To mark the 2014-18 Centenary, heritage bodies, museums, local authorities and voluntary groups are running projects and programmes associated with our First World War sites.

• The Heritage Lottery Fund offers a First World War: then and now grants programme of between £3,000 and £10,000 for communities to mark the Centenary of the First World War. Follow them on twitter #thenandnow
• The Arts and Humanities Research Council has announced funding for five new World War One Engagement Centres in partnership with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF). The Centres will support community World War One research projects, connecting academic and public histories of the First World War as part of the commemoration of the War’s centenary.
• The Heritage Lottery Fund and Imperial War Museum have created a Centenary Partnership network and website to showcase cultural events and activities exploring life in the First World War.
• Follow the First World War Centenary on Facebook and on twitter @IWM_Centenary
• The Churches Conservation Trust are asking local people to research and discover the First World War stories of CCT churches and upload images and stories on their Flickr site.
• Keep up with the latest news on the Centenary News website.
• Look up newly digitised record releases, online and on-site events and education resources on the National Archives First World War portal.
• Keep up with debates and latest news on the Home Front in social media by following #WWI and #WW1AtHome
• Read Dan Snow’s BBC iWonder blog on How did so many soldiers survive trench warfare?
• The BBC has partnered with the Imperial War Museum and the Arts and Humanities Research Council to launch a World War One at Home resource area of stories about how the First World War Home Front affected the people and places of Britain and Ireland.
• Read more about the physical legacy of the Home Front by downloading English Heritage First World War Conservation Bulletin 71.
• Find out about the key role of women in the Womens’ History Network blog on the First World War.

Projects

Historic Scotland have carried out an audit of all currently designated sites and are considering designation for new surviving sites and buildings, including a new Historic Marine Protected Area in Scapa Flow, which would include the 7 surviving wrecks of the German High Seas Fleet.

To collect and disseminate information on Scotland’s Home and Fighting Fronts, a First World War History Hub has been established at Edinburgh Central Library, linked to the Scotland’s War project.

In Wales, with funding from Cadw, the Welsh Archaeological Trusts are coordinating a range of projects investigating the physical remains from the First World War. The Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Wales are also contributing to this valuable research.

The Battlefields Trust is tracing the routes of more than 100 aerial bombing raids launched by Zeppelins and aircraft, mostly in London, in their Great Blitz project.

The University of Kent School of History are planning a project to work with young people in schools to investigate the history of the First World War on their doorstep and develop content to go into the Kent Historic Environment Record.

The University of Leeds’ Legacies of War project working with volunteers and organisations in Leeds, the UK and internationally to explore the legacy of the First World War.

Wiltshire’s Great War Centenary Group aims to bring together local history and archaeology groups, Town and Parish Councils, theatre groups, schools, youth organisations, veterans organisations, choirs, art organisations and others to commemorate the centenary across the county.

The Great War Staffordshire have launched a trail which centres on Cannock Chase’s military training camps, the National Memorial Arboretum and Staffordshire Regimental Museum. Look out for their family-friendly exhibitions and events plus schools’ resource packs and excavation opportunities.

War Memorials Trust runs grants schemes for the repair and conservation of war memorials of any date, anywhere in the UK, with additional money currently available due to the forthcoming centenary. It also has a comprehensive range of advice on war memorial issues including conservation, management and landscaping. The website War Memorials Online is encouraging the public to help create a greater understanding of the condition of war memorials.