.
The Council for British Archaeology has developed the online recording toolkit and guidance on this Home Front Legacy website to help you record First World War remains in Northern Ireland.
Register here to access our recording app or download the electronic recording form for Northern Ireland and submit your findings on sites to the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record.
Map your site
Your site recording will display as a ‘map pin’ on the public online map of First World War sites and projects on this website. Click on the red map pin to view your data and thumbnails of any attached photographs or documents.
Exploring our First World War Heritage
The Living Legacies 1914-18 Engagement Centre is a focal point for connecting academic and community researchers interested in how the First World War lives on in the twenty-first century world.
The Living Legacies Engagement Centre is a UK-wide research collaboration between Queen’s University Belfast, University of Ulster, Newcastle University, Goldsmiths, University of London, National Library of Wales and National Museums Northern Ireland. The Centre is funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) in partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) until December 2016.
Home Front Legacy is working with Dr Keith Lilley, Director of the Living Legacies 1914-18 research centre, and one of five in the UK to be funded by the AHRC, to record First World War sites in Northern Ireland through the Centre’s community research.
Northern Ireland Environment Agency
The Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) is responsible for protecting, conserving and promoting the historic built environment. They keep an archive of historic monuments, buildings, twentieth century military structures, maritime and industrial sites, parks and gardens.
www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/accessing-built-heritage
Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record
Built Heritage maintains the SMR for the six counties of Northern Ireland for the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, holding information on approx. 15,000 sites.
Information on each site can be accessed online through the Northern Ireland Sites and Monuments Record Database.
All the sites listed in the NISMR database can also be located geographically using the Map Viewer.
Listed buildings Database
Online search for information on over 9,000 buildings across Northern Ireland with each building recorded individually. Buildings that did not meet listing criteria but make a valuable contribution to the built heritage have been included as ‘record only’.
Northern Ireland Monuments and Buildings Record
More detailed information on Northern Ireland sites and monuments, including full descriptions, plans, photographs and excavation results and finds, can be consulted through the Monuments and Buildings Record at Waterman Road, Belfast at NIEA, Built Heritage, Waterman House, 5-33 Hill Street, Belfast BT1 2LA.
Here you can consult site maps for the NISMR, Industrial Heritage Record (IHR) and the Statutory List of Historic Buildings in Northern Ireland.
The public search room is open Tuesday to Friday (excluding public holidays) from 9.30am–1.00pm and 2.00–4.30pm. An appointment is recommended.
Queens University Belfast Living Legacies 1914-18
For further details about the Living Legacies 1914-18 research centre please contact livinglegacies@qub.ac.uk
National Museums of Northern Ireland
Look up photographs and records online at the National Museums of Northern Ireland Decade of Centenaries First World War online collection
The collection includes recruitment to the forces, including not just infantry, but sailors, airmen and medical and nursing practitioners. It focuses on British/Irish wartime propaganda and reportage and on anti-conscription sentiments and the huge impact of the war on the home front, economically, culturally and socially. It deals with the material legacy of that war in terms of weapons, uniforms, souvenirs, written documents and medals.
Grey Point Fort, Crawfordsburn, Northern Ireland Photo copyright NIEA